Historical Musical Instruments Research Articles

How Did 19th-Century Alphorns Sound? A Reconstruction Based on Written Accounts of Its Musical Timbre

This paper reconstructs the sound of 19th-century alphorns based on contemporary written descriptions, which allows for a better understanding of literature and compositions that quoted and imitated the alphorn throughout the 19th century. In the absence of sound recordings, historical documents and literary sources provide valuable insights into the timbre of these traditional Alpine instruments. The research examines descriptions from 19th-century texts, comparing them with modern understandings of musical timbre. By analyzing the language used to describe the alphorn’s sound, the study identifies recurring descriptors and contextualizes them within the broader acoustic environment, including the influence of natural sounds like waterfalls and echoes. Historical sources reveal a complex perception of the alphorn’s timbre, described in terms of its resemblance to muted trumpets and a blend of brass and woodwind qualities. Authors such as Hermann Alexander von Berlepsch and François-Joseph Fétis provided detailed accounts, noting contrasting characteristics like “rough”, “soft”, “sharp”, and “melodious”, which varied with the listener’s distance from the instrument. These descriptions highlight the alphorn’s unique sound profile, distinct from modern perceptions that emphasize a warmer, fuller timbre. The findings underscore the importance of considering ecological and psychoacoustic contexts in the study of historical musical instruments.

3D Digital Technologies for Studying Historical Musical Instruments

ABSTRACT This essay describes the authors experience engaging with digital technologies as a subject specialist who focuses on the history and design of musical instruments. While digital technologies (like 3D scanning and printing) offer exciting research opportunities, they should be tools for, not the focus of, research. Collaboration between subject specialists and technology experts is crucial. This essay reflects on how recent studies of musical instruments have used various technologies and includes new case studies from the authors own work. It is intended to be a resource for subject specialists in the Humanities wanting to engage with 3D digital technologies.

Multi-Temporal Image Analysis for Preventive Conservation of Historical Musical Instruments

Artworks need to be constantly monitored to check their state of conservation and to quickly spot the eventual presence of alterations or damages. Preventive conservation is the set of practices employed to reach this goal. Unfortunately, this results generally in a cumbersome process involving multiple analytical techniques. Consequently, methods able to provide a quick preliminary examination of the artworks (e.g., optical monitoring) seem very promising to streamline preventive conservation procedures. We are especially interested in the study of historical wood musical instruments, a kind of artwork particularly subject to mechanical wear since they are both held in museums and also occasionally played in concerts. Our primary goal is to detect possible altered regions on the surface of the instruments early and thus provide the experts some precise indications on where to apply more in-depth examinations to check for potential damages. In this work, we propose an optical monitoring method based on the a-contrario probabilistic framework. Tests were conducted on the “Violins UVIFL imagery” dataset, a collection of UV-induced fluorescence image sequences of artificially altered wood samples and violins. Obtained results showed the robustness of the proposed method and its capability to properly detect altered regions while rejecting noise.

Antimicrobial effect of fungal melanin in combination with plant oils for the treatment of wood

Microbial deterioration of wood has gradually destroyed precious historic musical instruments. The Serpentino (English: serpent/little snake) is a wind instrument used for over 400 years and is considered the godfather of modern instruments such as the saxophone and the tuba. Many original instruments have been totally destroyed due to colonization and degradation by bacteria and fungi. Reconstructing the serpent in particular and other ancient instruments in general requires the preservation of wood against bio-deterioration. Conventional chemical preservatives based on copper and boron compounds have been used in the wood processing industry; however, they are not ideal for protecting musical instruments and may pose a negative impact on the health and safety of musicians with direct mouth contact. Non-biocidal preservatives, such as plant oils, have attracted a lot of attention. Herein, we report the antimicrobial efficacy of plant oils, alone and in combination with fungal melanin, for protecting walnut wood that is used to make the serpent, against oral bacteria and wood-decay fungi. Linseed and tea tree oils were found to have a strong antibacterial effect, reducing the survival rate of Streptococcus mutans, a bacterium commonly found in human saliva, to below 1%. Impregnation of wood with plant oils and melanin significantly increased the antibacterial effect when compared to that of the oil(s) alone. A satisfactory antifungal effect was also achieved after 2 weeks as indicated by a reduction (<10%) in the survival rate of Chaetomium globosum on the radial longitudinal wood surface. In addition, the treated wood samples absorbed less water than the untreated wood, and maintained their dimensions at different humidity conditions, highlighting the potential of this approach for wood protection.

