I'd heard a similar story some years ago but then the culprit was
mercuric oxide (also dangerous and absorbable through the skin) which
is also red/brown.
Peruffo mentioned it when he was researching his concept of loaded
strings - effectively reducing the diameter for the same mass p. u.
length to favour more upper harmonics. The same brilliant
characteristic may, as you say, also be the reason for thinner, but
still as tense, violin first strings.
Peruffo's pdf here contains some good pics of lutes with coloured
strings - mostly red.
[1]http://ricerche.aquilacorde.com/wp-content/uploads/liuto-en.pdf
MH
__________________________________________________________________
From: AJN <arthurjn...@verizon.net>
To: sauvag...@orange.fr; lutesm...@gmail.com; lute@cs.dartmouth.edu
Cc: ckolczyn...@bpl.org
Sent: Sunday, 29 May 2016, 14:26
Subject: [LUTE] Re: Red string
It has been many years (20 +++) since I heard an explanation about
the
red strings. It was (iirc) from a person at an agriculture college
up
in
New Brunswick. He apparently had been researching the history of gut
strings.
The red ones were loaded with arsenic (!!!). A top string loaded with
arsenic might be comparable to the modern violin's
metal e-string. To produce a brilliant sound. Musical string
research
is difficult because the
makers didn't want to reveal trade secrets. And would you buy a
string
with arsenic? As I recall the most detailed explanation of musical
string manufacture
is in Diderot's encyclopedia. Here's a
picture:
[1][2]http://quod.lib.umich.edu/d/did/did2222.0001.398/--gut-stri
ng-maker?rgn=main;view=fulltext
The following video just explains the mechanics. Mimmo Peruffo is
the
proprietor of Aquila strings. He must have seen the Diderot drawing.
He started when he found some string making machinery in an old barn.
You can see the Mimmo's old winding machines here:
[2][3]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wRQq_0VM1
10
On 05/28/16, Valery SAUVAGE<[3][4]sauvag...@orange.fr> wrote:
If you look at "l'homme au luth" (Rubens ? Troyes museum St Loup)
you can see some strings are red too, and not only basses... (but I
have no asnwer about it, copper loading is understandable for bass
strings but treble ?)
[4][5]http://lavie-enchampagne.com/pdf/numero75/numero75.pdf
(perhaps you can find a better photo of the painting ?)
ValA(c)ry
> Message du 28/05/16 16:46
> De : "Sean Smith" <[5][6]lutesm...@gmail.com>
> A : "lute list" <[6][7]lute@cs.dartmouth.edu>
> Copie A :
> Objet : [LUTE] Red string
>
>
> Good morning all,
>
> I was impressed this painting:
>
[7][8]http://www.fondationcustodia.fr/ununiversintime/1_meester_van_de_
jar
en_veertig_4494.cfm
>
> I appreciate that the artist was very attentive so I started
zooming around with the magnifier. I noticed that while the spacing
is unrealistic the top string was red. I hadn't heard about this
from our modern string revivalists so I'm curious. What do you think
it might be?
>
> Sean
>
>
>
> To get on or off this list see list information at
> [8][9]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
>
--
References
1.
[10]http://quod.lib.umich.edu/d/did/did2222.0001.398/--gut-string-maker
?rgn=main;view=fulltext
2.
[11]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wRQq_0VM110
3. mailto:[12]sauvag...@orange.fr
4. [13]http://lavie-enchampagne.com/pdf/numero75/numero75.pdf
5. mailto:[14]lutesm...@gmail.com
6. mailto:[15]lute@cs.dartmouth.edu
7.
[16]http://www.fondationcustodia.fr/ununiversintime/1_meester_van_de_ja
r
8. [17]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/
--
References
1. http://ricerche.aquilacorde.com/wp-content/uploads/liuto-en.pdf
2. http://quod.lib.umich.edu/d/did/did2222.0001.398/--gut-stri
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wRQq_0VM110
4. mailto:sauvag...@orange.fr
5. http://lavie-enchampagne.com/pdf/numero75/numero75.pdf
6. mailto:lutesm...@gmail.com
7. mailto:lute@cs.dartmouth.edu
8. http://www.fondationcustodia.fr/ununiversintime/1_meester_van_de_jar
9. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
10.
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/d/did/did2222.0001.398/--gut-string-maker?rgn=main;view=fulltext
11. https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wRQq_0VM110
12. mailto:sauvag...@orange.fr
13. http://lavie-enchampagne.com/pdf/numero75/numero75.pdf
14. mailto:lutesm...@gmail.com
15. mailto:lute@cs.dartmouth.edu
16. http://www.fondationcustodia.fr/ununiversintime/1_meester_van_de_jar
17. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/
