Saturday, November 28, 2020

Houdini sheet music

The talented magician Jessica Jane (who is also no stranger to a straitjacket) recently shared this rarity on her Twitter. I'm assuming the "Bowl Trick" referred to here is the Whirlwind of Colors, an effect in which Houdini produced dry silks from a bowl of water. It's rare to connect a piece of music to a Houdini effect, so this is a real treat! The Fox Trail: March by J.S. Zamennik dates to 1917.


Houdini performed the  Whirlwind of Colors at the 1918 Hippodrome revue show Everything and also in his 1925-26 full evening show. But notice that Bess's name is written (signed?) across the top of the sheet. There is a famous photo of Bess doing the Whirlwind of Colors. I'm not sure exactly when she did it, but is it possible this was the sheet music she used at that time?


Unfortunately, I could not find an audio clip of The Fox Trail: March, but the full sheet music can be found HERE. Some other known Houdini music cues are: Asleep in the Deep (Milk Can); The Diver (Water Torture Cell); the Kaiser Frederic March (intro music circa 1905); and Pomp and Circumstance (intro music circa 1925-26).

Thank you Jessica Jane for this exciting share.

at

1 comment:

  1. Leo HeviaNovember 28, 2020 at 8:12 PM

    A great find! Kudos to Jessica! I recall magician Dick Zimmerman put out a CD of scores used by magicians where he played the piano music. Did I imagine that?

    ReplyDelete