Delivery of the "primar" fair organ by nickelodeon co. 
to the nisco museum of mechanical music, ein hod israel,  may 2014
                               accompanied by arthur and paula  prinsen

LIVRAISON DE L'ORGUE DE FOIRE "PRIMAR" PAR NICKELODEON CO.
AU MUSéE DE MUSIQUE MéCANIQUE NISCO, EIN HOD ISRAËL, MAI 2014
EN LA COMPAGNIE D'ARTHUR ET PAULA PRINSEN

the story of the primar delivery - article published in the coaa "carousel organ" magazine of june 2014

L'Histoire de la livraison du PRIMAR - article publié dans le coaa "carousel organ" magazine de juin 2014 (cliquez ici pour accéder à la traduction française)

We are pleased to announce the sale and delivery of the Arthur and Paula Prinsen's organ "PRIMAR" to the NISCO Museum of Mechanical music, located at Ein Hod, Israel.

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 First a presentation of the NISCO Museum and its amazing owner, Mr. Nisan Cohen.
Back in Sept 2011 I responded to an ad in the MMD, asking for someone to come to Israel to help with restoration of mechanical musical instruments that had been damaged in a terrible forest fire that raged in the entire area of Mount Carmel 11 months before,

A newspaper article from that time wrote : « When New Yorker Nisan Cohen moved to Israel, he took along his treasured collection of 200 music boxes, and made it the core of a new museum he opened. On December 6 (2010) he sat, woebegone, in his soot-filled museum, his entire collection ruined by the forest fire of the preceding four days. The worst fire in Israel’s history has killed 42 people, destroyed about 12,000 acres of forest and claimed an estimated 5 million trees. Authorities say a 14-year-old boy from northern Israel, arrested December 6, has admitted to throwing a burning coal from a hookah pipe into the forest — apparently triggering the blaze.

Cohen’s Nisco Museum of Mechanical Music, normally buzzing with Israeli adults and children and American tour groups enjoying a collection that took Cohen 45 years to put together, is now mostly shrouded in darkness. The lone exception is some daylight streaming in from a point where looters had entered to take a few items, adding insult to injury., The museum, usually filled with songs from competing music boxes, was quiet, apart from the voice of Cohen, who was trying to come to terms with what had happened. “The heat was so intense that even those music boxes not reached by the flames had the [mechanical] cone destroyed so they don’t have their music anymore,” he said. »

In November 2011 we found the NISCO museum building extanding its concrete wings on a stony hill where rare black sticks were still the only remains of a once inviting thick pine forest. The similitude between the martyrised instruments and the landscape fell upon Marie-Odile then, inspiring her moving pictures she presented later in the MBSI magazine and on our website under the title « Scars ».
At the museum, the main instrument of concern was a once beautiful Aeolian Orchestrelle style XY, made dumb through the fire, and I was lucky enough to make it play again after 10 days of work, While everything had been severely damaged and many instruments completely destroyed, I was amazed to find the owner full of life and eager to just pick up the pieces and get to work once again. While this sounds easy for many people, I should tell you that Nisan Cohen was  85 years old at that time, Now in 2014 at 87 years of age,  he still acts less the half of this age, making a rule of his favorite motto "Don't postpone Joy » !

In a former life, Cohen was an American Jewish filmmaker, but after moving to Israel in the mid-'70s, he opened the Middle East's first and only museum dedicated to mechanical music with the music boxes, player pianos, hurdy gurdies, gramophones and other devices that he had collected all his life, the product of a solid classical music culture, the need to share his passion and an inquisitive mind that clearly takes pleasure in seemingly simple delights.... « All of this would be no more than a noteworthy oddity without the electric presence of the man himself. », was one other comment I have heard. « Cohen is one of a kind, and his fascination with mechanical music machines is catching. He practically dances from instrument to instrument, and like the children of Hamelin, you line up behind him. ».
During the tours of the museum he gives daily, no doubt HE is the showman !

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And it is probably how Arthur Prinsen definitively knew his beloved last instrument, the Primar, the one he had built for himself, had found a suitable « second father » - after witnessing one of Nisan's Saturday morning tour last March 22nd 2014. The Prinsens could then appreciate Nisan's communicative joy, how he was explaining the whys and hows of his collection, having the people participating, raising their interest and smiles and above all, leaving the present children with stars in their eyes.
But let's start with the beginning of that story.

Last September (2013) Marie-Odile was back to Ein Hod for a joined exhibitit of her 2011 pictures with Nisan's new collages. Did we say he also has a true artisty mind of his own, whose two major words would be colourful and humorous ? Anyway, at that time already his mind and heart have been captured by the sound of the Primar – an exclusive love !

So in January 2014 we had a phone call from Cohen telling of his serious interest in the Prinsen organ which we had listed on our web site. Soon an agreement was met and the plans to ship the very first Fair Organ to Israel were begun, while we were also asked to travel to Israel to assist in the unloading and set up of the instrument.

A lot of people then became busy, in 3 parts of the world, to make all work, with the threat of mid-April (Pessah starting, then Easter) as a dead line.

