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From 1900, a late recording by Issler's Orchestra – a great march medley from Sousa's El Capitan.
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In mid-1889, in the earliest days of the commercial recording industry, at the Edison Laboratory they were looking for a pianist. According to log book of the laboratory's chief recording engineer, A. Theo E. Wangemann (see also the June 1998 Cylinder of Month), after recording with four others pianists, they tried Edward Issler. Issler soon became the de facto pianist of choice at Edison Labs. And as is often said, the rest is history.
In addition to piano accompaniment, Issler had formed a rather compact orchestra for making phonograph recordings initially consisting of a piano, cornet, flute and a violin. Through the end of the 19th Century, Issler's Orchestra, with their distinctive sound (frequent doubling of cornet with flute or piccolo), was the most prolific and probably most popular band recording in the U.S. (the United States Marine Band being their primary competition). To hear other selections by Issler's Orchestra, see:
| Key | Title | Category | Performed by | Circa |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10/1997 | Lanciers with Figures Called | Orchestra | Issler's Popular Orchestra | 1893-1894 |
| 09/2015 | My Little Irish Queen | Orchestra | Issler's Orchestra | 1897 |
After the turn of the previous century, things began winding down for Issler's Orchestra, but in 1900, Issler was still turning out cracker-jack recordings such as this month's El Capitan March Medley.
El Capitan was written by John Philip Sousa in 1896.
To hear an excerpt — 
For help playing these sounds, click here. |
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$1.00 EACH. |
To hear other examples of wax cylinders, see the