Structural feature investigation of wooden artifacts through imaging techniques: a step forward in the preservation of historical musical instruments

Abstract Bowed string instruments represent a peculiar class of artworks, in some cases of historical relevance, capable of producing sound. Concert activity and natural ageing could cause mechanical stress that may lead to defects and fractures. Here, we propose an image-based methodology suitable to investigate such structural features in wooden instruments. The combined use of X-ray radiography and infrared thermography enabled a better identification and documentation of defects, woodworm galleries and cracks, thus enhancing the commonly employed approach.

A-contrario framework for detection of alterations in varnished surfaces

Preventive conservation is the constant monitoring of the state of conservation of an artwork to reduce the risk of damages and so to minimize the necessity of restorations. Many methods have been proposed during time, generally including a mix of different analytical techniques. In this work, we present a probabilistic approach based on the a-contrario framework for the detection of alterations on varnished surfaces, in particular those of historical musical instruments. Our method is a one step Number of False Alarms (NFA) clustering solution which considers simultaneously gray-level and spatial density information in a single background model. The proposed approach is robust to noise and avoids parameter tuning as well as any assumption about the shape and size of the worn-out areas. Tests have been conducted on UV induced fluorescence (UVIFL) image sequences included in the “Violins UVIFL imagery” dataset. UVIFL photography is a well known diagnostic technique used to see details of a surface not perceivable with visible light. The obtained results prove the capability of the algorithm to properly detect the altered regions. Comparisons with other the state-of-the-art clustering methods show improvement in both precision and recall.

Tsunamis, Earthquakes, and Music: Archives as Guardians of Cultural Continuity in Indonesia

Abstract This paper reflects on the Music Archive of Monash University’s (MAMU) experiences working in Aceh and Lampung, Indonesia and the ways they inform our practices when closely liaising with communities at risk of disaster. To support local cultural continuity and revitalization, and especially in the wake of the 2004 tsunami and the 2018 volcanic eruption respectively, MAMU became an early proponent of making digital repositories freely available online. As technology has progressed, so too have MAMU’s efforts to engage with and support the cultural preservation of its collections’ source communities. One of the archive’s latest projects includes the creation of detailed 3D scans of historical musical instruments in the collection, potentially enabling instrument makers to discover previously lost construction techniques. This paper will explore some of the many ways that archives such as MAMU can be used to support cultural continuity in areas experiencing trauma and upheaval.

Complementary mapping techniques to characterize the wood finish of musical instruments

The wood finish of historical bowed string musical instruments made in Cremona (Italy) during the seventeenth and eighteenth century is a complex multi-layered coating system, where varnishes and other organic binders are variously mixed with inorganic fillers and pigments. It consists of several layers with reduced thickness (tens of microns or less), hard to be distinguished due to the similarity of the constituent materials. Nevertheless, the identification of chemical and morphological features (layering and boundaries) is strictly necessary to disclose the traditional manufacturing procedures. In this paper, we propose an innovative protocol to fully characterize such a multi-layered coating system by combining hyperspectral photoluminescence (PL) micro-imaging with μFTIR-ATR mapping and SEM-EDX analysis. The protocol has been employed to study three cross-sectional samples from violins made by Lorenzo Storioni (second half of eighteenth century), whereas a properly reproduced laboratory mock-up was used to set the analytical protocol. The obtained results demonstrate that the combination of these complementary spectroscopy mapping techniques in a high-resolution strategy allows one to clearly identify the morphology of a few microns thin layers, to assess the penetration depth of sizing treatments into the wood and to detect restoration areas.

A Multi-Analytical Non-Invasive Approach to Aqueous Cleaning Systems in Treatments on Bowed String Musical Instruments

Restoration and conservation procedures for historical musical instruments involve several issues, also connected with their frequent being played. One of the most delicate procedures for their preservation is the cleaning of surfaces from soil and dirt which have accumulated over the years. In fact, when external particles reach the surface, a fraction of them can deposit on it. Moreover, the contact with the player can generate chemical-physical changes, rapidly warming and wetting the surfaces through sweat deposition. This work focused on the cleaning methods of surfaces of bowed string musical instruments by a systematic and analytical approach. The selective cleaning procedure of varnished surfaces from grime and soil needs to be performed without compromising the original matter. Therefore, a dirty surface was reproduced on a set of varnished mock-ups and different water-based cleaning systems—generally used by restorers—were tested. The procedures were monitored in each step with several analytical methods: multispectral imaging (near-infrared (NIR), IRFC, visible imaging (VIS), UV-induced visible fluorescence), stereomicroscopy, XRF and FTIR spectroscopies allowed us to non-invasively outline the cleaning system efficacy. The results highlighted different levels of cleaning and, in some cases, it was possible to identify the best selectivity for the different procedures.

