Review

Author(s): Bo Lawergren
Review by: Bo Lawergren
Source: The Galpin Society Journal, Vol. 35 (Mar., 1982), pp. 164-169
Published by: Galpin Society
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/841247
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instrumente(1967). Thus there are two pages of drawings with dimensions
marked, another music example, and two fresh photographs.A small error in
the drawing on p. 92 of the Handbuch is corrected (five holes, not four).
Incidentallythe word gaita (gajd,etc.) here turns up for the third time in the
volume. Both Alexandre (article 2, above) and Sirosi (in the Handbuch)
tentatively trace it to Arabic, as many have done before; but surely the word
is Germanic, from a Frankishwahta, Old Frenchgaite (watchman) whence,
through Norman, Engl. 'waits' and, through Spanish, the Maghreb Arab
ghaita, etc., and not the other way round. By what route, then, did the word
reach Greece and northwards?(see Picken, 549). PerhapsSefior Mere has hit
upon it correctly (review, GSJ XXXI, 175).
(2.) 'Die Sackpfeife Italiens', Marianne Br6ckner (Bonn). (In German.)
A long, exhaustive and up-to-date study. (First a small mystery, since some
years ago a notable dissertation on the hurdy-gurdy named as its author
Marianne Bricker, also of Bonn-review, GSJ XXIX, p. 140, and see also
Christopher Page's contribution to the present number-and I had the
privilege of meeting her, named so, at the IFMC Conference at Regensburg,
1975.) Only a few major points in her present article can be mentioned.
Firstly,it is strongly emphasizedthat before the I7th century the zampogna is
shown with two short, equal-length chanters,and no drones. I totally missed
this point (Bagpipes,p. 102) when bringing in English 15th-I6th-centuryrepre-
sentationsof somewhat similarinstruments.The next question is whether the
zampogna subsequentlychanged under influenceof the sordellina,or not. This
is wisely left open while proceeding to a third point, the reeds. In GSJ XXIX
Jensen and Andersendescribeda small bagpipe from Calabriawith cylindrical
chantersand single reeds. More recently, Roberta Tucci has trackeddown and
recorded (La Zampognain Calabria)further cylindrical-chanter,single-reed
species. Finally, the author of the present paper obtained in Sicily (Messina
province) a new-made (1976) zampogna with faintly conical chanters and
provided with single reeds throughout. On the whole she concludes that
double reeds may have been the oldest, while the single are easierto make and
may give a softer sound. Turning to the use and the music, she quotes (with
examples) referencesto zampognari tunes in concert music, and among them,
from Messiahboth the Pastoral Symphony (with first phrase rising from the
tonic) and also 'He shall feed his flock' (descending to the tonic, as also in
examples from Spohr and Berlioz). ANTHONY BAINES

TheBritishMuseumYearbook 4: MusicandCivilisation.
Ed.T. C. Mitchell,The
BritishMuseum,London,1980.247 pp. 173illns.
The BritishMuseumowns many significantand handsomeinstruments,
extantandin representation. Someof thosearediscussedby peopleof varying
degreesof expertisein this lavishlyproducedbook. I shallconsiderherethe
chaptersthatdealwith instruments perse.However,I cannothelpbutmention
two of the mast seductivelywrittenchapters[The Wind-Bands in England,
1540-184oby the late EdwardCroft-Murray and MusicandGold-Weights in
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Asanteby M. D. Mcleod] although they are mainly concerned with the social
circumstancesof instruments.The Asante society, we learn, maintainedcom-
plex regulationsabout music and its relationsto the essentialsof life (war, food,
sex). Meanwhile, back in England, wind-bands occupied a considerable
position in the fabric of society. Mr. Croft-Murray, in dealing with the fine
British Museum print collection, shows how the subjectmatter changed from
royal pomp (processions,coronations, funerals) to street entertainmentsover
a spanof two hundredyears.Between 1820 and 1845 George ScharfI wandered
the streets of London and drew English bands (top hats) and long haired
German wind players (green and red felt caps). Now we know how they
looked. We may not know how they sounded but Henry Mayhew recorded
[LondonLabourand the LondonPoor, vol. 3, pp. 163-4] what they thought of
each other. Englishman: 'German bands injure our trade much. They'll play
for half what we ask. They are very mean, feed dirtily ... I don't know any-
thing about their morals, excepting they don't drink'. German: 'We play
sheaperzan ze English, and we don't spent so much. Ze English playersinsult
us ... but ze London beer is very goot'. Mr. Croft-Murraywrites with learned
delight in his topic and the result is very good indeed.
The first five chaptersof the book discuss instrumentsfrom ancient civil-
isations.Of course,knowledge is scantbut that should be no excuse for bringing
us some very questionablereconstructionsof ancientinstrumentsand awarding
them prominent display in the book. In The Lute in Ancient Mesopotamia
Dominique Collon and Anne Draffkorn Kilmer examine two cylinder seals
from about 2300 to 2200 BC in the museum collection. Judging from the
figures in the book, the soundbox of these long-necked lutes cannot be seen
more than in outline (it is approximatelyoval with the size of a hand). Never-
theless, it is said that the soundbox 'seems perforated'.The basisfor the recon-
struction (figs. I1-12) is not explained but, clearly, the lute is absurd.It consists
of a guitar-like instrument with a waist, a wooden top on a flat-bottomed
soundbox, a narrow bridge and a flat fingerboardjoined to its long neck.
Surely, nothing is known about materialsand construction of lutes from this
date. We know, however, that when lutes with very similar outline appeared
in Egypt (about 1500 BC) they had skin-covered soundboxes, there was no
bridge (narrow violin-type bridges as in the reproduction did not appear in
iconographicmaterialuntil about 700 Bc) and no specialfingerboard.If repro-
ductions are to be put on rational footing, one should resort to the nearest
availableinformation, in this case the ancient Egyptian lute.
Another article, on the playing technique of Greek lyres in the 6th and 5th
centuriesBCby Helen Roberts, featuresreconstructionsof the Lyra, Barbiton
and Concert Kithara. In these cases one can derive quite an accuratepicture
about the instruments from many detailed Athenian vase paintings supple-
mented by three dimensional evidence from coins, seals, gems, large scale
reliefs and also a partiallypreservedLyra in the British Museum. The recon-
structionsdisagreewith that evidence.
The Lyra has incorrect attachment between the yoke and the arms. The
extant specimen in BM clearly shows that the top of the round arms were

