MUSICA POPOLARE

A. 4.        Tympanon recreated starting from a Magna Graecia terracotta representing a maenad with a tympanon, second half of 3rd century B.C., found in Taranto in 1959 and inventoried in Taranto Archaeological National Museum with the number 114302. The instrument has a diameter 445mm (17.5”) wide; the frame is made of two beech wood bands which are 4mm (0.15”) wide and 51mm (2”) high. The goat kid leather is tanned with natural techniques.

B. 14.     Anonymous folk three-stringed double bass from East Europe (Romania?). The belly is made of fir, ribs and back are made of plywood, prop planking on the boards, neck made of beech wood, ebonised fingerboard. The machinery is made of brass, iron or wood.

 

C. 41.     Ukulele-stick, rare and unusual instrument, built in the first quarter of the twentieth century in Spain. The instrument, anonymous, is a stick with horizontal handle, tip with rubber end but with the central part of the stem shaped like a small ukulele. The body is made of a single piece of wood, from the handle to the resonating chamber, excavated without the bands, with a maximum width of 122 mm and a height of 25 mm. The diapason is 423 mm, the diameter of the circular hole, surrounded by a silver metal ring, is 34 mm. The overall height of the stick is 898 mm: the tip is 210 and the handle 98 for a horizontal part of 126. The handle is carved in the shape of a bird with a large beak and it is linked to it, with a strip of leather, the key for tuning. The instrument has four strings (G, C, E, A) with the pegbox, arranged towards the tip, which shows four square-headed pirouettes. The nut is made of bone while the bridge is metallic; on the neck there are sixteen metal frets

 

D. 1.       Neapolitan lyre-mandolin; body, ribs, and bowlback, with 28 staves, are made of rosewood; neck, fingerboard, and headstock are made of walnut, nut and butterflies of the machinery are made of ivory, sound board of fir with pickguard of tortoiseshell, oval sound hole surrounded by a decorations of ebony and mother of pearl. Inside there are two title blocks, the first in Latin with the caption FRATRES CALACE NEAPOLI / FECERUNT 1897 and the signature. The second, in Italian, with the awards won and, in an oval, the caption: Flli CALACE / Napoli / (Italia) / via Quercia 5 and 5.

 

D. 2.       Neapolitan mandola, end of 19th century, most presumably from Vinaccia lute shop, head made of walnut, screw pegs made of ivory, fingerboard and bridge of ebony, back with 31 staves of rosewood, oval hole, board made of fir with pickguard and borders made of tortoiseshell and mother of pearl.

 

D. 3.       Neapolitan mandolin, anonymous (Calace?), early 20th century, head and neck made of walnut, restored machinery, back of walnut with 21 staves, oval hole, board of fir not varnished, pickguard and borders of rosewood and mother of pearl.

 

D. 4.       Neapolitan mandolin made in Mario Casella manufacturer in Catania during the first twenty years of 20th century. The instrument, particularly refined, has a bowlback made of 29 rosewood staves with maple purfling, counter-rib of maple and rosewood, neck and head made of walnut, the ebony fingerboard continues till the sound hole, it has 28 metal frets. The sound board is made of fir and had, on the borders, an elegant decoration made of rosewood and mother of pearl, and, inside, a second decoration of mother of pearl on ebony, decoration reported on the sound hole; the pickguard is made of ebony with an application of mother of pearl representing the muse of music. The first of two title blocks has the caption: Musikhaus / Siegrefried / Stanberg / GRAZ 1, NEUTHORGASSE; from the manufacturer of the Austrian city in which it was commercialised. The second, in Italian, has the caption: PREMIATA FABBRICA DI STRUMENTI MUSICALI A CORDA ED ACCESSORI / [CROWN] / M [LYRE] C / [medal] GRAND PRIX Esposizione Mondiale Torino 1917 MARCA DEPOSITATA [medal] MEDAGLIA D’ORO / MARIO CASELLA / della disciolta ditta F.lli M & C CASELLA / CATANIA (SICILIA) / FABBRICA N.30 – 31 Piazza Carlo Alberto DEPOSITO N. 32 / [circle] / SPECIALITÀ / Mandolini, Chitarre, Liuti, Liole, Viole, Violini, Violoncelli, Contrabbassi / [circle] / Esportazione Mondiale.

 

D. 5.       Neapolitan mandolin. The title block has the caption: GAETANO VINACCIA / LIUTERIA ARTISTICA / Rua Catalana N. 96 / NAPOLI (Italia) / Anno 1913, and on the title block the maker’s signature. The bowlback is made of 19 rosewood staves, the sound board is made of selected fir decorated with a triple purfling, the sound hole is oval with a decoration of mother of pearl and triple purfling while the pickguard and the tailpiece are made of tortoiseshell. The neck is made of rosewood, the fingerboard of ivory, the head of walnut, the butterflies of the machinery are made of bone, the strap pin, the insertion on the neck, and the nut are made of ivory.

 

D. 6.       Neapolitan mandolin, the inner label has the caption: lyre / FERNANDO DEL PERUGIA / Fabbricante di Strumenti Armonici / SAN CRESCI presso FIRENZE / Anno 1898. The bowlback is made of 25 maple staves with two large ribs and two counter-ribs of walnut. The sound board, made of fir, is decorated with a rich ebony purfling; the sound hole has a decoration made of ebony and mother of pearl. The pickguard is made of tortoiseshell with a decoration of mother of pearl. The inner machinery shows a rich floral decoration and a playing little angel on the spine. Butterflies, nut, bridge, and pin are made of ivory.

 

D. 7.       Neapolitan mandolin made in Brescia in the first decades of 20th century by the luthier Pietro Ruffini for the exportation to London where it was sold. The instrument has a bowlback made of 25 rosewood staves, neck and head made of walnut, machinery of nickel silver, butterflies of ivory, sound board of fir, pickguard made of tortoiseshell and mother of pearl, decoration around the sound hole made of ebony and mother of pearl.

 

D. 8.       Neapolitan mandolin, first decades of 20th century, the inner label says: LUIGI POPPI / premiata fabbrica / di mandolini / PALERMO. The instrument shows a fir sound board with pickguard made of tortoiseshell and decoration of mother of pearl in the shape of a butterfly. The sound hole, oval, has a decoration made of mother of pearl and ebony while the board is decorated with a double purfling and alternated pieces of ebony and bone. The bowlback is made of 21 walnut staves as well as the neck and the head, while the fingerboard is made of rosewood.

 

D. 9.       Mandolin-pochette, mid 19th century, Neapolitan, anonymous. The instrument is made of a bowlback, with an inner covering of violet paper, made of 13 walnut staves. The fir sound board is decorated with a double black purfling and a large decoration of mother of pearl. The pickguard is made of tortoiseshell. The sound hole, circular, is decorated with two double purflings and a decoration of mother of pearl. The neck and the two outer layers of the head are made of walnut, the nut of ivory, and the machinery has horn butterflies.

 

D. 10.     Milanese mandolin, by an unknown maker, with the title block by Pilade Maurri, from the Florentine publishing house of the same name that sold it in 1902. The instrument, with six single strings, presents a sound board made of fir with the pickguard made of dark wood and decorations of ivory immersed in the depth of the board; the sound hole presents a sextuple purfling while the sound board decorated with a quadruple ebony purfling; the bowlback is made of 17 staves and 2 counter-ribs of rosewood interspersed with a double purfling of ebony and fir; the neck and the headstock are a single block made of ebonised wood, and the sickle-shaped headstock, with triple purfling, ends with a frontlet of mother of pearl; the fingerboard, undulating-hollowed type, has 21 frets.

 

D. 11.     Folk mandolin with flat back, Eliseo Secchi system, first decade of 20th century, North Italy; back in 2 pieces and maple ribs, sound board of fir without sound hole, two characters painted in the centre and the writing “Falstaff / brevetto E.S.”, the instrument presents two F-holes on the left rib, the fingerboard has 17 metal frets.                                                     

 

D. 12.     Italian banjo-mandolin, back and ribs made of 8 rosewood staves alternated with 8 pear wood staves, and in the centre a circular piece of pear wood with rosewood marquetry representing a dog and a parrot on a perch, neck and headstock made of walnut, sound board of leather and metal, butterflies of the machinery and nut made of bone. The inner title block has the caption: MANDOLIN TIP. N. 16 / prodotto 6-2-1956 / matr. N° 13380 / CATANIA CARMELO / primaria fabbrica / di strumenti musicali / a corda – artistici di / lusso e da concerto / specialità violini.

 

D. 13.     Mandolin with flat back, 20th century, maker Frambach, Liège, head and fingerboard made of walnut, machinery with pegs with top made of Bakelite, back made of 6 mahogany staves and 6 maple staves with ebony purfling, little oval sound hole, sound board made of fir with purfling, pickguard made of ebony and mother of pearl.

 

D. 14.     Mandola with flat back, branded on the head FORTE & Co, first half of 20th century, machinery branded Marcelli, total length 73cm (28.75”). The instrument has a sound board made of fir with thick and uniform veining and purfling on the border, ribs and back are made of flamed maple. The back is lightly concave and is made of 5 staves. The neck and the head are made of walnut; the fingerboard is made of rosewood while the large pickguard, surrounding the sound hole and arriving to the bridge, is made of dark wood with floral inserts of mother pearl.

 

D. 15.     German mandriola (oktaviola), first decades of 20th century. Ribs and back, made of 5 staves, of rosewood, sound board of fir, oval hole. Pickguard of ebony, fir, and mother of pearl with floral decoration and a butterfly. Adjustable metal bridge, neck and head made of walnut, ebonised fingerboard. It shows 4 courses of three strings and, inside, the title block shows the caption: Oktaviola / Gut Klang, De, Be, Be / D.R. Patent, D.R.G.M. / Die Konigin der Mandolinen. / Ein Instrument Ubertrifft / Ein ganzes Quartett / GESETZL. GESHUTZT.

 

D. 17.     Russian balalaika, 20th century. This instrument, playable both pinching or by a plectrum, with the typical triangular shape, has three strings tuned A-A-D. The total length is 685mm (26.95”), the neck is 265mm (10.45”) long and presents 16 metal frets, the sound board, made of several fir staves and inserts of other woods, is wide 432 mm (17”), while the back is made of 7 staves. The machinery shows plastic butterflies. The inner title block says: (in a triangle) Фабрика народных щикповых Муэыкапьных инструментов Им. Луначарсого Г. Ленингад Т.10 below БАЛАЛАЙКА / Артикул 205 / Отделка спосодом / РСТ РСФСР 83-72 / Цспа 6р. 70к. / Ленинград П-61 / Ур. Чапаиева, 15 / 2190 – 70 . 75 . СОСИ. Т.

 

D. 18.     French tenor banjo with long neck, first half of 20th century, typical traditional make with four strings. On the neck is impressed, in an oval, the brand: UNICA / marque / deposèe. The machinery is branded UD Mirecourt and shows butterflies made of Bakelite. The neck is made of walnut, the sound box is made of maple and, naturally, the sound board is made of leather.

 

D. 19.     Plectrums made of tortoiseshell, series of eleven Italian plectrums, end of 19th century in various dimensions and shapes.

 

D. 20.     Spanish bandurria, anonymous, datable between the end of 19th century and the beginning of 20th century. Pyriform fir sound board decorated with square marquetry of ebony and fir, circular sound hole decorated with four ebony purflings. Back, ribs, head, and neck are made of rosewood (?) painted back, fingerboard of rosewood with 17 metal frets, bone nut, wooden bridge. The instrument has four courses of three metal strings, the 12 pegs are made of pale wood (two are broken).

 

D. 21.     Hamburger waldzither, created by C. H. Böhm, with nine strings (four courses of two strings and a single bass string) and sunburst head. The instrument, made in early 20th century, has a fir sound board while the flat back, with seven staves, the ribs, and the neck are made of rosewood. The fingerboard has 17 metal frets and the bridge is made of Plexiglas. Machinery and tailpiece are of metal, there are two quadrangular tuning keys. The instrument is long 694mm (27.3”), the ribs are 89mm (3.5”) high and the maximum width of the body is 331mm (13.05”).

