Old Musical Instruments & Modern Reproductions!

Started by SonicMan46, March 14, 2009, 02:29:05 PM

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SonicMan46

Just left a post quoted below in the 'Listening Thread' on a new acquisition, i.e. a 3-CD set of [g]Vivaldi[/b] Oboe Concertos played on a reproduction instrument made in 2008 by Pau Orriols after a 1720 original - likely similar to the one at the bottom of the quote (click on the image for an enlargement, if interested).

Additional pics immediately below of the instrument maker (on the left) and a portion of the period instrument group L'Arte dell'Arco - really enjoying the sound of this wooden oboe!  Dave :)





QuoteVivaldi, Antonio - Oboe Concertos w/ Pier Luigi Fabretti on oboe & L'Arte dell'Arco - period instrument group; this set contains 3-CDs - I had just one CD of the 'Red Priest's' oboe concertos (all duplicated in the Brilliant set). 

Fabretti's oboe was made by Pau Orriols, Villanova i la Geltrú, 2008 after Thomas Standby Junior, c.1720 - found the pic below on the web, probably the same oboe but not sure who owns that one.  Dave :)




jochanaan

Looks like the oboe is made of boxwood, a dense, heavy wood but not nearly so much as grenadilla, the wood most modern oboes are made of.

I nearly bought a Baroque oboe once, but it was pitched at A415 and thus I would have only been able to play it with period-instrument groups.  Now I wish I had gotten it. :(
Imagination + discipline = creativity

SonicMan46

Quote from: jochanaan on November 13, 2015, 09:19:12 AM
Looks like the oboe is made of boxwood, a dense, heavy wood but not nearly so much as grenadilla, the wood most modern oboes are made of.

I nearly bought a Baroque oboe once, but it was pitched at A415 and thus I would have only been able to play it with period-instrument groups.  Now I wish I had gotten it. :(

Below a pic of some Maracaibo Boxwood oboes from HERE - same place that I bought a chalumeau back in the spring of 2013 (a few posts in this thread dating to March of that year; those shown are made from pearwood - there are some Baroque flutes on the website made from grenadilla (African blackwood, I believe) - not sure if our chalumeau is pearwood or boxwood?

Susan has not done much w/ the instrument to date - been concentrating on her piano & guitar playing - taking guitar lessons at the moment.  I've tried to blow that chalumeau w/ little success - there must be a trick to getting that reed to vibrate - any suggestions, links, etc.?  Dave :)


jochanaan

Quote from: SonicMan46 on November 13, 2015, 11:35:42 AM
...I've tried to blow that chalumeau w/ little success - there must be a trick to getting that reed to vibrate - any suggestions, links, etc.?  Dave :)
Try soaking the reed in water for about five minutes before you play.  I do that, and it helps.
Imagination + discipline = creativity

SonicMan46

Quote from: jochanaan on November 13, 2015, 04:20:27 PM
Try soaking the reed in water for about five minutes before you play.  I do that, and it helps.

Thanks - will give it a try!  Dave :)

Gurn Blanston

Well, this is a special sort of reproduction, of an instrument which was designed but never built. The designer was Da Vinci. It has the most amazing sound for a totally acoustic instrument that you ever heard, I must say. Check it out.

http://tinyurl.com/hhn8xz2



8)
Visit my Haydn blog: HaydnSeek

Haydn: that genius of vulgar music who induces an inordinate thirst for beer - Mily Balakirev (1860)

Que


SonicMan46

#287
Thanks Gurn for posting - believe that I've seen pics of da Vinci's drawings of this instrument but was unaware of this performance - I was looking @ the website and found some information of the time involved quoted below - WOW, like 200 days!  Just made a walnut spice rack for a friend which took me maybe 15 hours total over about a week.

Que's link to the CD is shown below - certainly a 'novelty' disc in a classical collection - wish listed or not?  :)  Dave

Quote"I have no idea what Leonardo da Vinci might think of the instrument I've made, but I'd hope he'd be pleased,'' said Zubrzycki, who spend three years and 5000 hours bringing da Vinci's creation to life."

 

SonicMan46

#288
Just a follow-up, I was searching Amazon USA using 'viola organista' in the CD section and the disc below 'popped up' - I own some CDs by this group but the barely legible writing on the top back states "A Concert of Renaissance Music played on instruments designed by Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)" - not sure what that means w/o seeing the liner notes?

ADDENDUM: found this LINK which should do a Google translation from Spanish to English - also just checked Spotify and the disc is available for listening, so will do later today.

 

Gurn Blanston

It certainly is an amazing thing. That Da Vinci guy musta been a GEEN-yus! I was delighted with the sound of the thing, I must say. Given the description of the depth of the project, including selecting and arranging proper music for it, 5000 hours seems just about right, I would say. Undoubtedly the project of this guy's life!

Novelty CD? Possibly, but if I was seriously into music of that time and space, I wouldn't let the choice of instrument put me off. :)

8)
Visit my Haydn blog: HaydnSeek

Haydn: that genius of vulgar music who induces an inordinate thirst for beer - Mily Balakirev (1860)

Brian

There's gotta be at least one GMGer who will fall in love with this VERY eccentric HIP album!