Arthur Prinsen personally packed the container in Belgium and within a few weeks everything was organized and the pieces all carefully wrapped and secured for the long trip ahead, from Antwerpen to Haifa harbours. The Prinsens also offered to come and help and be sure the « delivery of the baby » was ok. It is exactly in these terms that an anxious Nisan was also starting to count the days and rushed us to be there for sure by March the14th....

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…. And here we were, all glad to see again Nisan so sound and well, but..... no organ showing yet !

After a shabbat day, March 16th saw happy families strolling about in the village tiny streets with their costumed children for the feast of Pourim. Then on March the 17th it was finaly the 1st meeting between Cohen and Paula and Arthur Prinsen, at the Nisco Museum all illuminated for the occasion, which is the major outstanding building that visitors can see, right side of the steep road, when they reach the artists village of Ein Hod. Definitively the most interesting meeting, followed, at the local well known Argentine restaurant, by a very nice evening of long conversations where these two remarquable personalities started to know each others a little better.

March 18th came, then March 19th... Nisan was spending his days at the phone, pulling all the bells he could to know where was the Primar – and the news were always the most contradictory ones : the organ was in the harbour, no it was not, retained through customs, needing an inspection more then a scanner,,, It was Arthur's turn to become nervous in thinking of the temperature inside of the container when days after days it had been all sunny and up to 100°F outside.

On the morning of the 20th we were told that Haifa harbour was under a security alert for rockets searching ! and would be closed for the day – were they our pipes that the scanner had detected ?!! We left and went touring North....and that's why it is on the banks of Tiberiade Lake that we received the surprise phonecall « Come back immediately, the organ arrives » ! We rushed, picking the Prinsens on our way through Haifa and effectively a big truck with the container was already there, Lots of agitation up at the museum, where workers had hurried as planned to make an openning in the side wall as no door was wide enough to let the instrument's parts in. Lots of agitation down around the truck which was too high to allow the organ to be taken out of the container. I suggested to call for a flat bed truck more but the evening was getting late. Nisan and Arthur were only able to have a quick view on the bundle of blankets and bubble plastic where the Primar was still sleeping.... and away went the container, back to a warehouse for the 2 next days, as Friday is free for the Muslims and Saturday for the Jews. What a disappointment ! Saturday March 22nd the Prinsens said their adieu to Nisan, sad at heart to have been unable to see the end of the move and their organ set in its new place.

Sunday 23rd was the 1st overcast day of our stay as an early heat had raised a thick fog which hovers above the village for the day. At that point of our trip we knew no more what to hope from a day. Nisan had told us in case of something happens to show at 2pm as at a guess. Now going down the lane from the central square of the village toward the museum, wasn't it the sound of a truck engine that we could perceive ? Emerging after the last staircases we could see the top of a bright yellow crane in action, what a surprise that our dream had finally became true ! The organ was back and moving ! FINALLY !

It's time to precise the very unusual design of the Nisco Museum, with its huge concrete wings roof, sort of Jet Age architecture, an overhanging building anchored in the hill's rocks, so there was no other way than a crane to transport AND lift up an organ that size ( Height - 10'6'' / Length - 16'4" / Depth - 4'9" / approx,  Weight - 3968 lb) well over 80 ft in the air .

The work had begun a little earlier, assisted by the Druzes, a local Muslim related minority very clever and reliable in this area of Israel. We'd want to thank particularly Alaa Abu Chamad who helped us so much and was a little like our Genius of the Lamp. By 6pm the Primar was all together and playing perfectly.
Curiousity  had pushed neighbours to show up and for sure they couldn't believe their eyes nor ears ! Soon their cameras were out and they immotalized the instants that you can see on the little video at http://ein-hod.info/nisco/

left to right : Silvana, Nisan, Marie-Odile & Ron

The 1st song picked out of the boxes was « The Flight of the Bumblebee » as everybody wanted to hear the Primar playing « that fast ». At that time I had Arthur himself on line, still at Tel Aviv airport waiting for his flight back home, so he could be part of it too before leaving Israël and finally listening in extremis his organ all set and playing well - even if only through my cellphone ! 

But next it was time for playing the 2 special books that Nisan had ordered. The famous « Hava Nagila » put the assistance in the right mood (« Let's rejoice ») with big- BIG smiles and clapping hands. Then came « Hatikvah » the national anthem of Israël (« The Hope ») and suddenly a tangible emotion run in the room, while Nisan was hugging with his two present loves : his young just-married daughter Silvana and his Shar-pei dog Georgette. Arthur had done a wonderful job with these 2 songs, and the joy on Nisan's face as the instrument came to life made the entire trip truly rewarding for us and one we will never forget.

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It took one instrument of exception to have 2 « fathers » and make 3 different parts of the world (Europe, America and Middle East) and 3 religions (Christians, Jews and Muslims) working together. Who said music was making miracles ?

We sincerely hope now that YOU will also be able to visit the Nisco Museum at the artist village of Ein Hod, close to Haifa at the foot of Mount Carmel, North of Israël.- on Route 7111, just two kilometers from the intersection with Route 4 (between Zichron Yaakov and Haifa). Look for the Nisco Museum sign just before the turn into Ein Hod. Telephone: (052) 4755313.

Ron Schmuck, Nickelodeon Co. Ltd and Marie-Odile