 

D. 22.     Italian mandolin made by luthier Alfredo Montanari (1919 - 1988), Luigi Mozzani’s apprentice, in Cento (Ferrara) early during the post-war. This instrument has a flat back and an unusual body, recalling the shape of the lyre mandolin, with the upper part of the body ending with two little tips. Instead of the sound hole there are two F-holes. The sound board is made of fir; back, ribs, and neck are made of rosewood. The fingerboard has 23 metal frets and five bars made of mother of pearl.

 

D. 23.     Mandolone (bass mandola) with the title block: Joseppe De Maria / fecit Neapoles 1678. The dimensions are: length of body from the nut 655mm (25.8”), maximum width 290mm (11.4”), length of head in the centre 220mm (8.65”), length of neck 212mm (8.35”), total length 885mm (34.85”). The instrument has eight double courses of strings, nine metal frets on the neck and four wooden frets on the board. The bowlback is made of 26 undulating-hollowed rosewood staves, two large outer staves and a support at the bottom; the sound board, made of fir, continues on the neck till the eighth fret and shows a circular sound hole with a decoration made of ebony and mother of pearl, a large tortoiseshell pickguard and rich mother of pearl decorations. The neck and the head are made of dark wood with decorations and contour made of bone, the pegs are organized on three vertical sequences of 6, 4, and 6, and the nut is made of bone.

 

D. 24.     Half-lyre mandolin, made by luthier Alfredo Privitera, operating in Carmelo Catania manufacturer, who in the 1970s, created his own luthier shop that soon became one of the best in Sicily. This instrument has five courses of two strings tuned E, A, D, G, C. The sound board is made of fir with an oval sound hole in the centre and a littler hole on the left arm, the flat back and the ribs are made of maple while the neck, the string cover at the bottom, and the fingerboard are made of walnut. On the inner title block is printed: Liuteria Classica / Maestro Luthier / Alfredo Privitera / Made in Italy. The instrument is 721mm (28.4”) long.

 

D. 25.     Neapolitan mandolin. The title block has the caption: royal coat of arms / F.lli GEN.ro ED A.lle VINACCIA FU P.le / Fabbricanti di Strumenti Armonici / DI S. M. La REGINA d’ITALIA / Rua Catalana N° 53 / NAPOLI / Anno 1887. The instrument has “covered” machinery with head, neck, and counter-ribs made of rosewood, it has 17 metal frets with 6 position markers made of mother of pearl, the bowlback is made of 21 maple staves with fiddleback and ebony purfling. The sound board is made of fir with a quintuple ebony purfling, an oval sound hole, and mother of pearl decorations; the pickguard is made of tortoiseshell. The butterflies of the machinery, the nut, and the pins are made of ivory while the tailpiece and the string cover are made of metal. Achille and Gennaro were the sons of the great luthier Pasquale, famous mandolin and guitar maker in Naples during the second half of19th century. They operated until the beginning of 20th century.

 

D. 26.     Neapolitan mandolin. The title block has the caption: royal coat of arms / F.lli GEN.ro ED A.lle  VINACCIA FU P.le / Fabbricanti di Strumenti Armonici / DI S. M. La REGINA d’ITALIA / Rua Catalana N° 53 / NAPOLI / Anno 1898 and signature, a second title block in red ink has the caption: TRASFERITI ALLA / STRADA / S TA MARIA LA NUOVA Nọ 25. The instrument has “covered” machinery with the head and the neck made of rosewood, the counter-ribs are made of maple and rosewood, there are twenty metal frets with 6 position markers of mother of pearl, the bowlback made of 31 grooved maple staves with ebony purfling. The sound board is made of fir decorated with a quintuple ebony purfling, oval sound hole and mother of pearl decorations on a tortoiseshell pickguard, the butterflies of the machinery are made of dark horn, the nut, the pins, the tailpiece, and the string cover are made of silvered metal with a tortoiseshell base.

 

D. 27.     Citole, the model was observed in a fresco made by Simone Martini in the Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi. The inner title block says: costruita nell’anno 2010 da / Andrea Poppi / Sant’Agata Bolognese. The body and the fingerboard, ending in a sickle, are made of walnut; the sound board is made of spruce with a little walnut decoration on the top and the sound hole is decorated with a wooden intaglio, 9 brass frets, 4 courses of two gut strings tuned on fifths (even if they were often tuned on player’s hearing), total length 575mm (22.65”), diapason 380mm (14.95”). Very similar to an instrument in the frescos of the Basilica of Saint Catherine in Galatina (Lecce).

 

D. 28.     Anonymous mandolin, Italian, datable to 1840 ca., this is a transition instrument: it has many elements of Baroque mandolin (general proportions, head with eight pegs strongly bended behind, circular sound hole, extreme lightness), but the fingerboard is already superimpose on the neck, as typical of nineteenth-century instruments. The bowlback is made of eleven large alternated staves made of maple and rosewood, the sound board is made of fir with pickguard and the area of the tailpiece made of rosewood, there is a decoration made of ebony and mother of pearl around the sound hole, and the string pins are made of ivory. The neck and the head are made of ebonised wood; there are thirteen metal frets and eight ebony pegs.

 

D. 29.     Neapolitan mandolin, anonymous, datable to the second half of 18th century and attributed to Donato Filano. He operated from 1760 to 1785 with his brother Antonio in Rua di S. Chiara in Naples, later the workshop was managed by his sons Giuseppe and Luigi. The instrument has a bowlback made of 23 grooved maple staves separated by ebony purfling with inside some blue paper, the neck is made of cypress with 7 ebony purfling, the fingerboard is on the same level of the sound board and presents 10 metal frets separated by tortoiseshell plates. The board, without purfling, is made of fir with two mother of pearl marquetry on the two ends, the sound hole is circular, the pickguard is made of tortoiseshell while the nut, the pins of the strings and of the tailpiece, and the bridge are made of ivory. The head is decorated with a middle bone plate and two tortoiseshell side plate, all around there are 6 buttons and 12 pins of ivory while the eight rosewood pegs tighten the gut strings. The total length is 590mm (23.2”), diapason 327mm (12.85”), the diameter of the sound hole is 60mm (2.35”).

 

D. 30.     Neapolitan mandolin without label, probably a Vinaccia production. On a pink paper in the case we can read: Libretto musicale di pertinenza / del Sigr Avv Leonardo Natale / Notaio and Regio Subbeconomo / Di Cariati / Cariati 1° Agosto 1897.l / Un suo intimo amico / G. C. M. The bowlback is made of 19 rosewood staves and an ending with alternated pieces of ebony and ivory, the sound board is made of selected fir decorated with triple purfling, the sound hole is oval with a decoration of mother of pearl and triple purfling, while the pickguard is made of tortoiseshell. The neck is made of rosewood, the fingerboard of ivory, the head of walnut, the butterflies of the machinery of bone, and the head strap pin, the insertion on the neck, and the nut are made of ivory.

 

D. 31.     Milanese baroque Mandolin with box made of eleven ebony slats and ivory fillets. The box is certainly original but there are traces of interventions on neck and sickle-shaped head; the sound board is spruce with a large round hole in the center covered by a precious rosette and decorated with mother of pearl and melted shellac. The instrument features six double choruses for a total of 12 stringes, a large bridge and 12 pegs of light wood. There are seven guts frets on the neck while five metallic frets are on the table. On the case there is a cartouche with the inscription: Mandolino toscano / della fabbrica / di Tobbia Fiscer / di Siena / anno 1713. He was born in Füssen, towards 1680, moved to Siena where he practiced and died, probably in 1721. Some of his instruments are present in the Bardini Museum in Florence and in the Museum of Leipzig. Most likely he was the father of famous Giuseppe, Vincenzo and Carlo Fiscer (or Fixer) luthiers in Milan in the middle of the eighteenth century. The Baroque Milanese mandolin, a kind of small lute, also known as pandora, has six double-stringed choruses, a "no break" sound board and with a smaller shell than the Neapolitan mandolin.

 

D. 32.     Plettrharpa built by Nicola Maria Calace in 1903 in Naples. This instrument is a sort of asymmetrical mandolin with an arc angled slightly to the left of the keyboard that connects the case to the head and makes it look like an Art Nouveau harp. The reason for his invention, as well as the Mandolyra patented by his brother Raffaele a few years earlier, is to be found in the enormous success of mandolin in the Neapolitan song of that time. A fact undoubtedly very positive but with a negative side: the Neapolitan mandolin by now was considered as an instrument too popular and therefore no longer a tool suitable for the upper middle class that until a few years before was passionate about the instrument (even Queen Margherita was a skilled mandolinist!). The back is flat, in walnut, while the soundboard is made of fir with ebony and ivory threads and a rosewood pickguard with Art Nouveau designs. The hole is oblong and asymmetrical, the ebony keyboard with twenty-two metal frets and, on the head, there is a mechanics with eight screwed pyrols with flat head in bone. The inner label reads: NICOLA M. ria CALACE / NAPOLI / Via S. Anna de' Lombardi, 54. 55 / 1903 (autograph signature) Nicola Calace.

 

D. 34.     Italian four-stringed Colascione. It is a plectrum instrument, belonging to the family of long neck lutes, of Arabic derivation (tambur). The soundboard is in spruce, flat, enriched on the sides by a valuable inlay of bone and mother-of-pearl: in the middle there is a small oval harmonic hole, covered by a rosette in bone, carved with figures of flora and fauna. The body is pyriform, not perfectly ovoid but with a slightly pointed bottom, completely covered with a very rich decoration in ivory, bone and mother-of-pearl and a reinforcement in ivory tip carved with acanthus leaves. The neck is very long, semi-cylindrical, in maple, with inserts in ebony, ivory, bone and mother-of-pearl, without frets: there is no real pegbox and the pegs, at the back, are directly housed in the final part of the neck. The strings, made of metal or gut, are tuned in E, A, D, G and the nut is made up of two filaments of gut tied at the top of the neck, under the pegs, through which the strings pass. It is very difficult to establish the period because the instrument underwent an important restoration at the end of the 19th century probably by Leopoldo Franciolini and a recent one by Fabio Lissia: the bridge, the tailpiece and the nut seem to have been rebuilt while three of the four pegs have been repaired. The label inside the body there is the inscription: Bartolomeo Arnolfini Deuc, difficult to attribute to known violin makers. Dimensions: complete length of the fingerboard and case cm. 122; width of the fretboard at the top mm. 32, at the top mm. 47; length of the neck from the graft with the body cm. 88; complete pegbox mm. 90, diameter mm. 8; length of the case cm. 34, width cm. 24 and depth cm. 15.

 

D. 35.     Milanese mandolin datable to the first half of the 18th century. Soundbox in the shape of a very elongated half-pear, made of maple with 17 slats and two bands, a very thick parchment rosette from which one can glimpse the paper lining the internal obowlback with a Latin manuscript. The soundbox is 212 mm long, 145 wide and 65 deep. The wide neck grafts laterally on the fir board, which is 18 mm. long. The handle is 47 mm. wide and 56 mm. at the base, on the back there are eight bone threads, it does not have any frets but a rich floral decoration in bone for the whole length of 135 mm. The nut is in bone. The sickle-shaped head is bayonet-mounted on the handle, it mounts 12 ebony pegs and ends with a big button decorated with a bone cogwheel. Total length mm. 543.