Karl Henning

Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

SonicMan46

Quote from: Brian on February 23, 2016, 06:37:41 AM
There's gotta be at least one GMGer who will fall in love with this VERY eccentric HIP album!

 

Hi Brian - I've heard of this instrument (pre-tuba?), but did not know much - so below just a few paragraphs from this Wiki Article w/ the pic added above of the 'family of ophicleides' from the same source.  Dave :)

QuoteThe ophicleide was invented in 1817 and patented in 1821 by French instrument maker Jean Hilaire Asté (also known as Halary or Haleri) as an extension to the keyed bugle or Royal Kent bugle family. It was the structural cornerstone of the brass section of the Romantic orchestra, often replacing the serpent, a Renaissance instrument which was thought to be outdated. Its long tubing bends back on itself, and it is played with a cupped mouthpiece similar to modern trombone and euphonium mouthpieces. It originally had nine keys, later expanded to as many as twelve keys, covering the large tone holes. Examples exist in E♭, C, B♭, and A♭ (soprano), F and E♭ (alto or quinticlave), B♭ and C (bass), and F or E♭ (contrabass). The most common members are the bass ophicleides pitched in B♭ or C. Soprano and contrabass instruments are very rare. Adolphe Sax and the modern maker Robb Stewart have built examples of soprano ophicleides an octave above the bass. Currently, only five contrabass ophicleides are known to exist. Three are in museums, and two are privately owned: one in Cooperstown, New York and one in Petaluma, California. Those in private hands were both made by Robb Stewart and are the only playable examples.

The ophicleide was eventually succeeded by the tuba, although it remained popular in Italy until the early twentieth century. The euphonium can also be called a successor instrument. One of the last great ophicleide players was the English musician Sam Hughes. There have been claims that the instrument was a direct ancestor of the saxophone: supposedly Adolphe Sax, while repairing an ophicleide, put a woodwind mouthpiece on the instrument and liked the sound, allegedly leading Sax to design and create a purpose-built instrument. However, this story is not considered plausible, since the developmental history of the saxophone is well documented and the ophicleide and saxophone are only superficially similar to each other in that both have a wide conical bore and large tone holes.

Gurn Blanston

It may be because I played the euphonium for 4 years in High School Band, but I have always found the ophicleide to be quite fascinating. I used to have a VHS (really!) tape of Gardiner/Orchestra Revolutionary and Romantic doing Berlioz' Symphony Fantastic, and the ophicleides and serpents in there were the hit of the show. :)

8)
Visit my Haydn blog: HaydnSeek

Haydn: that genius of vulgar music who induces an inordinate thirst for beer - Mily Balakirev (1860)

SonicMan46

Quote from: Gurn Blanston on February 23, 2016, 12:31:18 PM
It may be because I played the euphonium for 4 years in High School Band, but I have always found the ophicleide to be quite fascinating. I used to have a VHS (really!) tape of Gardiner/Orchestra Revolutionary and Romantic doing Berlioz' Symphony Fantastic, and the ophicleides and serpents in there were the hit of the show. :)

BOY - bought my first DVD player in the late 1990s, probably when their price in the USA fell below $500 (can't remember the exact year or the price) - went 'cold turkey' w/ VHS, donated the machine locally and got rid of all of my tapes (not a large number compared to my optical video discs collection now own).  Dave :)

SonicMan46

Old Viennese Guitar & Relationship to the CF Martin Guitar Company!

Now listening to the Diabelli Solo Guitar Sonatas w/ Anthony Glise on a period guitar by Johann Georg Stauf(f)er (1778-1853), Vienna, ca. 1828 - the guitar has gut strings and is tuned a half-step lower than used now, but apparently matched the concert pitch in early 19th century Vienna.

The guitar used on this recording was built in the Viennese shop of J.G. Staufer (link above) and is named l'Antonella, and is apparently quite ornate and may have been played by Diabelli?  I could not find a decent pic of that particular guitar but the one below is of another Staufer guitar from this same time.  Also, Christian Frederick Martin (1796-1873) trained in Vienna w/ Staufer before moving to the United States where he founded the C.F. Martin Guitar Company in 1833 - below an early American C.F. Martin guitar.  Dave :)
.
 

 

milk


This is a pretty horrible recording of what seems like quality music. But I couldn't find an image of an album called The Art of the Vihuela de Arco by the same artist, Fernando Marin. I don't know anything about the Vihuela de Arco. Some kind of relative of the Gamba?

milk


Mandryka

Quote from: milk on September 06, 2018, 12:08:49 AM

This is a pretty horrible recording of what seems like quality music. But I couldn't find an image of an album called The Art of the Vihuela de Arco by the same artist, Fernando Marin. I don't know anything about the Vihuela de Arco. Some kind of relative of the Gamba?

I'm not so negative about that recording, the sound of the bow on the string is well captured, almost visceral and sensual for me.  Marin has made several recordings with Nadine Balbeisi which I very much like.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

milk

Quote from: Mandryka on November 28, 2019, 07:17:26 AM
I'm not so negative about that recording, the sound of the bow on the string is well captured, almost visceral and sensual for me.  Marin has made several recordings with Nadine Balbeisi which I very much like.
i might try that again.  How about that psalterion recording?