Microphone and Loudspeaker Array Signal Processing Steps towards a “Radiation Keyboard” for Authentic Samplers

To date electric pianos and samplers tend to concentrate on authenticity in terms of temporal and spectral aspects of sound. However, they barely recreate the original sound radiation characteristics, which contribute to the perception of width and depth, vividness and voice separation, especially for instrumentalists, who are located near the instrument. To achieve this, a number of sound field measurement and synthesis techniques need to be applied and adequately combined. In this paper we present the theoretic foundation to combine so far isolated and fragmented sound field analysis and synthesis methods to realize a radiation keyboard, an electric harpsichord that approximates the sound of a real harpsichord precisely in time, frequency, and space domain. Potential applications for such a radiation keyboard are conservation of historic musical instruments, music performance, and psychoacoustic measurements for instrument and synthesizer building and for studies of music perception, cognition, and embodiment.

Preserving Functionality: Keeping Artefacts ‘Alive’ In Museums

AbstractAccording to a recent article, ‘Instrument museums are mausoleums, places for the display of the musically dead, with organologists acting as morticians, preparing dead instrument bodies for preservation and display’. This view, often repeated since the 1960s, reflects the frustration experienced by most museum visitors facing objects stripped of their function and presented as aestheticized icons. Curatorial debate has led to the development of several alternative proposals to deliver a culturally engaging presentation of musical objects. However, none has managed to efficiently replace the expectation of museums visitors to appreciate the object in its functional state. Moreover, debate over the role of museums in preserving intangible – as well as tangible – heritage stimulated further consideration of the importance of preserving/presenting functionality of music‐related objects. While some authors have developed specific music‐related perspectives (e.g. Barclay R. [2005]. The Preservation and Use of Historic Musical Instruments: Display Case and Concert Hall), little or no cross‐fertilisation has happened with the much broader world of functional objects in museums, which includes at least scientific, technologic and mechanical objects and those pertaining to daily lives. The article will offer an overview of current debate, approaches and policies for the preservation and display of functionality in a variety of non‐music related museums, with a parallel perspective on the current approach to musical instruments.

What do luthiers look at? An eye tracking study on the identification of meaningful areas in historical violins

Stylistic analysis of artworks is an important practice in the field of Cultural Heritage. Over time, significant stylistic characteristics have been identified for paintings and sculptures, but not for historical musical instruments. Even if various stylistic features of instruments are well known, their importance for attributing an instrument to its maker remains unclear. In this work, we propose a study carried out in relation to 34 luthiers’ examinations recorded with an eye tracker. Our goal was to find which regions of a violin are most closely observed by experts during the attribution process. The retrieved data were used to create a multimedia presentation that shows a violin in the same way in which luthiers look at it. This application can be employed for knowledge dissemination (e.g,. inside museums) or as an educational tool for students of violin making schools. The experiments were carried out on a series of images of 17th-18th century historical violins kept at the “Museo del Violino” in Cremona (Italy).

The case of Antonio Stradivari 1718 ex-San Lorenzo violin: History, restorations and conservation perspectives

Historic musical instruments, especially violins, have witnessed centuries of stories and events, passing from hand to hand among musicians, collectors and restorers. Historical last wills and trading documents makes it possible to reconstruct the movements around the world of the decorated ex-San Lorenzo violin and its story throughout its owners. The history of this precious violin began in 1718 in the Cremonese workshop of Antonio Stradivari. It represents a mature example of the Master's “Golden Age” period (1700 to 1720) and is unique for an unusual inscription “GLORIA ET DIVITIAE IN DOMO EIUS” which adorns its center-bout ribs.Numerous imaging techniques (stereomicroscopy, optical microscopy, VIS and UV photography, X-ray radiography, XRF mapping), spectroscopic (FORS, FTIR in reflectance mode, XRF, SEM-EDX) and chromatographic (Pyrolysis SolidPhase Microextraction Gas Chromatography-Mass spectrometry) were applied in order to: (i) give new data related to both original and restoration materials, (ii) make considerations about the restoration procedures adopted over the centuries, and (iii) highlight the main issues of historic musical instrument preservation.The material information gathered from this multi-technique study is varied depending on the areas under investigation. This analytical campaign, which is the widest ever made on a single musical instrument, gives a new overview of the materials applied on historic bowed musical instruments and opens debate about what should be preserved and how to do it.