 

D. 36.     12-strings mandolin (mandriola) built in Monopoli (BA) in the last decade of the 19th century by the Garganese brothers. Vito and his elder brother Antonio were pupils of Pasquale Vinaccia (Naples 20 July 1806 - 1885?), son of Gaetano II, who introduced the first mandolins mounted with steel strings mechanical pegs. Returning to Monopoli in 1880, they opened their workshop in Via Vitti on the corner of Via Magenta, near the "La Pala d'Oro" oven. In the first decade of the twentieth century the two brothers separated: Antonio continued to build few instruments of great value while Vito increased his production selling his instruments in Europe and the USA under the brand Vito Garganese fu Vito (he had the same name as his father who died before his birth). This instrument maintains the typical armor of the mandriola (F F F, A A A, D D D, G G G) but, in accordance with their Neapolitan training, has a case that is very reminiscent of the Neapolitan mandolin.The bridge is mobile, the board is "broken" with the curvature at the height of the bridge and the staves are very degrading (minimum height mm. 58 maximum mm. 109). The hole is oval, surrounded by a decoration of ebony and mother of pearl, from which you can see the scroll.  There is the autograph signature of Vito Garganese f.llo and a rectangular cartouche that reads: VITO GARGANESE E FRATELLO / FABRICANTI / DI STRUMENTI ARMONICI / MONOPOLI. The neck and fingerboard, with seventeen metal frets, are in walnut, the headstock in rosewood and the tuners have butterflies in bone. The top is made of spruce while the flat back and the staves are made of maple; the top and the lower part of the sides are decorated with a triple ebony thread.  The total length is mm. 653 while the maximum width of the soundboard is mm. 198.

 

D. 38.     Soprano lute with triangular profile and pyramidal soundbox (tetrahedron), anonymous.  This instrument may be the work of Leopoldo Franciolini in Florence. The soundboard is made of spruce with a rather wide grain, the soundhole is covered by a pierced rosette decorated with mother-of-pearl details, as is the upper edge of the body. The strings are attached, by means of pegs, to the lower part of the soundbox and pass over a movable bridge; on the upper part of the soundboard, near the fingerboard, there are mother-of-pearl inlay decorations. The body consists of three richly inlaid sectors, with ivory-bone and mother-of-pearl details, dipped in brown stucco. On the lower sector are the six string-attaching and the bone strap button. The back of the neck is also decorated with ivory-bone details, dipped in brown stucco, while the fingerboard is completely decorated with mother-of-pearl and wood details and has ten gut strings as fingerboards. The anklet, inclined almost 90°, mounts twelve pearwood pegs, has geometric decoration on both sides and, on the sides, twenty-one bone buttons. The lute have six double choirs of gut strings; the capo and the bridge, which is mobile, are made of bone and mother-of-pearl. The length, from the capo, is mm. 528, the body has a maximum width of mm. 275 and a height of mm. 119. The anklet is mm. 181 long with a maximum width of mm. 71.

 

F. 1.        Flageolet in F, English, first decade of 19th century, branded “Hastrick / late / Bainbridge / 35 / Hölbron hill / London - New / c / Key - New / patent”, 3 ebony pieces, beak, ring nuts, and tacks made of ivory, 6 silver keys.

 

F. 2.        English Flageolet in C (A 450), conical bore, made by Joseph Prowse who operated in London between 1834 and 1839, and branded: J. Prowse / London / J-PROWSE / OLD JEWRY / LONDON / FROM / CLEMENTI & C°. The flageolet is 414mm (16.3”) long and it is made of wood painted black with embouchure, 6 finger-separator pins and 3 ring nuts made of ivory, 7+1 holes and an octagonal brass key.

 

F. 3.        Viennese flageolet, Germany, Vogtland, between the end of 19th century and the beginning of 20th century, 3 ebony pieces, ivory embouchure, 6 keys and 3 ring nuts made of silver. This instrument was in vogue during the second half of 19th century in Austrian chamber music.

 

F. 4.        French Flageolet in A (A 432) with conical bore, without keys, with 4 front holes and two back holes. The instrument is branded on every piece: [five-pointed star] / LONG. This instrument is particular because Long, operating in La Ciotat during the first half of 19th century, is known as galoubet maker while his flageolets are really rare. The instrument, in 5 pieces of rosewood with embouchure and ring nuts made of ebony, is 356mm (52 + 52 + 70 + 61 + 121 mm) (14” = 2.05” + 2.05” + 2.75” + 2.4” + 4.75”) long.

 

F. 5.        French flageolet, anonymous, in A, first half of 19th century, 4 front holes and 2 back holes for the thumbs, four boxwood pieces, ivory embouchure with beak, ring nuts and 7 keys made of brass.

 

F. 6.        French flageolet, (flageolet à pompe), ebony, in A, 4 ring nuts and a key made of silver, mouthpiece made of bone, 4 front holes and 2 back holes. Brand G. Leblanc / La Couture Boussey / Eure.

 

F. 8.        French Flageolet made of nickel, made in Paris in 1890 and having the brand Charles Mathieu / mque deposee / [lyre] / Paris. The instrument, patented, has 6 holes and a strange mouthpiece made of nickel-plated brass.

 

F. 23.      Galoubet, anonymous, made in Provence between 1770 and 1790. The instrument, cylindrical, is 274mm (10.8”) long and it is made of ebony with embouchure and foot made of ivory. It has two front holes and a back hole to be played only with the left hand while with the right hand played the drum.

 

F. 24.      Galoubet (Tabor pipe), beak flute with three holes, early 19th century, Vallée d'Ossau, Beam, France. Two front holes and one back hole plugged respectively by the index finger, the middle finger, and the thumb while the ring finger and the little finger were used to hold the instrument; pale wood and a little metal insert on the windcutter. Length 316mm (12.45”).

 

F. 25.      Orchestra cuckoo, anonymous, mid 19th century. The instrument (160mm – 6.3”) is made of two rosewood pieces with a brass tuning slide that allows to play notes from F to A. It shows a hole that, with the slide inwards, plays alternatively the note imitating the cuckoo call. The cuckoo is a real instrument used in orchestra in imitating music and generally entrusted to percussionists.

 

F. 26.      Piffero, end of 19th century made of brass branded: lyre / INVERNIZZI E DEVALLE / SAVONA / DO. The instrument, similar to Irish whistle is 326mm (12.85”) long with 6 holes, conical shape, and a wooden block for the embouchure.

 

F. 27.      Piffero made of brass, Italy, end of 19th century, the brand is hard to identify with eagle / DO / 8603, similar to the brand used by actors, peddlers and storytellers. It is 330mm (13”) long, 6 front holes, conical shape and embouchure with wooden block.

 

F. 28.      Slide whistles, tenor (276mm – 10.85”) and "piccolo" (152mm – 6”), ebonite. Brand: SWANEE / WHISTLE / or / LOTUS FLUTE / MADE IN LONDON / ENGLAND / REGISTRETED / DESIGN / 687087 / PRO. / PATENT / REG. U.S. PAT. OFF. These rare instruments were used in pieces of “art music” by Ravel, Gordon, and others. Foot and piston made of chromed brass. The range is about two octaves with the lower note F#4 for the tenor and F5 for the piccolo.

 

F. 29.      Alto slide whistle, brand: eight-pointed star / MODEL de LUXE / SWANEE / WHISTLE / OR / LOTUS FLUTE / REGISTERED / MADE IN LONDON / ENGLAND/ PRO/ PATENT/ REGISTERED/ DESIGN / 689111 / REG. U.S. PAT. OFF / eight-pointed star. The instrument, 350mm (13.75”) long, is made of ebonite with an ivory ring nut and the piston made of nickel silver. The lower note of the instrument is F4.

 

F. 30.      Double Flageolet, English, with unequal barrels, branded: BAINBRIDGE / TEACHER / & INVENTOR / HOLBORN / HILL / LONDON / PATENT BAINBRIDGE / & WOOD / 35 / HOLBORN / HILL / LONDON / PATENT. London 1808 – 1821. Total length 445mm (17.5”), five pieces plus the embouchure, body of boxwood, with two windcutter keys made of silver; ring nuts, embouchure, and tacks made of ivory. The right barrel, longer (235 mm – 9.25”), shows three silver squared keys while the left one, shorter (196 mm – 7.7”), has two. The windcutter keys get into the windows of the instrument to block the sound emission from the first or the second barrel. On the bodies the symbols of the notes are marked: 1G, 2F, 3E, 4D on the right and B1, A2, G3, F4, E5, D6 on the left.

 

F. 31.      Orchestra cuckoo in two pieces, branded: WHITAKER / LONDON, made between the last years of 18th century and early 19th century. In B4, A 430 Hz, body made of boxwood with embouchure and mouldings made of ivory. Total length 126mm (4.95”). On the foot there is the hole that allows to change note, but inside there is a cylindrical pin with four side holes with different diameters. Turning the pin, the diameter of the hole change, so that we can get four different intervals (D# – B, E – B, F# – B, G# – B).

 

F. 32.      Cuckoo, Italian, anonymous, probably Venetian, made in mid 19th century. The instrument is made of boxwood and black horn, with a front hole that allows to vary the note from C to G#. The cuckoo measures 85mm (3.35”).

 

F. 34.      Irish tin whistle made of tinplate, datable to the first half of 19th century, anonymous. The instrument, 319mm (12.55”) long and 12mm (0.45”) wide, presents six front holes without tone hole and the letter C on the front.

 

F. 35.      Pan flute (syrinx), Bavarian, second half of 18th century, made from a piece of wood in which ten barrels has been carved, closed at the lower end by black pipes that allow the intonation, and on the upper end they have a fipple. The instrument is 147mm (5.8”) long, 14mm (0.55”) wide and from 42mm (1.65”) to 86mm (3.4”) high. The notes produced are G#, E, G, A, Bь, B, C, D, E, G#.

 

F. 39.      Piffero made of brass, Italy, end of 19th century, hardly identifiable brand with symbol of an eagle / DO / 11772, similar to the instruments used by actors, peddlers and storytellers. 336mm (13.2”) long, 6 front holes, conical shape, and embouchure with wooden block.

 

F. 40.      Galoubet (from T. Bingham, London) made by luthier, drummer, and composer Joseph Bœuf. Brand: SYSTEME / J. BŒUF / MARSEILLE / 1917 {serial number} 129. The instrument is very rare: differently from the other galoubets, it shows the three holes all on the front and partitioned lengthwise to emit the semitones. This model was used until 1960s only in Allauch, than it was abandoned for its scarce practicality. It is made of two rosewood pieces and a brass joint ring nut, and is 310 (12.2”) long.

 

F. 46.      Wood Cornett covered in red morocco leather with signs of repairs to the leather cover. The tool presents the mouthpiece (internal) and the final, zoomorphic head, in dark horn and an opening on the convex side. The section is rectangular with rounded corners. There are two metal brackets for the suspension strap (missing) and is long mm. 380. Italian and probably dating from the second half of the '700 and early 800.

 

F. 47.      Crumhorn soprano in C, stained wood (maple?) with seven holes plus two front holes resonance on the bell and a brass ring. It is visible a repair shield-shaped in front of the body under the ring and on the first hole (probably been lost or removed a coat of arms). The Crumhorn is a renaissance instrument, whit cylindrical bore, double-reed encapsulated, whose name comes from the German Krummhörn (curved horn) for the umbrella-handle characteristic shape. These tools were very popular in France, Germany and the Netherlands, they had a very limited extension, just over one octave, so were played in consort from soprano to bass to broaden the extension. This is an ancient reconstruction dating from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, attributable to instrument makers of the French area (Auguste Tolbecque, Victor-Charles Mahillon) and is long mm. 370.

 

F. 49.      Galoubet (Tabor pipe), anonymous, early 20th century, Provence. This instrument has only three holes, two at the front and one at the back plugged by the forefinger, middle and thumb respectively, while the ring finger and little finger are used to hold the instrument so that the other hand can play a drum. The particularity of this instrument is to be made of brass and to have a very elegant and slender appearance: the length is mm. 313 and the diameter mm. 12.

 

F. 53.      Tin whistle built in the first quarter of the 20th century probably in Portugal. Tin whistles are Irish straight flutes, used as toys but also appreciated by professionals, they have a metal body, with conical bore, six front holes and a labium. The conical instrument has a diameter of mm. 18 while at the foot of mm. 9: the length is mm. 262. The instrument is painted in black with yellow-gold friezes: the frieze of the upper part consists of two lines, a wave and two other lines / image of a player from ancient Egypt and the inscription LUSO / two lines, a wave and two other lines while in the lower part there are only two lines, a wave and two other lines always in yellow-gold. The tool has only six front holes.

