I had forgotten about the Dowland quote which indicates that
'some' strings, not 'all kinds' as Martin infers
were colored. Since strings were known only by their place of
manufacture, i.e., Romans, Pistoia, Bologna, etc.
perhaps some enterprising maker added dye to the bath to
distinguish his strings from those of others, or,
to distinguish one type of torsion from another. But to leap to
the conclusion that they were loading
the strings in some way is stretching the evidence to say the least.
From: "Anthony Hind" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Martin Shepherd" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>;
<[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, June 04, 2008 2:46 AM
Subject: [LUTE] Re: [LUTE] Re: Double headed 12c/loaded/Demi-filé
Le 4 juin 08 à 10:40, Martin Shepherd a écrit :
Dear All,
Dowland (VLL, 1610, sig.Dv.) says:
"Some strings there are which are coloured, out of which choose
the lightest colours, viz. among the Greene choose the Sea-water,
of Red the Carnation, and of Blew the Watchet."
At this point he is talking about strings in general, not just
bass strings, so it seems that all kinds of strings were made in
different colours. I assume he recommends the lightest colours
because a dark colour would make it harder to assess the quality
of the string, but he doesn't say so explicitly.
Martin
I have a brown Venice which is just as good as the lighter yellow
one. I actually prefer it for the appearance, but not the sound. It
is true that colour is not a proof alone of anything. Indeed, loading
can also result in various colours, but it sounds unlikely that this
is exactly what Dowland is speaking about here.
Nevertheless, this does seem to imply that string makers were
experimenting in dyeing strings, and if that is so it is even more
likely that they would have thought of using recipes designed, by the
dyeing trade, for leathers, and these certainly did include dyeing
with oxides (a form of loading), even if it might not have been
called so.
As I said previously, the leather dyeing trade in Italy (where these
recipes were definitely applied) was situated in the same region from
where the centre of the powerful string guild was situated (whose
tentacles were to spread to Munich, to Spain, to Lyons and even
Paris).
If the string makers were trying out the various effects of dyeing
strings, it seems probable that they would have tried these out. If
they liked the effect they would have commercialized them.
That does not necessarily mean that they did.
However, Mace, in his time, does say that Pistoys dyed red, are the
best. He could just be partial to the colour (I do like the
appearance of those red strings), but it seems more likely that the
effect the dyeing process had on these strings was what made him
prefer them. As red dye on leather, was at that time brought about by
a metal salt, it is at least plausible that an oxide was involved.
I do agree that we can't just choose to give importance to Mace, and
just to ignore Dowland, just because the one seems to confirm what we
are looking for; but there may not be such a contradiction, if we
consider that there was a period of intense experimentation in
colouring processes on strings, but that the results initially, were
not all particularly significant. Confronted with the variable
results of these experiments, Dowland might have adopted the
practical method of choice that you are suggesting, for the reason
you suggest.
However, string colour is not the main argument in favour of the
existence of loading, although, it is perhaps the most attractive, as
you can hope to actually see the trace of them in a painting,
especially if they all happen to be bass register strings. It is,
indeed, striking when you see the colour of a loaded string so like
that of a string in a painting. However, a more conclusive proof,
other than finding a "fossilized" loaded string, would perhaps be
finding details about a stock of red oxide, in the inventory of a
string maker's atelier.
Anthony
Best wishes,
Martin
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