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 flattened-back and front-and inserted through two oblong holes cut near
the ends of the yoke. The present reconstructionomits the holes. Actually, a
children's book, Everydaythingsin ArchaicGreeceby Marjorie and C. H. B.
Quennell, had that detail right in I93I.
The tuning mechanism is also misunderstood.Lyres from Homeric times,
Dr Roberts rightly states, had strings attached to leather straps which were
wound to form collars around the yoke. (Such tuning collarsare still used on
the Burmese harp, on the Kora etc.) However, in footnote 28 we are told: 'the
pictorial evidence shows that this crude tuning device was already being
replacedin the sixth century by a more satisfactoryarrangementin the form
of oblong pegs'. This is incorrect. First, the old fashioned tuning mechanism
was not necessarilyunsatisfactory.I recently had the occasion to measure the
tuning ability of the Gambian Kora player Mr. Alhaji Bai Konte. He was
asked to detune one string and then to tune it back to the original pitch.
According to the strobe-tuner, he succeeded within one cent. His tuning
device was very similar to the leather strap available to the ancient Greeks.
There is no reason to believe they were less competent musicians. Secondly,
the pictorial evidence does not show clear pegs until Roman times, after
200ooBc. During the 6th and 5th centuries the tuning contraption is shown to
have a height less than 4 cm., i.e. consistentwith the size of collarsfound today
on Africanlyres. Occasionally,both in Black Figure and Red Figure vases, the
painters cross-hatchedthe collar areas to show that the straps were braided.
When the rods eventually appeared,they were long (Io cm. at least) as they
still are on the EthiopianBaganna.Dr Roberts tries to back her reconstruction
by appealing to Pseudo-Aristotle (his I4th mechanical problem concerns the
tuning mechanism) but he declines to lend his support since his term kollopes
can mean either collar or rod judging from the mechanicsinvolved.
The reconstructionsare unconvincing in other ways too. Generallythe thick
dimensions make the instruments seem clumsy compared with the elegant
lyres known from vase paintings; the bridges are fairly narrow although vases
mostly show wide, asymmetrical bridges on Concert Kitharas,i.e. like the
Baganna bridge-maybe resultingin the rattling sound of the latter. Consider,
finally, the flattened central ridge on the back of the reconstructedConcert
Kithara. There is ample evidence that the back, in fact, consisted of two
bevelled planesjoined to form a sharpedge running down the centre. Such a
Kithara back can be seen on a Parthenon frieze, on seal impressionsand on
coins in mint condition. However, the present reconstructionappearsto be
based on a British Museum coin where the back edge has been gnawed flat by
the tooth of time. (It is better to rely on carved seals; here protruding levels
project into the stone and run less risk of being obliterated.)
A hundred years ago Karl von Jahn's book Die GriechischeSaiteninstrumente
described the construction and playing technique of the ancient Greek lyres
supportedby literaryand pictorialevidence and drew attention to the similarity
between the lyres of the ancient Greeks and those in north-eastern Africa.
Sachs popularizedthe idea (in History of Musical Instruments)and examined
the playing technique of typical Africanlyres, e.g. the Kerarof Ethiopia.They
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 are played with the right hand plectrum strumming acrossall the stringswhile
the left hand has a double function: the wrist supportsthe lyre by means of a
strap while the fingers dampen selected strings, letting others sound. (The
technique was documented in El Tanburby Gwendolyn Plumley who also
found left hands plucking in harp-fashion.)Sachs could have added that the
Baganna is played differently: individual strings are picked (undamped) with
the right hand plectrum; becauseof the peculiaritiesof the bridge, mentioned
above, the sound sustainsfor a considerabletime until it is damped by the left
hand (usually before another string is picked). It is also possible for the left
fingers to touch the strings at harmonic node points. Which way was the left
hand used in ancient Greece?Unfortunately, there is no way of judging from
vase paintings: the three above mentioned left hand techniques all look the
same. Iconographic material is, by nature, ambiguous when it comes to des-
cribing a continuous series of events such as the coordinated movements of
two hands around the strings.
Some vases show a plectrum in the left hand and a drinking vessel in the
outstretchedright hand. Of course, this does not necessarilyimply that the left
hand is playing (with a plectrum) to accompany the reception of a libation
drink. More likely, and more prosaically,we see a right handed player who
momentarily has stopped playing while he is given a drink. With this in mind
I find the main theses of the chaptersomewhat amazing: (I) left hands played
(with plectrum) whenever players received libation (will future researchers
conclude that violinists habitually bowed with the left hand while shaking
handswith conductors?);(2) left handspluckedand righthandsrestedwhenever
players sang; (3) there was extensive play on string harmonics.In my opinion
there is no decisive evidence for any of this from vase paintings. The article
admits that 'left hand plucking . .. is not fully corroboratedby the pictorial
evidence'. As furtherevidence we are shown a singing player, 'his mouth open
in song'; in my copy his lips are tightly squeezed together. Another player
'who can be seen from his closed lips to be engaged in solo instrument
playing' has the widest parted lips of any of the 32 ancients illustratedin the
article.
Nor is the literaryevidence unambiguous.To backthe assertionthatthe right
hand never played during song, referenceis made to Plato and a commentator
on Cicero. The date of the latter is more than 400 years after the event. The
authority on literary sources of Greek music, Dr R. P. Winnington-Ingram,
scrutinizedthis source [ClassicalQuarterlyvi (1956), p. 183, n. 6] for the same
purpose and concluded that the commentator is 'not being so informative as
we could wish'. Plato gives several examples of what he considers bad music
but right hand accompanimentto song is not one of them. Neither reference
lends much support to the thesis. If one may judge the state of researchon the
basis of this article, it would appear that we have not moved far from von
Jahn on the centenary of his article.
Another major articleconcernsthe Gitternin the BritishMuseum, one of the
earliest preserved European string instruments as well as one of the most
intricately carved ones. Dr Mary Remnant has already produced quite a few