 

G. 3.       Psaltery, Italian, anonymous, datable between 1730 and 1750. The instrument is in the shape of an isosceles trapezoid with the two oblique sides measuring 360mm (14.15”) and 365mm (14.35”), while the shortest side is 361mm (14.2”) and the longest 685mm (15.15”). On the right side there are 106 metal pegs supporting 20 courses alternating 5 and 4 strings plus 4 lower courses of 4 strings. There are a bridge with 6 small columns, two bridges with five columns, one of them higher probably made later, one bridge with four columns, two bridges with two columns and three single columns. On the sound board, made of fir, there are two elegant rosettes made of parchment while the nuts have pearwood planking on the top. The sides of the instrument are richly decorated with a golden stucco work and a fine burin engraving. The instrument has its original case painted black outside while the inside is not decorated.

 

G. 4.       Table cithara, made during the first years of 19th century in Mantua area. The instrument presents a “Salzburger” shape; it is made of fir while the column and the decoration in shape of horse head on the top of the head are made of walnut. The cithara has 3 + 1 playing strings, 10 harmonic strings and 2 + 2 octave strings. There are two sound holes, one on the body and one on the belly, and 15 + 3 brass frets, the pegs and the strings are made of iron.

 

G. 5.       Concert zither, Salzburger Form, Austria, 19th century, maker Anton Hüller / Graslitz / Bommen. Five playing strings, 31 harmonic strings, keys of the machinery and feet made of ivory, back made of maple, column of ebony, soundboard of fir with mother of pearl decorations.

 

G. 6.       Mandolin-Harp, sort of Kantele (psaltery with plucked strings) North Europe, 19th century. Entirely made of fir varnished black with floral painted decorations; it has 4 courses of 7 harmonic strings (D major – F major – G major – C major), and 15 courses of double playing strings.

 

G. 7.       Akkordolia, German, made during the first decades of 20th century. The circular title block has the caption: ???ss & Teller / Klingenthal / Akkordolia / D. R. S. M.. This instrument is a psaltery with soundbox having 7 strings to be played by a plectrum. The akkordolia is a middle road between an Aeolian harp, for the rectangular box (63 x 18 cm / 24.8” x 7.1” and the short upper side is rounded), the circular sound hole, and the strings (3 playing strings and 4 harmonic strings) of the same length and with different diameters, and an épinette des Vosges, for the fingerboard (16 metal frets for the playing strings and 6 for the harmonic strings) and the plucked strings. The instrument is made of fir painted black and the soundboard is made of beechwood.

 

G. 8.       Table cithara, Hungarian, made during the second half of 19th century. The instrument presents a “Salzburger” shape, a fir soundboard with two sequences of sound holes in the shape of rosettes. The 5 playing strings pass on metal frets attached on the fingerboard; there are also 10 harmonic strings and two courses of triple shorter strings for higher notes. The pegs are made of iron and on the head and on the sides there is a geometric decoration.

 

G. 9.       Bowed table cithara in shape of a heart (Streichzither in Herzform) with two sound F-like holes and four strings tuned G-D-A-E as stated by G. Fosslen. Austria, second half of 19th century. Soundboard made of fir; back, ribs, and bridge (not original) made of maple, 29 brass frets, restored feet made of rosewood.

 

G. 10.     American ukelin, made in 1925, branded: PRICE $ 35,00 / UKELIN / Distributed Exclusively by the / Manufacturers / Advertising Co. / 93 Ferry Street / Jersey City N.J. The instrument, made of fir, is 698mm (27.5”) long and has a maximum width of 193mm (7.6”). This instrument can be played both with a plectrum and with a short bow; it has 16 strings starting from the upper head ending at the sides of the instrument, and four courses of four strings starting from the lower head ending on the upper side of the soundboard. This shows two circular sound holes and an indication of the note of each string.

 

G. 11.     Hungarian cimbalom made in around 1870 by J. V. Schunda, very famous Hungarian maker, in fact the plaque has the writing: SCHUNDA V. J. BUDAPEST. This instrument is the national Hungarian instrument and is made of strings running on the trapezoidal body of the instrument. The strings are 19 in groups of 4, 15 in groups of three, and a couple of lower strings. On the sound board, made of fir, there are four carved rosettes and five series of moving bridges. The strings are hit with thin sticks. The instrument has a pedal that controls two side damper levers.

 

G. 12.     Tuning keys for harps, zithers, and psalteries. The collection includes nine pieces datable between the end of 19th century and the beginning of 20th century and consists of: squared-section key (5 x 5 mm – 0.19” x 0.19”) with 86mm (3.4”) long mahogany handle; rectangular-section key (6 x 5 mm – 0.23” x 0.19”) with 86mm (3.4”) long mahogany handle; squared-section key (5 x 5 mm – 0.19” x 0.19”) with 85mm (3.35”) long mahogany handle; rectangular-section key (6 x 5 mm – 0.23” x 0.19”) with 81mm (3.2”) long oak handle; rectangular-section key (17 x 6 mm – 0.66” x 0.23”) made of walnut and brass, 62mm (2.45”) long; rectangular-section key (7 x 5mm – 0.27” x 0.19”) with 72mm (2.85”) long oak handle; squared-section key (5 x 5 mm – 0.19” x 0.19”) with 95mm (3.75”) long mahogany handle; squared-section key (5 x 5 mm – 0.19” x 0.19”) with 85mm (3.35”) long handle made of ebonised wood; rectangular-section key (6 x 5 mm – 0.23” x 0.19”) with 84mm (3.3”) long mahogany handle.

 

G. 13.     German zither, datable to the first decades of 20th century, with five playing strings on a fingerboard with thirty metal frets and 29 harmonic strings. The soundboard is made of fir with an oval central hole, back and sides made of wood painted black, metal pegs, two wooden feet and an ivory foot.

 

G. 14.     Italian psaltery, anonymous, probably Lombard, datable around 1720. The instrument is in the shape of an isosceles trapezoid with the two oblique sides measuring 328mm (12.9”) and 325mm (12.8”) while the shortest side is 353mm (13.9”) and the longest 700mm (27.55”) with a height of 62mm (2.45”). On the right side there are 80 metal pegs supporting 20 courses of 4 strings, while on the opposite side there are 80 iron pins where the strings are attached. There is no bridge. On the sound board, made of fir, there are two elegant rosettes made of golden parchment while the nuts have a pearwood planking on the top. The sides of the instrument are painted black and the whole instrument lies on four feet.

 

G. 16.     German concert Harp-Zithern, built in Berlin in 1899 by Alwin Eichler (1859-1914), owner of the Aeolian company with branches in London and New York. The internal cartouche, round, shows the writing: round No. 2. American Harp – Zither Concert, in: A. Eichler / Berlin S. / Alexandrinenstr. 110 / London EC / Coronet Work, St. John Street / New York USA / 33 First Street / DRP 112 000. The case is made of fir wood with black painted bottom and bands, in the shape of an isosceles trapezoid with shaped sides on the upper side and the left one. The approximate measurements are: basis cm. 39, long side cm. 69, short side cm. 25 and oblique upper side cm. 59, the sound hole is round, framed by a beautiful white decoration, and the whole is supported by three wooden feet. There are thirty melody metal strings, anchored to the base and with the pegs placed along the oblique side, below which a piece of paper is stuck to indicate the note (from Sol2 to Do4). The strings of harmony, always metallic, go from one side to the other running parallel to the oblique side: there are eight choirs with two strings that start from the bridge on the right side and the same number from the left so that the neighboring strings do not it can be beaten at the same time. Here too there are scrolls that indicate the notes: on the right are the numbers (from 31 to 46) and the corresponding notes, the numbers on the left (from 47 to 62) and the respective notes.

 

G. 17.     Psalter of Venetian area datable to the first half of the XVIII century. the table is in fir while the case, four feet and the bottom are in walnut. The instrument is in the shape of an isosceles trapezium with two oblique sides of mm. 440, the short side of mm. 323, the base of mm. 709 and the height of mm. 70. On the top there are two bone rosettes with twelve petals flower and four hard wood bridges surmounted by metal bars. The longest bridge, with ten small columns, is on the right of the instrument: between the rosettes there are two bridges with two and three small columns while on the left, between the bass strings, there is a bridge with two small columns. The strings are anchored on the left of the instrument while, on the right, there are the metal frets on which they are wound. There are twenty-three triple choirs plus nine single strings for a total of 78 metal strings. The instrument is contained in a trapezoidal wooden case with two oblique sides of mm. 448, the short side of mm. 410, the base of mm. 849 and the height of mm. 150 plus four feet. The case is richly decorated: the outside is in brown and brick-red tones with three roses in the centre and other roses in the corners. The interior shows designs of volutes of gold leaves on a green background with, in the centre, a stone with a triumph of instruments and musical scores. The case is closed with a beautiful metal key: there are also two mallets, 250 mm long, in ebony with a curved rosewood tip and a red painted bottom.

 

H. 5.       French flutina or Harmoniflüte, datable to mid 19th century and branded BUSSON / Brevetè / Paris. The range is from F2 to G5 (23 ivory keys + 16 ebony chromatic keys). This instrument is a little harmonium with free reeds; the bellows, on the back, are activated with the left hand while the right plays the keyboard. The dimensions with the cover closed are 51 x 18 x 30 cm (20.05” x 7.1” x 11.8”).

 

J. 1.       Soprano bombard, 18th century, probably from Venetian area. The body and the bell are a single piece of boxwood while the pirouette is made of ebony. The instrument has a free double reed and it was played putting the lips on the pirouette and making the reed vibrate in the mouth. The soprano bombard was the highest of a family of Renaissance chamber instruments used till the end of 18th century, and then they were replaced by oboes. It presents only 6 front holes. The total length is 314mm (12.35”) without reed, the pirouette is 36mm (1.4”), body and bell 278mm (10.95”), minimum diameter of the body 18mm (0.7”) while the diameter of the large bell is 50mm (1.95”) and its length is 122mm (4.8”).

 

J. 9.         Dulcian (soprano bassoon, octave bassoon, alto bassoon), English, made in 1825 by George Wood. This instrument (little bassoon with A2 as lower note) plays one octave higher than the bassoon, it presents two canes with eight front holes (a double hole for the right little finger) and three back holes, one (for the right thumb) closed with a brass key protected by a brass key guard. The instrument, made of rosewood, has not the original staple; the brand is: WOOD / clover and is 323mm (12.7”) long while the inner tubing is 596mm (23.45”).

 

J. 10.      Musette with keys, Leipzig, 1860, made by Julius Heinrich Zimmerman, 3 rosewood pieces with an unusual turning on the foot, 6 nickel keys, original case.

 

J. 11.      English musette made of finely turned rosewood, datable to the first half of 19th century. The instrument, anonymous, is made of two pieces with a total length of 364mm (14.35”), and presents seven front holes and one back sound hole on the pear-shaped bell.

 

J. 12.      Apulian zampogna (from a monastery in Gargano) recalling very much the Yugoslavian zurna, datable to the end of 18th century and the beginning of 19th century. The instrument, made of olive wood, has high quality make, it is long 334mm (13.15”) and presents seven front holes, one back hole, and seven little sound holes on the bell. The instrument is made of a single piece and a sort of pirouette with a fork insertion that, turning, would change the conical shape of the insertion where the free double reed is mounted, thus modifying the intonation.

 

J. 13.      Practice chanter, Scotland, mid 19th century, length 477mm (18.75”). Instrument with capped double reed (probably not original), made of rosewood with ebony rings, 7 + 1 holes.

 

J. 14.      Shawm, Southern Italy, early 19th century. Folk instrument accurately made with lathe and knife; olive wood (body) and chestnut (bell), painted; two pieces with screw joint. Double reed instrument with 8 + 1 holes (and 5 sound holes on the bell), original reed, length 340mm (13.4”) without reed.

