Public Domain Disk 193

Public domain disk 193 from the UK Einstein User Group library: one 3 inch disc whose two sides the library catalogued as 193A and 193B. Between them they hold Richard Russell’s Music Compiler version 3.3 and more than forty pieces of music for it, from Bach organ fugues and the Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 to Christmas carols and Scott Joplin’s “The Entertainer”. Russell is the same R.T. Russell who wrote the Einstein’s version of BBC BASIC.

The Music Compiler

Music is typed in with line numbers, much like a BASIC program, using ordinary note names: A to G, with sharps, flats, octave shifts, dotted notes and triplets. A tune can have up to four voices, each with its own selectable waveform, plus key signatures, tempo changes, repeated sections, and captions printed on screen while it plays. SCORE compiles the tune and PLAY performs it. The program is written in Z80 machine code and signs on as “Music Compiler Version 3.3, (C) Copyright R.T.Russell 1982”. Its full six page manual is on side A as MUSIC.DOC.

It Needs a DAC, Not the Einstein’s Sound Chip

MUSIC does not use the Einstein’s built in sound. It plays by sending samples to an 8 bit digital to analogue converter on a parallel port, and the copy on this disc is already set up for the Einstein’s printer port. We checked this in MAME. With MAME’s emulated Covox Speech Thing, which is exactly such a converter, plugged into the printer port, MUSIC COVENTRY played the Coventry Carol in four parts. With nothing plugged in, it ran just the same but in complete silence. On a real Einstein you would need a DAC connected to the printer port.

To try it in MAME, add -centronics covox to the command line, boot either side, and type MUSIC followed by one or more tune names, for example MUSIC COVENTRY HARK. Or type MUSIC alone to reach its > prompt, where you can LOAD, LIST, edit and PLAY tunes.

The Other Programs

• INSTALL.COM, on both sides, reconfigures MUSIC for a different output port or processor clock speed and writes a new MUSIC.COM.
• WAVEFORM.BAS and WAVEFORM.BBC, on side B, are a waveform designer by Russell, dated 18 September 1983 and written in BBC BASIC. You build a waveform from harmonics by number, strength and phase, see it plotted, and save it as MUSIC’s user defined waveform 9.
• R/SUN.XBS, on side A, is not in that side’s catalogue and was evidently added later. It is a short Xtal BASIC program that plays a three voice tune through the Einstein’s own sound chip, using Xtal BASIC’s VOICE, TEMPO and MUSIC commands, and repeats until stopped. The name suggests The House of the Rising Sun, though the file itself does not say. Load it from Xtal BASIC with LOAD "R/SUN".

The Tunes

Each tune file carries its own title and, usually, a note of who coded it and when. Most were coded by G.D. Pye in 1981 and 1982; others are by Derek Fordred, Phil Wheeler and Tina Parkhouse, Russell himself, and several contributors to the US CP/M users’ group library, from whose volume 39 Russell’s program took its original idea.

Side A (193A)

• 2PART08, 2PART09, 2PART13, 2PART14, 2PART15: J.S. Bach, Two Part Inventions No. 8 in F, No. 9 in A flat, No. 13 in C, No. 14 in B flat and No. 15 in D
• ABBOTS: “Abbot’s Leigh”, C.V. Taylor (G.D. Pye, 1982)
• AMAJOR: J.S. Bach, Prelude in A Major (G.D. Pye, 1982)
• ARIA: J.S. Bach, Aria from Partita No. 4 in D (Steve Ness, 1979)
• BOYCE1: William Boyce, Voluntary in D (G.D. Pye, 1981)
• BRAN3A, BRAN3B, BRAN3C: J.S. Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, the first movement in two parts and the third movement (Phil Wheeler, 1982)
• BUX14: Buxtehude, organ chorale “In Dulci Jubilo” (G.D. Pye, 1981)
• BUX15A: Buxtehude, organ chorale “Komm, heiliger Geist, Herre Gott” (G.D. Pye, 1981)
• CHERRY: “Cherry Ripe”, E. Horn (Derek Fordred, 1983)
• CHOPSTIX: Chopsticks (Ward Christensen)
• CMINOR: J.S. Bach, Fugue in C Minor, BWV 549 (G.D. Pye, 1982)
• COVENTRY: The Coventry Carol (Richard Russell, 1981)
• DMINOR: J.S. Bach, Fugue in D Minor (G.D. Pye, 1981)
• GLORY: hymn, “All Glory, Laud and Honour”
• GMINOR: J.S. Bach, Fugue in G Minor, BWV 578 (G.D. Pye, 1982)
• GSTRING: J.S. Bach, Air on the G String (Alan Tresadern)
• GYPSY: “The Gypsy’s Warning”, H.A. Coard (Derek Fordred, 1983)
• HARK: carol, “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” (Richard Russell, 1981)
• IRISH: an untitled air, machine translated from the US CP/M library’s volume 39
• ITCAME: carol, “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear” (G.D. Pye, 1981)
• MENDEL2: Mendelssohn, Fugue No. 2 in G Major, Op. 37
• MERRY: carol, “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” (G.D. Pye, 1981)
• MINUET: Beethoven, Minuet
• MINUTE: Chopin, The Minute Waltz (Bob Yaruss)

Side B (193B)

• OCOME: carol, “O Come, All Ye Faithful” (G.D. Pye, 1981)
• OFT: “Oft in the Stilly Night”, an Irish air (Derek Fordred, 1983)
• PACHEBEL: Pachelbel, Canon in D (Derek Fordred, 1983)
• PURCELL: Henry Purcell, Minuet for Flute and Piano
• STING: Scott Joplin, “The Entertainer”, from The Sting (Phil Wheeler and Tina Parkhouse, 1982)
• THEDAY: hymn, “The Day Thou Gavest, Lord, Is Ended” (G.D. Pye, 1982)
• TOCCATA: Widor, Toccata from Organ Symphony No. 5 (D.J. King, 1981)
• TOWNOF: carol, “O Little Town of Bethlehem” (G.D. Pye, 1981)
• WATER2: Handel, “Air” from the Water Music (G.D. Pye, 1982)
• WATER3: Handel, “Bourrée” from the Water Music (G.D. Pye, 1982)
• WE3: carol, “We Three Kings of Orient Are”
• WENCES: carol, “Good King Wenceslas” (G.D. Pye, 1981)
• ZION: J.S. Bach, “Prepare Thyself, Zion” from the Christmas Oratorio
• WAVEFORM: a short demonstration of the available waveforms

About the Download

The zip holds both sides of the disc, each in three formats: .DSK disk images for a Gotek or MAME, .MFI flux images that also boot in MAME, and .SCP flux captures, which are the preservation masters. A short README comes with them. Side A is the one carrying -PD193A.CAT.

TatungBytes dumped the disc in September 2026 with a Greaseweazle. Every sector on both sides read cleanly on the first pass, and the images pass dskcheck with no errors. These captures replace an earlier upload whose A and B names were the wrong way round; the two dumps agree on every sector.

Files on Side A (193A)

Files on Side B (193B)