Hi Shaun, Hi Martyn,
unfortunately I cannot say too much on this topic, at least for the 17th
century.
For sure wound strings had been available in the 18th century.
At least Frank Legl has found some accounts around 1750 in Munich, where
there are mentioned "halb umsponnene Saiten" (= half wound strings). I
think that he even told that these had been lute strings, but I'm not
sure at the moment.
If there had been half wound strings, there probably also were full
wound strings.
Another important source, though late, on all topics of life is Krünitz,
Oeconomische Encyclopädie. Probably it also depends on the encyclopedy
of Diderot and on other encyclopedys, for sure at least some things will
have been copied.
It has 242 volumes and describes many things very detailed.
He has big articles on the lute and on strings
Krünitz,
Artikel Laute (lute, vol. 66, p. 380ff, 1795)
1. Ein musikalisches Saiten=Instrument, von sehr angenehmen Klange, mit
hohlem und runden Bauche, langem und oben zurückgebogenen Halse, welches
mit 10, 12, bis 14, zuweilen auch nur mit 11 Darm=Saiten, die zuweilen
mit Silber=Draht besponnen sind, und mit beyden Händen geschlagen
werden, überzogen ist.
(= A musical string instrument with a very sweet sound ....
which is stringed with 10,12, up to 14, sometimes even only 11 gut
strings, that are sometimes wound with silver wire)
Artikel Saiten (strings, Vol. 130, p. 1822)
Man färbt die Saiten auch blau und roth; blau, indem man sie durch eine
kalte Brühe von Lackmus mit Potasche, roth, indem man sie durch den
Auszug der türkischen Schminklappen und Potasche durchzieht. Sowohl die
gefärbten, als die weißen Saiten werden nachher geschleimt, weil der
Schleim den Ton stumpf macht. Die blaugefärbten Saiten nehmen im
Schwefeln eine rothe Farbe an.
(Here he describes in detail how strings are made, the short part tells
how the strings had been colored blue with litmus and potash, and red
with turkish paint cloth (?Schminklappen?) and potash).
Krünitz is very late, but he sums up everything from the 16th to the
18th century. In his article on the lute he mentions beside others
Besard, Baron, Weiss etc.
Zedler, who has written a huge encyclopedy "Universal-Lexicon" - 60
volumes the last was published in 1750 -, mentions that gut strings had
been colored in yellow (with sulfur), green, blue and red.
So it is clear, that in earlier times they had been able to color
strings and to wind them with wire. And at least it seems possible that
they had been able to also load gut ...
Best regards
Markus
--
Markus Lutz
Schulstraße 11
88422 Bad Buchau
Tel 0 75 82 / 92 62 89
Fax 0 75 82 / 92 62 90
Mail [email protected]
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