 

J. 15.      Shawm, Central Southern Italy, mid 19th century. This instrument, finely turned, is made of a cherry wood body and a chestnut bell with screw joint. The body shows 8 front holes and a back hole plus a side sound hole near the bell that has two more sound holes. Total length 368mm (14.5”).

 

K. 1.        Neapolitan tambourine, end of 19th century, originally polychrome, and with residual traces of red paint on the leather. The frame, broken on a point, is made of beech wood with 12 pairs of metal jingles, one missing. On the borders there are 7 ribbons made of red fabric. Measures: Diam. 310mm (12.20”), H. 87mm (3.4”).

 

K. 2.        Frame drum with metal jingle, very folk make, Neapolitan, mid 20th century. The frame is made of fir, the jingles (two pairs of eight jingles arranged on two rows) are made out of can boxes, and the membrane is made of sheepskin, ripped and patched with plastic. The diameter is about 348mm (3.7”).

 

K. 18.      Italian Maracas, built in the early decades of the twentieth century, consisting of a coconut with a diameter of mm. 118 with a dark stained wooden handle of a diameter of mm. 22 with two turned terminals. The instrument is overall mm long. 354 and it seems built for theatrical use rather than to be used in popular music.

 

K. 19.      Italian Maracas, built in the early decades of the twentieth century, consisting of a pumpkin with a diameter of mm. 90 in which is inserted a handle of dark wood, richly turned and long mm. 177 with two turned terminals and a metal ring at the lower end. The two holes in the pumpkin, in contact with the handle, are embellished with bone seals. The instrument is overall mm long. 305 and it seems built for theatrical use rather than to be used in popular music.

 

K. 23.      Flex-a-tone (or fleximetal), built in 1930 in the United States, is an indirectly struck idiophone percussion instrument consisting of a metal frame that ends with a handle, at the upper end of which a flexible metal blade is attached. It is alternately struck on each side by black wooden balls mounted on a long spring at the free base of the plate. The first invention for a flexatone is found in the British patents of 1922 and 1923. An instrument called 'Flex-a-tone' was patented in the U.S.A. in 1924 by the Playertone Company of New York. It is played by holding it in one hand with the palm around the metal frame and the thumb on the free end of the steel spring. The player shakes the instrument, causing the beaters to strike the walls of the metal sheet, producing a high or low sound depending on the curvature impressed on the blade by thumb pressure. The instrument has a length of 328 mm, a width of 121 mm, while the blade, in the shape of an isosceles trapezoid, is 196 mm long, with an upper width of 75 mm and a lower width of 38 mm. It was used in jazz for its ability to reproduce glissando effects but was also employed in orchestral music, film scores, and animated cartoon music.

 

L. 1.        Diatonic button accordion, French, branded BUSSON / Brevetè / Paris. The instrument has reduced dimensions 243 x 82 x 62 mm (9.55” x 3.2” x 2.45”) and shows 8 diatonic keys, two side keys, and a large key for the air vent to be activated with the left hand. The keys and the (outer) machinery are covered with mother of pearl while the vent key is made of brass. The instrument, made by Busson, maker of the harmoniflute and creator of the Bussophone, is datable to mid 19th century.

 

L. 2.        Chromatic button accordion, made by Stradella’s “Dallapis” manufacturer in 1900, entirely made of wood with marquetry, ivory buttons, 56 basses in 4 rows, 48 buttons in 4 rows.

 

L. 3.        Chromatic button accordion, first decade of 20th century. The inner label has the writing: FABBRICA DI ARMONICHE / GUGLIELMO SPARTERA E FIGLI / LECCE – (Puglie). The instrument, made of fir veneered with walnut, shows 27 buttons with external pallets arranged on three rows (10+9+8) and 24 bass buttons (8+8+8) with inner system. The buttons and the external pallets are made of mother of pearl.

 

L. 4.        Concertina, instrument made in Germany (Harnold?) during the last decades of 19th century. The instrument is a mechanical free-reed aerophone with double intonation (diatonic). It was created by C. F. Uhlig who transformed the bandoneon to develop the sound possibilities and to better use the side of the left hand. The instrument is made of braided rosewood richly decorated with nickel silver and mother of pearl rosettes. The right side presents 26 buttons arranged on three rows for the melody and the air vent button. The left side shows, on three rows too and with the head made of mother of pearl, 21 buttons.

 

L. 5.        Diatonic button accordion, first decade of 20th century. 19 melody buttons arranged on two rows and 4 + 1 bass keys. The model recalls the famous “Empress”. Brand: Robert Husberg / musikwerke / neuerade / westfalen.

 

L. 6.        Melodeon, Viennese style, by Hohner, early 20th century; 10 soprano buttons made of ivory activated by the right hand, while the bellows and the 4 wooden bass buttons are activated by the left hand. Every button makes a different note resonate, according to the pressure or the aspiration of the bellows.

 

L. 7.        Diatonic button accordion with two basses (dù botte), early 20th century, probably Austrian. The melody is obtained by 10 buttons played with the right hand while the left hand uses two bass buttons and an air vent button. The bellows are decorated with flowered paper and on the keyboard there are the initials HB and a scale.

 

L. 8.        Piano accordion, Italian, made by the “Galanti” brothers, Rome, in 1929; 41 keys, 120 basses, medium notes on the fourth row and the basses on the fifth, made with fine wood, like tulipier and black walnut.

 

L. 9.        Diatonic accordion, anonymous, branded Mogar, Milano, first decades of 20th century. The Monzino e Garlandini (Mogar) manufacturer never made nor commissioned diatonic accordions, so this instrument represents a real rarity. The instrument has a piano keyboard with 2 octaves and one note (C3 – C5), 12 bass buttons arranged on 2 rows, and the air vent button. The instrument is made of wood covered with green mother of pearl celluloid.

 

L. 10.      Italian accordion, type “cadetto 32”, made in Castelfidardo by the Orlando Quagliardi manufacturer during the third decade of 20th century. This little instrument, covered with green celluloid, presents a piano keyboard with two octaves from C3 to C5 and 32 basses.

 

L. 11.      Quadruple harmonica gathering four independent harmonicas tuned in C major, F major, G major, and D major. The instrument, made in Germany during the first quarter of 20th century, has the writing: TREMOLO / Harmonica / M. HONER and on the back two medals Paris 1900 and Chicago 1893 with in the middle TRADE MARK GESETZLICH / GESCHULTZ M. HOHNER. The harmonicas are 223mm (8.75”) long.

 

L. 12.      Harmonica in C, reduced dimensions, only made of ten holes, measuring 100 x 28 x 15 mm (3.95” x 1.1” x 0.6”). Instrument made by Hohner during the first half of 20th century. There is the carved writing GLH Great Little Harp HOHNER.

 

L. 19.      French Mélophone probably made by Leclèrc in around 1840. The mélophone is one of the numerous reed instruments invented during the second quarter of 19th century but only the harmonium and the concertina are surviving. It was invented and patented in Paris in 1837 and was created for classic music. The inventor, Pierre Charles Leclèrc, clockmaker in 2 Rue des Enfans-Rouges, in Paris, persuaded the composer Jacques François Fromental Elie Halévy to include a mélophone solo in his 1838 work Guido et Ginevra and exhibited for the first time this instrument during the Exposition Nationale de Paris in 1839. That opened him the doors of many Parisian opera managers, but the success of the mélophone was mediocre: it rapidly declined and the instrument was abandoned between 1850 and 1860. Besides an occasional use in French cultural gatherings, it was used in Italy and in Southern Germany too. The mélophone is a free reed instrument similar to the accordion, with melodic and harmonic reeds and a body that recalls the guitar and the violin. In the body of the instrument there is a double bellows and an activation lever, allowing the player to play tremolo and staccato, piano and forte. The buttons are arranged on the head, they are made of ivory and control a complex system of operative levers, springs, and control cables arranged on the upper side that open the pallets of every note, allowing the passage of the air and so the vibration of the reed. These instruments were also made by Brown A., in 20 Rue des Fossés-du-Temple, Paris, by Pellerin Charles Alexandre, in 58bis Rue Meslay, Paris, and in 8 Rue de la Jussienne, Paris who presented some examples at Exposition Nationale de Paris in 1844, and by Porcher, in 16 Rue Saint-Sauveur, Paris, who presented his instrument during the same Exposition in 1849. The instrument shows 8 chromatic bass notes, 9 chromatic tenor notes, 13 chromatic alto notes, 13 chromatic soprano notes, and 12 chromatic sopranino notes for a total of 84 ivory roll buttons. The total length is 744mm (29.3”), without the bellows lever, the head is 239mm (9.4”) long; length of the body 505mm (19.9”), height without cover 105mm (4.15”), with the cover 177mm (6.95”), upper breadth 246mm (9.7”), lower breadth 284mm (11.2”), minimum breadth 218mm (8.6”). The lever is made of brass with ebony handle; the head, with the metal plate on which the buttons are arranged, is made of ebony and ends with a scroll. The ribs and the back are made of fine maple while the cover is made of spruce with two F-holes similar to those of the violin, two rich decorations made of black ink, and a circular brass plaque with the effigy of a nobleman and the writing: Henri de Lorraine, Comte de Harcourt, Grand Ecuyer de France, identifying the commissioner.

 

L. 20.      English concertina made by Louis Lachenal in 1895, the title block in fact has the caption: LACHENAL & Cº. / PATENT CONCERTINA / MANUFACTURES / LONDON and the serial number 38953. The concertina was invented in 1829 by Charles Wheatstone, engineer and physicist who also invented the symphonium, whose first concertina represents one of the numerous variations scale-up for him by Louis Lachenal whose manufacturer operated till 1934. The typical shape of the instrument is hexagonal, the reeds, inside of the instrument, are arranged radially, skirting the borders of the sound box, and every button selected a single reed for each direction of the bellows. There are three existing types of concertina: English, Anglo and Duet. The English concertina, born as first, is chromatic and every button produces the same note both opening and closing the bellows. This instrument has 48 buttons divided on the two sides (6+7+6+5 for the right hand, 6+6+6+6 for the left hand) with alternated notes, that is the notes on the lines of the staff are on one side, and those on the spaces of the staff are on the opposite side. The arrangement is intentionally thought to simplify the reading of the score, being an instrument originally conceived to play art music. On both sides the buttons are arranged on four vertical rows, the middle two (white) for the natural notes, and the outer two (black) for the accidentals. The range is three octaves and a fourth, from G3 to C7, like the violin. The concertina is sustained by the player’s thumbs by means of adjustable laces made of leather, while two metal "L" allow to the little fingers to hold part of the weight. The two hexagonal sound boxes made of wood are 90mm (3.55”) long, and 50mm (1.95”) high, divided by the bellows with a total height of 117mm (4.6”). There is the original case.

 

L. 21.      Diatonic harmonica, Hohner 263 Chromatica, made in mid 20th century and used in harmonica orchestras. It is 361mm (14.2”) long, with 35 double reeds from G to F. On the cover, other than the notes reported in circles, there is the caption: M star HONER’s, TRADE MARK, four medals won between 1893 and 1927, M HONER, made in Germany, CHROMATICA N° 263. The comb is made of pearwood covered with briar-root, the reeds are made of brass, the covers of chromed metal, and the case is made of cardboard.

 

L. 22.      Harmonica, Hohner contrabass 265 Chromatica, made in mid 20th century and used in harmonica orchestras. It is made of two harmonicas joint together, the first with fifteen holes for the natural notes from E to E, the second with fourteen holes for intermediate notes and four natural notes. This instrument is not diatonic, that is it can be played only blowing and not drawing. The comb is made of pearwood covered with briar-root with a covering made of white Bakelite on the blowing surface, the reeds are made of brass and the covers are made of chromed metal. On those are reported the notes in circles and the caption: M star HONER’s CHROMATICA, TRADE MARK, four medals won between 1893 and 1927, M HONER, made in Germany, N° 265. The instrument, 403mm (15.85”) long, is in its case made of wood covered with briar-root.

