Lost Sounds Orchestra: Ancient Musical Instruments Brought Back To Life

Scientific Blogging ^ | August 30, 2009 | News Staff

[decimon]

Do you long to hear the dulcet sounds of the salpinx, barbiton, aulos or the syrinx? Of course not, because no one has heard them in centuries. Most people have never even heard of them.

But you will soon have the chance to experience musical instruments familiar to ancient civilizations but long since forgotten.

[Terabitten]

Thanks for turning me on to du Fay. I’d never heard of him before (being generally more into Guns n’ Roses than Guillame du Fay) but his work is really beautiful.

[AnAmericanMother]

He was the absolutely undisputed leading musician of his time.

I had never heard of him either until our choirmaster told me about him. Neat stuff, isn't it?

[decimon]

But the average quality of violins continues to improve.

I would hope so. We have so much more to work with than did some guys in some European villages.

[GOPJ]

Logical and interesting.

[freedomlover]

I continue to be amazed at how decent an acoustic guitar you can get for less than 200 bucks these days.

[AnAmericanMother]

Well, we have more, and we also have LESS.

We don't have the high-quality old-growth wood available that the old makers did. That wood is denser, with smaller cells, and has a different sound. Especially the old-growth spruce, which is very hard to find these days.

We also don't have TIME, and we don't have the workshop/apprentice system in use either. Both those factors made the very best violins in the old days better than what's available today.

But your production violins are better than anything your average middle-class amateur musician could have bought in the old days. My daughter has a violin that was made in Paris in the 1920s -- it's old enough to have aged and mellowed, and although it's from a middle of the line maker it has a beautiful rich sound. We picked it up dirt cheap because the soundboard was cracked . . . fortunately there is a wonderful violin maker/repairman here in town, and she took it apart, mended that crack and several others that she found, reassembled it and voila! a lovely violin. Probably we didn't save much money in the long run because violin repair does not come cheap, but it's fun to have something that's 80 years old and still sounds so nice.

[AnAmericanMother]

We have one of the "plastic Martins" with the laminated back and sides.

It was a Wednesday morning guitar - everything just came together perfectly. It will NOT hold tune because the laminate is very susceptible to changes in temp and humidity, but it sounds great - you just have to let it equilibrate for an hour before you try to play it, if you bring it into a warm room or carry it in a hot car.

Those $199 specials at Musician's Friend or Guitar Center DO sound remarkably well for something so cheap. Action's always too high though.

[freedomlover]

I have one of those plastic Martins that I bought just for keeping in the car and playing whenever and wherever.

The best guitar is the one you have in your lap.

[central_va]

[AnAmericanMother]

Yep, the plastic Martin is my 'travel guitar'. I don't dare take my D-19 any place it might get hurt.

(that's not a typo. It's a D-18 with a stained top)

[null and void]

[AnAmericanMother]

LOL! I've seen that in American Heritage magazine.

Here's what it sounds like: Silent Night

[Roccus]

But there's a reason most of these instruments passed out of use . . . .

I'm a little late to the party, but oh well....
I like classical music. Don't know much about it, but I enjoy it. I once bought a tape of the Brandenburg Concerto played on original instruments and found the mechanical sounds (clicking, clacking etc) to be disturbing.

[afraidfortherepublic]

Is there anything you don’t do?

[AnAmericanMother]

Part of that is bad miking. The real offender with the clicking and clacking is the harpsichord -- not because the sound of the action is all that loud, but because the sound of the strings is so soft, and they mike it too close to try to get something to amplify. Low tension strings and a small sound box mean that a harpsichord really is a chamber music instrument -- it was meant for somebody's parlor and a gathering of friends, not huge modern concert halls.

There was an effort to build louder harpsichords back in the 60s and 70s - the Zuckerman kit was an example. However, they lost both the sound AND the touch of a real harpsichord. I played some of these Frankenstein monsters when I was shopping for my harpsichord, and they have all of the disadvantages of a piano without having any of the advantages!

If you'll give the Early Music folks another try with a recent recording from Christopher Hogwood's Academy of Ancient Music, or Jeremy Barlow's Broadside Band for early popular music (e.g. Playford's English Dancing Master), I think you'll be surprised at how far the recording quality (and the performance quality) has come.

[AnAmericanMother]

Well . . . I don't play the violin (my daughter does). I also don't jump out of perfectly good airplanes! < g >

[colorado tanker]

Most of them are difficult to play and take real dedication.

Unlike my air guitar?

[AnAmericanMother]

LOL! Long as you don’t sprain a wrist . . . .

[ApplegateRanch]

Pining for the pings. Pinging for the pines.

I suffer pangs hearing freezing pines ping, while listening to Pink sing punk and sipping a piping pint of pekoe, plonked in front of the 'puter.

Gotta love the Middle Ages.

I did, but I fear I'll never see them again.

Alas, Seniornility!

[PureSolace]

personally, I like the clickity clacking of a harpsichord. To me, that’s what makes the instrument fun.