Innovative Monitoring Plan for the Preventive Conservation of Historical Musical Instruments

The aim of preventive conservation is to reduce the risk of deterioration and to slow down natural ageing of materials, in order to minimise interventions (Bradley 2005). Musical instruments are a ...

Neutron imaging as tool for investigations on historical musical instruments

In this paper, we describe, why and how neutron imaging methods are applied to contribute to the knowledge about historical music instruments, either brass based or using wood as structural material. Beside the recovery of constructive details of old brass wind instruments with the aim to build equivalent replica, the influence of moisture on inner corrosion has been investigated. On the other side, wood properties are strongly influenced by the moisture uptake from the varying environment and the coverage and protection by varnish and lacquer were studied systematically using neutron transmission measurements.

Elemental analysis as statistical preliminary study of historical musical instruments

The history of bowed string instruments includes centuries of experimentation performed by violin makers with different manufacturing processes and several natural materials. The characterization of the material components can therefore often help researchers to identify the construction period of an instrument, its geographical origins or, if possible, the name of the violin maker. In a few cases, musical instruments, especially bowed ones, that were played frequently over time suffered severe damage (e.g. cracks, woodworms), and some parts of the instruments needed to be replaced to repair such damage. Gaetano Sgarabotto (1878–1959) and his son Pietro (1903–1990), two of the most eminent violin makers and restorers of the 20th century, collected many replaced parts in a group of fragments from musical instruments manufactured between the 16th and the 19th century by some of the most important Italian and European violin makers.In this work, non-invasive and micro-destructive analyses could be combined through portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (PXRF) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with an EDAX spectrometer (SEM-EDX) on 24 fragments of the Sgarabotto collection. Principal Component Analysis was applied to classify relics, highlighting the most relevant and particular elements in the dataset. The principle of transformation is the extraction of maximum variance for each successive new variable. This procedure leads to the separation of valuable information from noise and to the selection of a small number of influential and statistically significant variables. The application of this analytical procedure leads to (i) assessing the existence of elemental markers of specific historical periods and/or manufacturing areas; (ii) characterizing the materials that the layers of a selected group of fragments are composed of; (iii) identifying any correlations between different fragments.

Spectroscopic Analysis to Characterize Finishing Treatments of Ancient Bowed String Instruments.

Historical bowed string instruments exhibit acoustic features and aesthetic appeal that are still considered inimitable. These characteristics seem to be in large part determined by the materials used in the ground and varnishing treatments after the assembly of the instrument. These finishing processes were kept secret by the violinmakers and the traditional methods were handed down orally from master craftsmen to apprentices. Today, the methods of the past can represent a secret to be revealed through scientific investigations. The "Cremonese" methods used in the 17th and 18th centuries were lost as the last Great Masters from the Amati, Guarneri, and Stradivari families passed away. In this study, we had the chance of combining noninvasive and microinvasive techniques on six fragments of historical musical instruments. The fragments were detached from different instruments during extraordinary maintenance and restoration treatments, which involved the substitution of severely damaged structural parts like top plates, back plates, or ribs. Therefore, the fragments can offer to the scientists a valuable overview on the materials and techniques used by the violinmakers. The results obtained by portable X-ray fluorescence, optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry, and Fourier transform infrared microscopy allowed us to: (1) determine the stratigraphy of six instruments; (2) obtain new information about the materials involved in the finishing processes employed in Cremona; and (3) elucidate the technological relationship among the procedures adopted in the violin making workshops during the considered period.

Non-invasive identification of organic materials in historical stringed musical instruments by reflection infrared spectroscopy: a methodological approach.

The analysis of historical musical instruments is becoming more relevant and the interest is increasingly moving toward the non-invasive reflection FTIR spectroscopy, especially for the analysis of varnishes. In this work, a specific infrared reflectance spectral library of organic compounds was created with the aim of identifying musical instrument materials in a totally non-invasive way. The analyses were carried out on pure organic compounds, as bulk samples and laboratory wooden models, to evaluate the diagnostic reflection mid-infrared (MIR) bands of proteins, polysaccharides, lipids, and resins by comparing reflection spectra before and after the KK correction. This methodological approach was applied to real case studies represented by four Stradivari violins and a Neapolitan mandolin.