 

L. 23.      Diatonic harmonica Hohner with chords (267/384 "48 chord”) made in mid 20th century and used in harmonica orchestras. It is made of two harmonicas joint together, each of them with twelve groups of 4 + 4 holes (96 double holes for a total of 384 holes). On the chromed metal covers of the two instruments there is the writing M star HONER / MADE IN GERMANY and the 48 chords that can be played (12 major, 12 minor, 12 seventh, 6 diminished, 6 augmented): GES, DES, AS, ES, Eb, F, C, G, D, A, E, B. The instrument is 586mm (23.05”) long; the body is made of pearwood and the case is made of wood covered with black vinyl.

 

L. 24.      Harmoni-cor (Hautbois Nouveau) made in around 1865. The harmoni-cor was patented by Louis Julien Jaulin in 1950s and, in its inventor’s intents, it was meant to substitute the oboe and the cor anglais. It is made of twenty-eight metal piston valves that are black and white like the piano keys, in which there are metal reeds emitting the sounds (from B2 to D5). The body is made of rosewood, 494mm (19.45”) long, with bell diameter being 62mm (2.45”); is branded: HARMONI-COR / J. JAULIN INVR / B S.G.D.S. / A PARIS. This instrument belonged to musicologist, composer, and Egyptologist Guy Bernard who composed music for documentaries that, during the postwar, preceded the showing of famous authors’ films.

 

L. 25.      Diatonic accordion datable to the last decade of 19th century. The keyboard has twenty-one keys arranged on two rows, second voices to the melody (eleven whites made of ivory alternated by ten rosewood keys), eight bass buttons made of mother of pearl with external piston arranges on two rows set on two wooden supports, third voices to the bass, and a vent button on the external side of the bass sound box. The treble box and the keyboard are decorated with marquetry of polychrome wood with geometrical motif. A fretwork in veneered wood frontally hides the pallets, in the middle of the treble box, embedded in the wood and protected by a glass plate, there is the plaque of the factory: PREMIATA FABBRICA / di ARMONICHE / CAV PAOLO SOPRANI e FIGLI / CASTELFIDARDO / ANCONA ITALIA. Bellows made of cardboard with 18 folds, covered with white satin, reinforced at the corners with metal frames. The Paolo Soprani manufacturer was founded in 1863 in Castelfidardo. It stopped the activity in 1987. The accordion manufacturing started in 1863 when a copy of Demian’s instrument, thanks to an Austrian pilgrim, ended up in the hands of young Paolo Soprani from Castelfidardo. Paolo Soprani studied that instrument in every detail so that he could reproduce it. In 1864, in fact, together with his brothers, he decided to open a shop where he would produce accordions. The dimensions are: 235 x 170 x 280 mm (9.25” x 6.7” x 11”) while the keyboard sticks out for 58mm (2.3”).

 

L. 26.      Examina, device used to test the harmonicas without putting the lips on the instruments. On the back, after the handle, is written: HOHNER’S / EXAMINA / SHUTZ (horn with the writing SPORT) MARKE / DIE QUALITATSMARKE / (on image of harmonica) ECHO / M HOHNER. It is made of a pair of bellows with wooden sides and a rectangular vent hole on which is put the harmonica to be tested. The dimensions, with closed bellows, are 120 x 224 x 40 mm (4.7” x 8.8” x 1.55”).

 

L. 28.      Hohner organette, steel reeds on individual plates, in C major, built in Germany between the 1920s and 1930s, mainly for the US market. This diatonic organette mounts steel reeds on individual zinc plates for a "bright and clear sound". There are ten white buttons for the melody and three keys, two for the bass and one for quick venting. There are two sets of reeds for the bass and four for the treble, governed by four black knobs on top of the instrument. The measurements are: 279 x 209 x 153 mm. The bellows are made up of nineteen coloured elements on the back (5 + 5 whites at the ends, 3 + 3 intermediate reds and 3 gold at the centre).

 

L. 29.      Italian accordion, built around 1950 in Castelfidardo (AN) by Agostinelli Nazzareno who, from 1946 to 1977, built accordions under the brand name L'Artigiana. The instrument is made of red celluloid with nickel-plated inserts. The trademark reads: L'ARTIGIANA / MADE IN ITALY / CASTELFIDARDO. In the centre there is the image of a wind instrument player, the letters L and A and some notes. The "piano" keyboard has thirty-seven keys of which twenty-two are made of mother-of-pearl for the natural notes (G - G) and fifteen of red celluloid for the altered notes. On the keyboard there are seven registers for singing (master, celeste, bandon, accord, violin, basson, master) while the left hand controls eighty black bass buttons placed in five rows. The bellows is made up of sixteen compartments with metal reinforcements at the edges. Three birds are drawn on the rim.

 

L. 31.      Lucciola accordion, in red celluloid, built in the fourth decade of the 20th century by the firm Settimio Soprani of Castelfidardo (AN). The piano-style keyboard has thirty-four keys (G - E) and, at the front, four large round mute keys. There are eighty basses, on five rows, five registers on the keyboard (bassoon, bandon, master, violin, clarinet) and two on the basses. The bellows consists of sixteen compartments with metal reinforcements at the edges.  The dimensions are 60 x 29 x 12 cm. The instrument belonged to Mrs. Vincenza Cassì of Comiso (RG). Her daughter-in-law, Mrs. Titti Pagliarini, wife of her son Paolo, donated it to the museum on 24 June 2023.

 

M. 1.      French hurdy-gurdy, mid 19th century, signed on the side of the keybox and under the keybox lid by Pajot Fils, instrument maker in Jenzat. The instrument had the shape of a “vielle en luth”; it has 2 chantarelles (only one fingerable), mouche, trompette with trompillon, grand bourdon, petit bourdon, and four sympathetic strings on the board. The bowlback has alternated staves of maple and rosewood, with a flowered plate on the side of the crank. The board is made of fir trimmed with marquetry made of ivory and ebony plugs, alternated with a double purfling and with motifs made of red and black ink. The bridges are made of maple; the wheel cover, the keybox lid, and the tailpiece are made of walnut with floral marquetry made of rosewood. The back strap pin is made of ebony; the front strap pins and the wheel cover stop are made of ivory. The wheel, made of maple, is embedded in the iron plank is not detachable; behind the wheel the lubrication hole can be seen. The crank is made of iron while the handle and the trompillon pin, that regulate the trompette, are made of ivory. In the keybox there are 13 diatonic keys made of ebony and 10 chromatic keys made of ivory. Bridges and keybox are made of maple and the latter, other than the author’s signature, presents four figures painted with ink. The pegbox is made of maple with 6 pegs made of ebonised rosewood (5 original and 1 restored) and it has, on the top, a carved and painted feminine head.

 

M. 4.      Trombe di S. Pietro (“Saint Peter’s trumpets”) made of not-enamelled terracotta, Apulia, second half of 20th century. These instruments, with only some harmonic notes, are devotion instruments (used by children during St. Peter procession in Grottaglie), made of single pieces including the mouthpieces. The first is narrow and long (454mm – 17.85”) with large mouthpiece, the second is more rounded and short (303mm – 11.9”) with smaller mouthpiece, the third is circular, length 1202mm (47.3”), diameter 409mm (16.1”); the fourth is circular, diameter 292mm (11.5”), it presents a bell in the shape of a rooster head (typical of Grottaglie); the fifth is circular with the diameter 261mm (10.25”) wide; the sixth is 267mm (10.5”) wide made of scratched terracotta and has been made by Rosario Mastro in mid 20th century.

 

M. 5.      Jaw’s harps (scacciapensieri, marranzani, guimbarde), small collection of 15 instruments made in 19th and 20th century in Italy, Austria, England, India, and Afghanistan; the first is English, in the shape if a horseshoe and is signed J. R. SMITH (brothers operating in early 20th century); the second, entirely decorated, could be Italian; the third is English with an unusual shape of a cross; the fourth is Sicilian like the fifth; the sixth and the thirteenth are Afghan; the seventh is  signed J. R. SMITH / ENGLAND, the eighth is an old jaw’s harp from Rajastan (India) called "Morchang"; the ninth is English and is branded ENGLAND on both arms; the tenth is probably Sardinian; the eleventh is Austrian; the twelfth is English probably of 18th century discovered during an excavation therefore only the bronze frame is lasted while the iron tongue got shuttered; the fourteenth is Sardinian while the last is Austrian and has a peculiar double tongue. This instrument, with ancient origins, spread in disparate regions of the world, had its music and its virtuosos too. Albrechtsberger wrote some concertos for jaw’s harp, mandora, and strings; in Germany, between 1821 and 1830, concertos for ensembles made of even 16 jaw’s harps were performed.

 

M. 7.      Frame drum, from Salento, second half of 20th century. The total diameter is 425mm (16.75”) while the diameter of the lambskin is 415mm (16.35”). The frame, made of beech wood, is 90mm (3.55”) high.  Tympanon recreated starting from a Magna Graecia terracotta representing a maenad with a tympanon, second half of 3rd century B.C., found in Taranto in 1959 and inventoried in Taranto Archaeological National Museum with the number 114302. The instrument has a diameter 445mm (17.5”) wide; the frame is made of two beech wood bands which are 4mm (0.15”) wide and 51mm (2”) high. The goat kid leather is tanned with natural techniques.

 

M. 10.    Cornamusa (bagpipe) zoppa (from Molise) in F, made in Scapoli (Isernia), made of lambskin and lambswool, and olive wood. The bag is small, narrow, and long. There is an embouchure, a mute chanter, a drone, and two chanters. The right hand chanter presents four front holes and a sound hole on the bell, the left hand chanter presents four front holes (the last a double hole), a tone hole, and four sound holes, two on the pipe and two on the bell.

 

M. 17.    Fiscaleddu, Sicilian beak flute, made of cane in mid 20th century. The instrument shows 6 front holes made with a red-hot metal.

 

M. 18.    Folk pifferos, made in Apulia in 20th century, made of brass pipes with six front holes, an embouchure without mouthpiece, and a stopper at the upper end. These instruments, approximately made, are used in bassa musica in Apulia and Basilicata. The bassa musica are ensemble made of a piffero and percussions (bass drum, cymbals, and some snare drums).

 

M. 19.    Tritone, (conch), sort of horn made of a big shell. On its apex, an embouchure has been made. The instrument, from Calabria, is datable to the first half of 20th century, it is approximately 260 x 25 mm (10.25” x 1”) long, and it is made of a beautiful white shell producing deep sounds and changing note according to the position of the hand in the aperture.

 

M. 20.    Sardinian launeddas (mid 20th century), is a triplepipe clarinet. The longest pipe is called "Tumbu", has no natural holes and produces a basso continuo note used as drone for all the music played. The second pipe is called "Mancosa manna" and is paired with the Tumbu (on the extreme left) with a binding of tarred twine: it is played with the left hand with the thumb under it to hold the weight; it has five small holes, four of them are covered with the fingertips of index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and little finger. The fifth hole, at the bottom, called "Pentiadori" or "Arrefinu" always remains open. The third pipe, shorter than the others, is called "Mancosedda" or "Destrina" because it is played with the right hand. Every pipe has a reed made out of the mouthpiece, so that at the end there is still a piece of the same mouthpiece. The instrument is played putting the three reeds in the mouth at the same time. The breathing technique to play the Launeddas needs a separate discussion because the drone has not to be stopped. This imply, on the part of the player, a perfect knowledge of the “circular breathing", a particular technique that allows, in brief, to inhale the air by the nose using, in the same time, the air held in reserve inside the cheeks, inflate by force. This procedure, usually, takes place during the last quarter of the measure and must be imperceptible to the listener. The circular breathing is without doubt one of the most suggestive characteristics of Launeddas music: whole sonatas are extraordinarily performed without interruptions within durations that could traditionally be very long (even hours).