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articleson the Gitternand here she sets out to give 'an outline of the develop-
ment of the guitar up to c.Isio'. There follows the set of pictures (the Utrecht
psalter, the Cantigasde Santa Maria, Santiagode Compostela,etc.) that usually
adorn surveys of string instrument history be it Guitars, Lutes, Gitterns or
whatever. Reference to some of the earliersurveysis given in the bibliography
but few are otherwise acknowledged. As a matter of fact, one keeps wishing
the article was based on more careful reading of earlier, related, work. Why
is the ancient Egyptian lute still called 'nefer' twenty years after Farmer[New
Oxford History of Music, I, p. 273] showed the name to be erroneous?Why
is there not the slightest indication that the Gittern might be related to the
Cittern nineteen years after Winternitz [Journalof the Warburgand Courtauld
Institutes,XXIV, No. 3-4] pointed to the significanceof the shoulder bulges
on the instrumentbody and the hook which bends back at the top of the neck?
(Surely, the lower part of the neck of the Gittern,underneaththe thumb-hole,
can be considereda 'hook' extending between the peg-box and the body.)
Like many others, Dr Remnant starts with a definition of a guitar (flat
bottom, waisted body, etc.) and finds picturesor statuesof ancient instruments
possessingone or more of these features. (The Sphinx Gate at Alaca HSyiik,
1460-1190 BC, shows the first guitar because it is a long-necked lute with
waisted outline, runs the argument.) This approachseems to imply that these
major instrumenttypes were created,or introducedto Europe, fairly suddenly
(a 'creationist'position in contemporary parlance).It seems to me that some
features may have had a more continuous history. Different characteristics
appear to emerge at different points in time. Such a property as the waisted
outline comes and goes. Egyptian shoulderharps,for example, were waisted
in 1500ooBC while other types of harps and lutes were not. Another guitar
feature,the flat back, was typical of all lyres prior to 600 Be. The prow-shaped
back of the Gittern is found, for the first time, on the Greek Concert Kithara
discussedabove; this back (two nearly flat planes tilted symmetrically to join
as a ridge in the middle) was transferredto Roman lyres. The correspondence
between the Gittern/Citternand Kitharastends to support Winternitz' argu-
ment.) A separateneck joined to a thin-walled body is typical of later plucked
instruments.The underlying technology [Harvey Turnbull: The Genesis of
Carvel-Built Lutes; MusicaAsiaticaI, 1977, 75-84] may have a history quite
independantof other guitar features.
The way the article is written this Gittern seems unique. If the history of
each characteristicfeature had been traced, the instrumentwould have found
its natural niche. To be sure, it would be necessary to document side- and
back-views of the more complete sculpted instruments.
Dr Edith Porada writes about an Elamite cylinder seal which depicts an
angular harp. Professor Porada's concise and lucid account is a bonus to the
book. Its editor, T. C. Mitchell, is also an alert curator.He noticed that one of
the angular harps on the vast bas-reliefsfrom Nineveh made little sense: the
suspensionrod was missing and the ptringswere hanging in mid-air. It turned
out the crucial part had been broken off last century. A fancyful restorerthen
created the phoney harp with plaster fillings. It remained on public display
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for over one hundred years and appearedin learned books. Will the fancy
reconstructionsof this book have a shorter life? BO LAWERGREN

