Old Musical Instruments & Modern Reproductions!

[Gurn Blanston]

Hi Gurn - thanks for the link - I've not been to that site but plenty of beautiful old wooden instruments, including some nice pics of barytons; also articles on the instruments which are played by members of the Orpheon Consort who seemed to have made some recordings - will need to check on Amazon or on the links at the site.  Dave

Dave, glad you liked it. Yes, it was the baryton pics that led me there. I am writing a couple of essays abut barytons right now and was randomly hunting for nice pix...

[Gurn Blanston]

Sorting through my lps while searching for albums related to the vinyl thread, I rediscovered this 3-record box set from Telefunken that provided some enjoyable afternoon listening today.

Canadian-born Bradford Tracey performs on instruments from the Fritz Neumeyer Collection of Historical Keyboard Instruments housed in Bad Krozingen Castle, constructed in 1579.

The recordings include pieces by Johann Kaspar Kerll (1627-1693), Johann Pachelbel (Ciacona in C, not Canon in D), Johann Joseph Flux (1660-1741), Georg Christoph Wagenseil (1715-1777), Giles Farnaby (1565-1640?), and harpsichord suites by Henry Purcell.

The photos in the enclosed booklet are somewhat lacking, but there is a wealth of background information on the instruments, the composers and the compositions. I've been unable to find these recordings in CD form so I don't know if they're available digitally.

Tony,
No, it is F-U-X I'm afraid, although one can avoid saying it like the naughty version by saying 'Fuchs' (fyooks rhymes with kooks). Anyway, Bradford Tracey. I haven't seen those LP's digitized yet, more's the pity, but I do have him playing some Haydn very nicely, some songs with tenor James Griffiths on an appropriate fortepiano. He is seemingly a very talented keyboardist.

[Szykneij]

Tony,
No, it is F-U-X I'm afraid, although one can avoid saying it like the naughty version by saying 'Fuchs' (fyooks rhymes with kooks). Anyway, Bradford Tracey. I haven't seen those LP's digitized yet, more's the pity, but I do have him playing some Haydn very nicely, some songs with tenor James Griffiths on an appropriate fortepiano. He is seemingly a very talented keyboardist.

Oops. Sorry for the typo. We all know Johann Joseph Flux was the man who invented the electronic capacitor necessary for time travel many years later.

[Gurn Blanston]

Oops. Sorry for the typo. We all know Johann Joseph Flux was the man who invented the electronic capacitor necessary for time travel many years later.

Indeed, the master of the useless tube!   

FWIW, I really didn't know that about Fux/Fuchs until I was reading an old journal from the Esterházy archives the other day and one of the singers names was Fux, but they put Fuchs in parentheses after it, this from 1765. So, live and learn, for me.

[SonicMan46]

Oops. Sorry for the typo. We all know Johann Joseph Flux was the man who invented the electronic capacitor necessary for time travel many years later.

OH - thought he invented the product below - still have some in the basement from the days I did a wee little copper pipe soldering - now we have a great plumbing service!  Dave 

[SonicMan46]

Canadian-born Bradford Tracey performs on instruments from the Fritz Neumeyer Collection of Historical Keyboard Instruments housed in Bad Krozingen Castle, constructed in 1579.

The recordings include pieces by Johann Kaspar Kerll (1627-1693), Johann Pachelbel (Ciacona in C, not Canon in D), Johann Joseph Flux (1660-1741), Georg Christoph Wagenseil (1715-1777), Giles Farnaby (1565-1640?), and harpsichord suites by Henry Purcell.

The photos in the enclosed booklet are somewhat lacking, but there is a wealth of background information on the instruments, the composers and the compositions. I've been unable to find these recordings in CD form so I don't know if they're available digitally.

Hi Tony - thanks for the above information; Bradford Tracey (1951-1987) - short bio HERE (cause of his early death not stated?); boy, he would have been a performer I'd like to be collecting - just checked Amazon USA w/ vinyl and some CD listings, such as the one below ($20 used on the MP) - Dave

P.S. just check the back cover of that CD - nearly all the same composers - could this be transfer?

 

[Gurn Blanston]

Hi Tony - thanks for the above information; Bradford Tracey (1951-1987) - short bio HERE (cause of his early death not stated?); boy, he would have been a performer I'd like to be collecting - just checked Amazon USA w/ vinyl and some CD listings, such as the one below ($20 used on the MP) - Dave

P.S. just check the back cover of that CD - nearly all the same composers - could this be transfer?

 

Surely it is, Dave. I need to check that out. FSM is such a fine label for obscurities like that. I have maybe 3 or 4 of their disks and they are all gems, as this one promises to be.

[Szykneij]

Hi Tony - thanks for the above information; Bradford Tracey (1951-1987) - short bio HERE (cause of his early death not stated?); boy, he would have been a performer I'd like to be collecting - just checked Amazon USA w/ vinyl and some CD listings, such as the one below ($20 used on the MP) - Dave

P.S. just check the back cover of that CD - nearly all the same composers - could this be transfer?

 

Yes -- Those are the tracks of the first record of the 3 LP set.

[Szykneij]

Hi Tony - thanks for the above information; Bradford Tracey (1951-1987) - short bio HERE (cause of his early death not stated?);

There's a more detailed bio here, Dave, but still no cause of death given.

http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/en/article/bradford-tracey-emc/

EDIT: Then again, it could be the same bio in a bigger font.   

[SonicMan46]

Thanks Guys - I went ahead and ordered the 'used' copy from the Amazon MP - may have been the last one there?