 

M. 29.    Small alphorn, made during the first decades of 20th century in Switzerland. The instrument has a 525mm (20.65”) long fir body, the bell with a 43mm (1.7”) wide diameter and it is covered with birch bark. The alphorn is one of the most ancient woodwind instruments: it is made of a long wooden trumpet with conical bore, usually straight, and it is more than 2 meters (78.75”) long, or folded in three pieces. This is the characteristic instrument of Switzerland, Bavaria, and Austria; it has a wooden mouthpiece and only produces natural harmonics.

 

M. 33.    Cornett for baker or crier, with metal simple reed capped in the embouchure. The instrument, made of brass, datable to the first decades of 20th century, is 271mm (10.65”) long.

 

M. 37.    Recorder made out of a cevara inserting on the foot a wooden recorder beak. The modification was made in France during the first decades of 20th century. The instrument has a total length of 820mm (32.3”), it presents seven front holes and on the back the tone hole and two sound holes.

 

M. 38.    Totarella from Pollino, folk double reed oboe. This instrument accompanies in many performances the Basilicata zampogna a chiave, and for this reason it is made tuned like the zampogna that accompanies (G+; F+; 3 palms, etc...), so every piece is an absolutely unique instrument. The totarella has seven front holes and a back hole (unlike the shawms from central Italy having 8 + 1 holes) and it is also used as a solo instrument, with another bigger totarella used as bass. This instrument, 376mm (14.8”) long, is made of two pieces: the bell, in fact, is screwed in the body. The totarella is made of olive wood and presents four sound holes, two on the body and two on the bell.

 

M. 41.    Ocarina with two keys and a metal tuning pipe, Austrian, made of enamelled and painted terracotta during the first decade of 20th century by Heinrich Fiehn, instrument maker dead in 1941 who, since 1879, made high quality instruments mainly sold in USA. The instrument presents an oval where there is the caption H. Fiehn Made in Austria and two golden medals testifying awards obtained during international exhibitions. The instrument is 149mm (5.85”) long and presents 8 + 2 open holes and two keys.

 

M. 42.    Tubular bells. Handmade instrument called “tubofono” by its maker, Sgobio Vito Nicola, made of a parallelepipedic box with trapezoidal base (short sides: 250mm -9.85”- and 150mm -5.9”-; long side: 690mm -27.15”-; height: 145mm -5.7”-) on which there are 21 tubular bells with a very approximate tuning. The instrument dates back to the second half of 20th century and later the box has been embellished with a decoupage.

 

M. 44.    Great highland bagpipe, anonymous, made in mid of 20th century. This instrument is an air-supplying (bag) aerophone; it has a double reed for the chanter and single reeds for the three drones (two tenors and a bass). The bag is made of goat leather while the pipes are made of African blackwood with finishing made of nickel-plated brass and casein (artificial ivory), the cover is made of Royal Stewart tartan with the drones held together by a twine of the same colour. The chanter presents seven front holes and a back hole other than two sound holes on the bell, and it is 333mm (13.1”) long, the two tenor drones are 334mm (13.15”) long while the bass drone is 467mm (18.4”) long.

 

M. 45.    Breton bombard made of boxwood, French, anonymous, datable to mid 18th century. The instrument is made of two pieces: the upper body, 292mm (11.5”) long, presents six front holes, while the foot, 147mm (5.8”) long, presents two sound holes on the neck and two on the bell. This instrument, elegantly turned, has a light bending; like every bombard it has a single-octave range, and is played with a double reed.

 

M. 47.    Zampogna a chiave, made in Pollino area during the second half of 20th century. The instrument has a bag made of a reversed goat leather (with the fur inside) treated with verdigris. The mouthpiece is made of a piece of cane wrapped in a wood covering and presents a non-return valve. The stock has conical-frustum shape, richly turned, and at the base there are four holes for the canes. The stock and the canes are made of yellow-painted maple. The zampogna a chiave, common in Northern Calabria and in Basilicata, has conical canes, two chanters (the “manca” and the “destra” respectively for the left hand and the right hand) and two drones (“trum”, the longest, and “sc’kantillo”, the shorter) tuned at the octave. All the canes have a bell and a double reed. The manca has three holes for the fingers and a key for the little finger with key guard in the shape of a little barrel, on the key guard there are five sound holes while two sound holes are on the bell. The length of the manca determines the tuning of the instrument: this one is three palms and a half and is tuned in E so that it produces the notes A, B, C, D, E. The destra has five front holes (a double hole for the ring finger) and a tone hole plus two sound holes on the body and two on the bell, so it produces the notes G, A, B, C, D, E. The tuning of a zampogna is a very complex procedure so that the players resort to little wax pieces that modify the width of the holes, and the sliding of the body on the calzetto (the tenon) to modify the length. The instrument is equipped with cork stoppers, used to exclude the drones during the tuning, four double reeds (three well-functioning), and a wax piece stuck to the stock.

 

M. 50.    Pipiolu from Barbagia in Eb: the four holes for the fingers are only on the front and the cane is not stopped by the knurl that, opportunely broken, is on the lower end. The cork block (“su tupponi”) presents an about 50° slant, in the inner part, parallel to the angle of the beak. In Sardinia there are three types of beak flutes: the sulittu in Marmilla, the so-called Logudoro pipiolu used in Cagliari Campidano, and Barbagia pipaiolu. The differences between the first two is highlighted by the number of the holes and by the position of the back hole (respectively 3 + 1 and 4 + 1) in respect of the central knurl of the instrument, while the Barbagia pipaiolu is different from the other two because of the absence of the back hole and the position of the knurl. The instrument, conserved by Schilwe Kerstin, was made in Silius (Sardinia) of seasoned cane, it presents a fipple (“sa fentana”), carved with knife and the holes finished with red-hot iron, is 126mm (4.95”) long and 20mm (0.8”) wide.

 

M. 53.    Apulian cupa-cupa, made at the end of 20th century in Lucugnano (Lecce). These are rubbing drums made of a sound box on which the goat kid leather lies. In the centre of the leather a cane pole passes. The sound is produced by the rubbing of a wet hand (protected by a sponge or a rag) along the pole that transfers the vibrations to the leather. Apulian instruments generally have a sound box made of a terracotta vase while Campanian and Basilicata instruments consist of cylinders made of tinplate (generally large food containers) or wood and with harder leather like those of goat or donkey. This instrument has numerous synonyms: Caccavella, Spernacchiatore, Puti-Puti, Pignato, Cute-Cute, Cupello, Pan-Bomba (Spanish origin), Cupi Cupi. This couple of instruments is made of two vases measuring 203mm (8”) and 185mm (7.3”), with three handles, decorated with shapes of waves and stripes, and adorned with tricolour ribbons. The smaller instrument presents a supporting structure for the pole starting from the handles and finishing with a ring covered with red fabric.

 

M. 60.    Goat gemshorn, Italian, dating back to last years of 20th century. The instrument presents the fipple window, four front holes and a back hole for the right hand and a vent hole, with the letters G and M that could make it relate to the maker Giuseppe Minghella from Maranola (Latina). At the bottom there is a wooden moulded bung with a small slot for the blowing, while on the top there is a hole for the lace, the total length is 310mm (12.2”).

 

M. 61.    Italian ocarina, made by Antonio Canella (1878-1940) in Ferrara during the first decade of 20th century. He, like Donati, worked on various types of double ocarinas and invented the bi-ocarina (one on the other), with a metal piston to modify the tuning. He made even 100 ocarinas per day and exported them all around the world also making artistic ocarinas for special commissions. This is in C, is 262mm (10.3”) long, and presents two metal supports, one on the top and a ring nut on the other end. It is branded ANT CANELLA / FERRARA (Italia), coloured black with plant decorations around the holes.

 

M. 66.    Giant tambourine, datable to the first decade of 20th century, from Neapolitan area. The instrument has an 830mm (32.65”) wide diameter and the frame is 125mm (4.9”) high. It has six pairs of jingles made of tinplate. The membrane is not made of leather but of a thin sheet of wood with a folk painting representing a couple of dancers in traditional costume on yellow background and with the Vesuvius at their back.

 

M. 73.    Whistle from Grottaglie (Taranto) made of terracotta by Francesco Santoro. They are made of a thin squared foil of clay with the angles lifted and joined leaving a small squared holes in the centre. The sound is produced putting the lips on one side and directing the air against the opposite side. The first has dimensions 53 x 69 mm (2.1” x 2.7”), the second 65 x 75 mm (2.55” x 2.95”), the third 54 x 50 mm (2.1” x 1.95”), the fourth 55 x 32 mm (2.15” x 1.25”), and the fifth 45 x 36 mm (1.75” x 1.4”).

 

M. 74.    Turkish military band, six crèche figures of musicians coming from a Neapolitan crèche dating to the end of 19th century. The statuettes, made of polychrome wood and fabric, represent six Turkish musicians. Every figure wears a turban, a blue white-cuffed shirt, a red waistcoat, white trousers, blue socks, and slippers. Three musicians have dark skin and three have white skin. They play an oboe, a bombard, a drum, a serpent, and a horn, while the last is the drum major.

 

M. 76.    Surdulina in E/Bb, made at the end of 20th century by Francesco Possidente in Acquaformosa (Cosenza). The surdulina (sueniciell) is a small pastoral instrument, for transhumance, existent between the very southern section of Lucania and the most part of the province of Cosenza, most of all in Arbëreshë community (in the places with Albanian influence the instrument is called karramunxia). It shows two chanters with the same length, a drone smaller than the chanters and drone longer then the chanters (unique case in Italian zampognas). The joint of simple reeds with tubing which are always perfectly cylindrical and with small diameter, together with the peculiar disposition of the holes on the two chanters, makes the surdulina the smallest model of Italian zampogna in circulation. Not only: together with the zampogna of Fossalto, it is the only case among Italian bag aerophones that uses double pipes with parallel fingering, typical feature of Mediterranean and Balkan instruments. This instrument is entirely made of wild olive with two chanters measuring 128mm (5.05”), with four holes for “ritta” and “manca”, but with a back hole on the first. The drones measure 58mm (2.3”) and 156mm (6.15”). The higher drone (fischietto or scandillo) and the manca (left chanter) are wedged. The stock, with conical-frustum shape, is 155mm (6,1”) high and, at the base, 98mm (3.85”) wide; on it there is a piece made of beeswax to modify the opening of the holes and awls, made of wood and of bone, to shape the wax. The bag is made of kidskin and the mouthpiece is made of cane inserted in a small olive log.

 

M. 79.    Stock, two chanters, and two drones of a Calabrian sordulina in G, datable to the first half of 20th century. There are two chanter of the same length, a shorter drone and a longer drone, both longer than the chanters, each one with inner cylindrical bore with diameter measuring 8mm (0.3”). This instrument is made of wood decorated with geometric shapes, meanders, and leaves except for the longer drone that seems to have been restored. All the canes finish with large bells (110mm -4.35”- for the chanters, 120mm -4.7”- and 105 -4.15”- for the drones) having a merely aesthetic function, because the inner bore is always cylindrical. The two chanters, starting from the stock, measure 208mm (8.2”), with four holes for the fingers for “ritta” (right hand) and “manca” (left hand); on the first there is a sound hole, while the second is wedged with a piece of wax that allow to silence the chanter by closing all the holes. The higher drone (“fischietto” or “scandillo”) measures 112mm (4.4”) and the lower one (“trumm” or “trombone”) measures 232mm (9.15”). The stock, with conical-frustum shape, is 131mm (5.15”) high and, at the base, 135mm (5.3”) wide.     

 

M. 82.    Breton Bombard, anonymous, in G, dating back to the first decades of the 20th century, in black painted wood. The instrument has seven front holes with a key and two harmonic holes on the bell, which is slightly flared, similar to that of clarinets. The key, the two ring hinges and the double reeds support are made of brass. The instrument is in three pieces for a total length mm. 475, excluding the reeds support.