TheOrganYearbook Vol.X, 1979:(PeterWilliamsed.): 191 pp., 40 platesin

text andmusicalexamples:FritsKnuf,Buren,Netherlands.
By some mischanceor oversightthe 1979numberof TheOrganYearbook
has so far escapednoticein thisjournal.It is not, however,too late to draw
attentionto the importantstudiesit contains.The OrganYearbookis a poly-
glot mediumfor the publicationof keyboardscholarship generally,evenif the
organdominates.Morethanone brandof Englishmay be foundin it, andthe
readercannotalwaysfeel quitesurewhethera contributorhasusedlanguage
apt to expressthe exactmeaningintendedwhen Englishis not the writer'sor
translator'smothertongue,but ambiguitiescanalwaysbe clearedup; publica-
tion of the studiesis the importantthing.
Vol. X containsa numberof notablearticles.EdwardJ.Soehnlein's carefully
researched studyof the Artof Registrationc.I6Io with particular referenceto
Dirutaandhiscontemporaries showsthateveryagehasits theorists,convinced
thattheirchosenway shouldbe strictlyfollowedevenwhenchangingpractice
hasalreadyleft thembehindthe timesin whichtheywrote.Any articleon the
organsof EasternEuropeis to be welcomed,and one may hope for future
accountsmore comprehensivethanJerzy Golos'sinterestingnote on Some
RareTechnicalFeaturesfoundin the HistoricOrgansof Poland.WilliamD.
Gudgerdealsin detailwithWalsh'sarrangements forsolokeyboardof Handel's
organ concertos, and Nicholas Temperleygives particularswell set out for
handyreferenceof organsin parishchurchesin the City of London,Yorkshire
andDorsetpre-I830.An accountof wire-drawingfor harpsichords by W. R.
ThomasandJ.J. K. Rhodeswill afforda new technicalinsightforreaderswho
arenot specialistsin thisfield.
An extensivereviewsectionis included,anda simplereadingof the record
reviewspresentsa pictureof the diversityof stylesand influencesin organ
playingacrossEuropeat thepresenttime.Outof 57 separate reviews,of music,
booksandrecords,all but four appearover the initialsof the editor:a wider
rangeof reviewers,andthusof viewpoints,wouldhavegiven a broader,and
perhapsfairer,assessment of the matterreviewed. E. A. K. RIDLEY

MARGARET CAMPBELL: The GreatViolinists. Paul Elek, GranadaPublishing,

LondonI980,xxix + 366pp., blackandwhite plates.
A delightfulbook;oncestarted,hardto put down.It is for everyone,which
is why a non-violinist(but ardentlover of the violin) is here presumingto
reviewit. A puffon thejacketcomesfromno lessthanNathanMilstein,one
of the twenty-threegreat violinistswho has a chapterto himself,portrait
included.He says,'Forthe firsttime everthe historyof violin-playingandits
changingstylesis told throughthe lives of virtuosoperformers'.'Lives'are
naturallyeasierto describein vivid wordsthan'styles'.Yet the book conveys
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