Also thanks for the link, I had found that one too but again no cause of death; well @ 36 y/o in 1987, my educated guess would be an accident, suicide, or AIDS?  But who knows - Dave

Surely it is, Dave. I need to check that out. FSM is such a fine label for obscurities like that. I have maybe 3 or 4 of their disks and they are all gems, as this one promises to be.

There's a more detailed bio here, Dave, but still no cause of death given.

http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/en/article/bradford-tracey-emc/

EDIT: Then again, it could be the same bio in a bigger font.   

[Bogey]

Per Dave:

Just got finished with this recording:



Always fun to read the notes on the history of both pieces.  I have to say that this Water Music definitely has a different sound than my Pinnock recording.  One reason why many of us enjoy multiple efforts on this board.  As I was looking through the notes on the period instrumentation (which they did a cruddy job of listing the musicians' weapons of choice), I noted for the Fireworks an instrument known as the "serpent" played by Douglas Yeo.  Pretty cool:





The American Serpent Players
Douglas Yeo, Craig Kridel, and Steven Silverstein



This one is known as the Anaconda!


Got to get Dave's (Sonic's) take on this bad boy....though I am sure he has already addressed it in another thread.   Not sure which made it onto this recording, but Yeo wrote a whole book on it and has a great page on the instrument!



http://www.yeodoug.com/serpent.html

[SonicMan46]

Thanks Bill - yet more additions to the wide variety of instruments from bygone years!  Dave

[Szykneij]

This afternoon, my wife and I attended an informal presentation by the above artist and other musicians in a small newly-opened venue not too far from our home -- a fascinating demonstration of a mid-20th century Baldwin grand piano, early 19th century  Broadwood and Sons square piano, and a double-manual harpsichord based on the popular 18th century Flemish style.
  Seated in arm's reach to the harpsichord, I was able to enjoy all the subtle nuances of sound that don't seem to be captured in even the best recordings. There was a lot of interesting discussion regarding the various tunings of the instruments and how those tunings related to the styles of music composed for each. Unfortunately, we had to leave before audience members were allowed to play them, but at least I was able to pick up a copy of the above CD before we exited.

[SonicMan46]

Renaissance Guitar - likely developed in Spain in the late 15th century although the vihuela remained a dominant instrument; this pre-Baroque guitar became popular elsewhere, particularly in France where an abundant amount of music was transposed/composed for the instrument.  Although variations existed, a common arrangement was 4 courses of strings w/ 3 duplicated and one single, thus a total of 7 strings - below is a pic of a Renaissance guitar w/ 7 strings and their grouping; apparently moveable gut frets were used (SOURCE). 

Based on a recommendation from Que in the listening thread, I just received the CD below - Michael Craddock performing on a Renaissance guitar (reproduction built by Larence K. Brown, 1989) - the other image shows Craddock w/ his instrument which is rather small and has a much lighter sound that a standard guitar (or vihuela); the music is a compilation of three French composers w/ works from the 16th century.



 

[Que]

Now I see the pictures - indeed, it is small! But with a delicate sound, I think. Cute.

Q

[SonicMan46]

Now I see the pictures - indeed, it is small! But with a delicate sound, I think. Cute. :

Hi Que - that 'cute' comment got me thinking when looking at the pic of Michael Craddock - kind of reminded me of a long ago American entertainer named Arthur Godfrey who played a 4-string ukulele - size of the instrument is similar, plus their appearances are kind of the same - LOL!  Dave

[Szykneij]

apparently moveable gut frets were used

These were often set slightly "flat" to compensate for any pitch distortion created by the stretching of the gut string over the fret.

Hi Que - that 'cute' comment got me thinking when looking at the pic of Michael Craddock - kind of reminded me of a long ago American entertainer named Arthur Godfrey who played a 4-string ukulele - size of the instrument is similar, plus their appearances are kind of the same - LOL!  Dave

My mother was a big fan of Arthur Godfrey and a regular viewer of his TV show during the 1950s. There is a picture of me somewhere as a very young boy strumming an "official" Arthur Godfrey ukelele. I wish I still had it!

[SonicMan46]

These were often set slightly "flat" to compensate for any pitch distortion created by the stretching of the gut string over the fret.

My mother was a big fan of Arthur Godfrey and a regular viewer of his TV show during the 1950s. There is a picture of me somewhere as a very young boy strumming an "official" Arthur Godfrey ukelele. I wish I still had it!

Hi Tony - thanks for the comments; I use to watch the Godfrey show w/ my parents who were fans - Arthur even had red hair kind of like Craddock in the color image.

I know there is a pic of Susan as a teen strumming a ukelele on my home computer but we're on a short vacation now (northern AL & TN, i.e. Florence & Nashville - will visit Muscle Shoals & the new, or moved, Country Music Hall of Fame; plus a 'side trip' tomorrow to the Shiloh Battlefield to satisfy my Civil War buff habit!) - Dave

[Moonfish]

Thanks for the pointer Dave! This does indeed seem to be a wonderful topic (and, yes, I very much enjoy the sound of older instruments). I will make sure to peruse this thread later on tonight. Thanks for starting it! 

[SonicMan46]

Thanks for the pointer Dave! This does indeed seem to be a wonderful topic (and, yes, I very much enjoy the sound of older instruments). I will make sure to peruse this thread later on tonight. Thanks for starting it! 

Hi Peter - welcome to the Old Instrument thread - I'm sure that you'll enjoy - plenty of great information & pics here - Dave