Automatic Analysis of UV-Induced Fluorescence Imagery of Historical Violins

In recent years, UV-induced fluorescence (UVIFL) photography has proven to be very effective when studying the surface of historical musical instruments, such as violins. This technique makes it possible to highlight superficial details not clearly perceptible with visible light (e.g., retouchings, superficial distribution of varnishes, or wear). The data retrieved are also an important guide for further noninvasive spectroscopic analyses used when the chemical composition of the surface needs to be investigated. However, UVIFL imagery interpretation of a historical violin is no trivial task. In fact, constant playing and the multiple restorations over the centuries have produced very complex surfaces. This work presents an automatic tool designed to facilitate this kind of analysis. Using a quantized histogram in HSV color space, the distribution of the main fluorescence colors on an instrument’s surface can be highlighted, recurrence of the same color in different areas of the same violin can be detected, or different violins can be compared. UVIFL images of seven Stradivarius violins kept in the Museo del Violino in Cremona, Italy, were used as a test set. The results achieved endorse the validity of the proposed approach.

The Beginnings and Development of the Collection of Historic Musical Instruments of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna

The Collection of Historic Musical Instruments of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna (KHM) was founded during the First World War when the inventories of the collections owned by Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Este (1863-1914) went to the Imperial museum in Vienna after his assassination. From 1916/17 on, the renowned art historian Julius von Schlosser (1866-1938) and his successor, Hermann Julius Hermann (1869-1953), organized one of the most important collections and exhibitions exclusively dedicated to musical instruments. They assembled valuable items from the 16th century that had belonged to Archduke Ferdinand II’s (1529-1595) Cabinet of Curiosities, objects collected by members of the Obizzi dynasty in the castle of Catajo, and recently acquired historical instruments connected with the Viennese tradition of instrument making. In 1920, Schlosser wrote his fundamental catalogue on the newly established collection that is considered to be the fi rst systematical and scientifi c publication on historic musical instruments in Austria. During the following years, he strove towards amplifying the inventory and expanding the exhibition. He transferred precious items originally belonging to the movables depot of the erstwhile court (Hofmobiliendepot) and instruments left in former imperial residences, such as the castle of Laxenburg. The contribution reviews previously unpublished archived sources documenting the early history of the collection and broaches the issue of the extended exhibition in the 1920s, discusses the thematic orientations of the collection and the principles in museum didactic that consequently arose. Moreover, the position of the collection and its policy in the context of other museums with similar emphases at that time will be analyzed. La collezione di strumenti musicali antichi del Kunsthistorisches Museum a Vienna (KHM) e stata fondata durante la prima guerra mondiale quando l’inventario delle collezioni dell’Arciduca Francesco Ferdinando d’Asburgo-Este (1863-1914) e stato portato, dopo la sua uccisione, al museo imperiale a Vienna. Dal 1916/17 in poi il famoso storico dell’arte Julius von Schlosser (1866-1938) e il suo successore Hermann Julius Hermann (1869-1953) hanno organizzato una delle piu importanti collezioni e esibizioni dedicata esclusivamente a strumenti musicali antichi. Hanno assemblato strumenti preziosi del XVI secolo che facevano parte della stanza delle curiosita dell´Arciduca Ferdinando II (1529- 1595), oggetti raccolti da membri della dinastia Obizzi nel castello di Catajo e oggetti recentemente acquisiti legati alla tradizione Viennese di costruzione di strumenti musicali. Nel 1920 Schlosser ha scritto un catalogo completo della nuova collezione che e considerato la prima pubblicazione sistematica e scientifi ca di strumenti musicali antichi in Austria. Negli anni successivi Schlosser ha cercato di allargare l’inventario di oggetti e la collezione, che si e inoltre arricchita di preziosi esemplari originariamente situati nel Deposito imperiale di mobili di corte (Hofmobiliendepot) e di strumenti musicali abbandonati nelle residenze imperiali come il castello di Laxenburg. Il contributo esamina fonti inedite che documentano la prima storia della collezione, affronta il tema dell’esposizione ampliata del 1920, discute l´orientamento tematico della collezione e i principi di didattica museale che ne risultarono. Inoltre, il contributo esamina la posizione della collezione e la sua strategia nel contesto di altri musei con la stessa tematica.