On a slightly more serious note, the Strad Magazine ( http://strad.cozio.com/ ) has archives that go back to 1890. I wasn't quite ready at 10:30 pm PST (& 1/2 bottle of cheap Zin under my belt) to register with them, log in, and then do a search- but maybe there are some answers there. More tomorrow, I hope....
Dan On Jan 10, 2012, at 9:40 PM, Daniel Winheld wrote: > When did they change from gut saws? > > On Jan 10, 2012, at 1:49 PM, EUGENE BRAIG IV wrote: > >> Alright, traveling more and more remotely to the original discussion, but >> Crumb is wacky. I think it's interesting that "Ancient Voices..." makes >> such frequent appearances in music appreciation and history courses in North >> America just because it is so wacky. I don't know if other "sonorists" >> serve as more frequent examples off the continent. I've actually performed >> "Ancient Voices..." several times. It calls for a pianist to play toy >> piano, boy soprano singing softly off stage or singing directly into the >> frame of a piano, all performers periodically shouting, etc. >> >> In addition to mandolin (with one string of each course detuned 1/4 step and >> sometimes played "bottleneck" style with a slide), the mandolinist is called >> upon to play the musical saw with a cello bow. One mandolinist friend >> complained about cutting himself in prepping for a performance. Another >> mandolinist friend retorted "I have a bit of advice. Play the side without >> the teeth!" Personally, I don't believe I ever got close to the pitches >> notated for saw. The best I could do is generally follow the "melody" up or >> down. Bowed saw isn't much like any lutey kin. >> >> Eugene >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: Christopher Wilke <chriswi...@yahoo.com> >> Date: Tuesday, January 10, 2012 3:43 pm >> Subject: [LUTE] Re: tuning fork at 433Hz? >> To: "lute@cs.dartmouth.edu" <lute@cs.dartmouth.edu>, EUGENE BRAIG IV >> <brai...@osu.edu> >> >>> Eugene, >>> >>> --- On Tue, 1/10/12, EUGENE BRAIG IV <brai...@osu.edu> wrote: >>> >>>> In the song cycle "Ancient >>>> Voices of Children", George Crumb asks >>>> the mandolin be played with a >>>> metal paper clip in stead of a plectrum >>>> of more typical material: >>>> plastics, tortoiseshell, etc. His >>>> intent was to generate as sharply >>>> metallic a sound as possible. >>> >>> Getting off topic here, but it's fun anyway. Crumb is a very >>> interesting composer with an obsession for timbre and special >>> effects. In "Songs, Drones and Refrains of Death," he >>> calls outrageous techniques, like calling for the percussionist >>> to beat on the strings of both the electric guitar and the >>> acoustic bass with soft mallets. At various points, all of >>> the instrumentalists have to whisper, speak, sing, hum and >>> shout. The electric guitarist also has to double on jaw >>> harp. At one point, the singer, using a megaphone, must >>> vocalize into a piano while the pianist depresses the pedal, >>> creating sympathetic resonance. The pianist also doubles >>> on amplified harpsichord. I performed this piece a few >>> times. Quite a lot of fun. >>> >>> There is a whole school of mostly Eastern European composers >>> active after WWII that make much use of similar effects. >>> The label that has been applied to them is "sonorist". >>> Zbigniew Granat, my colleague at Nazareth College where I teach, >>> is an expert in the study of these composers. >>> >>> Chris >>> >>> >>> Christopher Wilke D.M.A. >>> Lutenist, Guitarist and Composer >>> www.christopherwilke.com >>> >>> >>> >>> To get on or off this list see list information at >>> http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html >> >> > > >
