Laterna

It is rare, but sometimes in Greece you will get confronted with a strange seeming wooden box on wheels, which is playing music. No I’m not referring to a loudspeaker; I am talking about an old barrel piano, also known as Laterna.

The Laterna is a barrel piano which is indeed a little portable piano with an action activated by a wooden cylinder which is pinned with several thousand little nails; every nail being a musical note. To play the music a crank has to be turned by hand.

Laternas are associated primarily with street musicians and were the main music reproducing instrument in Greece for almost a century until World War II. Therefore it was extremely popular, massively built and greatly adored by Greeks. It did in fact play a vital role in the evolution of the Greek 20th century popular music and old generations remember its glamour and glory.

Today it is hard to imagine a society with no TV, radio, WiFi, tapes and Videos. Live music was only allowed to rich and privileged except for special occasions. The normal people could only listen to that instrument which was the jukebox of this period.
All kinds of music were “stamped” on the cylinders. Many instruments had a spare cylinder, which contained European dancing music, e.g. waltz, tangos, polkas etc. Today there are only a handful of Laternas left, in bad shape and almost none of the old craftsmen exist.

So what do you think: Has this former popular music box it’s origins here in Greece or were the people fascinated by something foreign?