 

M. 85.    Two Pipiolos made of bone (Pipiolu "e ossu") dating back to the first decades of the twentieth century, manufactured in Sardinia, in the area of Logudoro, also called "sulittu del Campidano". This type of zufolo, which has now disappeared, is made from a bone of lamb shank, and has between three and five holes. These instruments are very small, the first mm. 67 and the second 72, both in F, have only two front holes and one rear hole in a position higher than the front ones and a large labium of mm. 9.

 

M. 88.    Concert ocarinas in C built in the last decade of the twentieth century by Fabio Menaglio in red clay. The ocarina, invented by Giuseppe Donati in Budrio in 1853, is a popular wind musical instrument, a globular flute with an elongated ovoid shape, just like a small goose without a head, with a mouthpiece to the side and in the body practiced various finger holes. In 1989 Fabio Menaglio takes over the firm of Arrigo Mignani in Budrio even if it is inspired by Cesare Vicinelli, considered by all to be the greatest ocarinas manufacturer. His instruments are of extraordinary quality and highly sought after by all the ocarina players. The instruments, two cut in C1 and one in C3, have at the back two holes for the thumbs and one of the labium and in the front four holes for the left hand and four for the right. On the mouthpiece, there is the octagonal mark: outside DITTA ARTIGIANA - F. MENAGLIO / in the center of BUDRIO. The length is mm. 168 for that in C3, mm. 123 for those in C1.

 

M. 90.    Pastoral horn, in bovine horn, Italian, made by Fabio Anti. Seven front holes plus a lower rear hole for intonation. The base, closed by a wooden wedge with a small slot for insufflation, is oval and measures 94 x 74 mm. The total length is about 430 mm. The instrument is decorated with ivory paint.

 

M. 91.    Musical saw, also called singer saw or bow saw, dating from the first half of the 20th century. This is an atypical musical instrument: it is formed by a normal trapezoidal carpenter's saw in steel, it is played with a violin bow. You play seated, with the handle of the saw between your thighs, your teeth turned towards us and the tip grasped with your left hand. The sound is at the same time sweet and vibrant, whining; may remember that of the theremin. Agility and short notes are not possible, given the long resonance of the blade. The dynamic is rather limited. In addition to the sound produced with the bow, the saw can also be played with soft drum sticks, creating a mysterious effect. Although it is listed among the "accessory" instruments of percussionists, the musical saw requires a certain skill in the use of the bow and a good melodic ear. The instrument is then played by a specialist, a percussionist or a string instrument player with the necessary mental openness. It was born as a popular instrument around the middle of the nineteenth century. Starting from the 1920s he had some use in light music, circus, variety and jazz orchestras. One of the great virtuosos of this curious instrument is the German Friedrich who in 1928 played a solo recital directed by Erich Kleiber at the Berlin State Opera. The saw appears, among other compositions, in works by Mauricio Kagel, Krzysztof Penderecki, Azio Corghi, Salvatore Sciarrino, Fabio Nieder. It is not necessary to know the music to play a musical saw. You can simply play it by ear. The dimensions of the instrument are: length mm. 554, blade height at tip mm. 60 and height of the handle mm. 119.

 

M. 93.    Keyed bagpipes in G (three palms), made in Prato Perillo, the most populous hamlet in the municipality of Teggiano, in the province of Salerno. This type of instrument is prevalent in the province of Salerno and the peculiarity is that the short chanter is played with the left hand while the long one, with the key, is played with the right. These instruments are made from two types of wood: maple bells and olive body. The bag is made of a goatskin, the holes in which are sewn except for a back leg where the mouthpiece is housed and the neck where the stump is placed. The reeds, which all start from the stump, are called destra or dritta or ritta, then there is the mancina or manca; the major bourdon is called trombo or contra and the minor bourdon is called fischietto or moschetto or scandillo. All reeds are double. The manca is 382 mm., has five holes (one at the back for the left thumb) with the IV double hole of which one, the right, is plugged with wax: there are also five intonation holes the first plugged. two at the end of the spindle and two on the bell. The ritta is mm. 694 with grave note G, it has three holes plus one controlled by an iron key. The key is hidden by a barrel with many holes and the bell shows four pitch holes. The two bourdons have no holes, they have a cork to silence them, they are mm. 319 and mm. 145 and emit D and G; the body are in two pieces, olive and maple.

 

M. 94.    Nasal flute "INDIA JAZZ FLUTE". This instrument is a small device, it is played with the nose. The sound production mechanism is similar to that of a recorder: the air emitted by the nose breaks on a sharp edge and directs the flow towards the player's open mouth so that the movement of the cheeks changes the internal volume and therefore the note. In the second half of the 19th century, the nose flute was made of wood, metal or ivory, later it was built in tin and was also marketed under other names such as Magic Flute, Humantone and Humanaphone. In the late 1930s, plastic nasal flutes were introduced as children's toys and became quite popular. This instrument was produced in the USA and distributed in France by Roger Lagrange of Arcueil in the first decade of the 20th century. It is all in tin, mm high. 85 and wide mm. 53. The upper part has two fins that cover the nostrils, the emitted air is conveyed into a narrow slot and fringes on a thin sheet. The lower part has a quadrangular slit, topped with a small shelf on which the upper lip rests, which allows you to suck in the air and emit the sound using the oral cavity as a resonance box.

 

M. 95.    Surdulina wooden log, two chanters and two drones, in C from Lucana, datable to the first half of the 20th century. The instrument is attributed to Carmine Salamone, one of the great virtuoso of surdulina, in the area of Pollino: originally from San Paolo Albanese, but lived in the territory of Terranova di Pollino, in Val Sermento. There are two chanters of equal length of mm. 200, a minor drone (the acute one called "bordone" or "scandillo") of mm. 133 and a major drone (trumm or trombone) of mm. 268, all with internal cylindrical chamber. This instrument is made of mulberry wood. All the pipes end in pavilions with a diameter of mm. 58 for the chanter, 64 and 42 for the drones, with only aesthetic function because the internal hole is always cylindrical. The two chanters, with four holes for the fingers per ritta and manca: on the first one there is a resonance hole, while the second one is wedged by a piece of wood that allows to silence it by closing all the holes. The log, truncated cone, is 120 mm high, and wide, at the base 84 and above 60. On it there is a piece of beeswax to modify the opening of the holes thus correcting the intonation.

 

M. 96.    Ebony castanets. Castanets are shaking idiophones consisting of a central piece, in the shape of a St James' shell, ending in a long handle and two concave clappers, hinged to the top of the instrument, of the same shape as the central piece. The sound is generated by the concussion of the two free clappers against the central piece. Those made of ebony are professional instruments, for percussionists in orchestras. The first is a single castanet, 185 mm long, while the width of the clappers is 45 mm. The second is a double castanet, consisting of a central handle which ends, at both ends, with two central pieces to which the two clappers are hinged with red fabric. The total length is 248 mm. The instruments can be dated to the middle of the 20th century.

 

M. 97.    Neapolitan scetavajasse, datable to the first decades of the 20th century. The scetavajasse is a musical instrument made up of two wooden sticks, one of which is notched and longer, with tin saucers on one of its sides: this is generally held in the right hand and rubbed with great force against the other stick to produce a rhythmic and intense sound (called nfrunfrù), in an attempt, according to some sources, to evoke the sound of the waves of the sea. The other stick, which is smaller and has a quadrangular cross-section, is held over the shoulder to produce a composite sound caused by the impact of the notches on the wood and the tinkling of the discs. The musician's movement may resemble that of a violinist. The scetavajasse originates from a domestic rather than a musical use. In fact, the word itself means wake-up call (sceta) serve (vajasse), an operation carried out by rubbing together the two sticks that make up this instrument. Very often the scetavajasse, in popular festivals, is not used alone but accompanied by the putipù and triccheballacche. The instrument is 660 mm long: at one end are fixed two tin saucers with a diameter of 110 mm and at the other end are fixed two bicycle bell resonators with three spherical brass rattles. On the side opposite the indented part are thirteen rattles, each consisting of four tin saucers of decreasing size. The small stick, rectangular section, is 540 mm long.

 

M. 102.  Trumpets of St Peter's made in 2022. There are three instruments: the first, of truncated cone form, in graffitoed and unglazed terracotta with yellow glazed mouthpiece. The instrument comes from the Francesco Annicchiarico factory in Grottaglie (TA). In addition to the rich graffiti all over the body, there are seven flowers in the lower part of the body. The total length is mm.262, the diameter of the bell is mm.108 and that of the mouthpiece is mm.48. The second trumpet is circular, in unglazed terracotta with a yellow glazed mouthpiece. The instrument comes from the Francesco Annicchiarico factory in Grottaglie (TA). The maximum diameter is 201 mm, that of the bell is 111 and that of the mouthpiece is 49 mm. The third is circular with a bell in the shape of a cock's head, in unglazed terracotta with a yellow glazed mouthpiece. The instrument comes from the Francesco Annicchiarico factory in Grottaglie (TA). The maximum diameter is mm. 121 and that of the mouthpiece mm.47.

 

M. 103.  Ocarinas in unglazed terracotta manufactured in Grottaglie (TA) in the last years of the 20th century. The two instruments have eight holes at the top and two at the bottom plus a hole at the tip, outside the sound chamber, to hang the instrument. The lowest note emitted by the two ocarinas is B, their length is mm. 161 and 163 and have three small feet on the lower face.

 

M. 104.  Neapolitan Triccheballacche, datable to the mid-20th century, anonymous. It is made of wood painted green and red with twenty-four pairs of saucers distributed on the hammers, plugs and frame. The height of the central hammer is mm. 619, the width of the frame that regulates the stroke of the hammers is mm. 483 and the base is mm. 176. The triccheballacche is a traditional musical instrument of southern Italy, typical of the Naples area, consisting of three wooden hammers strung together. The three hammers are parallel to each other, while the two wooden frames are perpendicular to the hammers. The frame placed at the bottom joins the three hammers, the second frame placed higher up allows the two outer hammers to have an excursion, while governing the maximum play they can have while the central hammer is fixed. In some examples, the hammers have rattles and bells, so that each beat of the hammer produces a percussive sound and the sound of the saucers.

 

M. 105.  Mamuthones bell, Sardinian, all brass, datable to the first half of the 20th century. the instrument has a maximum width of mm. 116 by mm. 125 in height. it has an iron clapper, a handle and a wave decoration. The instrument is a cuartesa, it is in fact round in shape, used mainly in the Campidano area, while the dimensions place it as a dezinu, of intermediate size.

 

M. 106.  Triccheballacche made in Campania, datable to the mid-20th century, anonymous. It is made of walnut stained wood with five pairs of saucers, made from pieces of tin painted red, distributed over the hammers. The height of the hammers is mm. 494, the width of the frame regulating the stroke of the hammers is mm. 445 and is finished with coloured ribbons. The frame placed in the lower part unites the three hammers, the second frame placed higher up allows the two outer hammers to have a stroke, while governing the maximum play they can have while the central hammer is fixed. In some examples, the hammers have rattles and bells so that each beat of the hammer produces a percussive sound and the sound of the saucers.

 

M. 107.  Ciaramella, made in Teggiano in the mid-19th century, was used in tandem with the left-handed bagpipe. This finely turned instrument consists of a body and bell made of chestnut wood joined by screws. The body has eight holes at the front, the last one plugged with wax, and one at the back plus one resonance hole placed laterally near the bell on which two other resonance holes are drilled. Total length mm. 343.

 

M. 108.  Keyed bagpipe in G (three palms), made in Prato Perillo, a hamlet of Teggiano, in the province of Salerno. The short chanter is played with the left hand while the long one, with the key, is played with the right. These instruments are made of two types of wood: the bells are made of maple and the bodies of olive. There is no bag but only the stump, mm. 180, with the four reeds and the mouthpiece with the non-return valve. All the reeds are double. The manca is mm. 430, emits E as the lowest note, has five holes (one at the back for the left thumb) with five pitch holes the first on the body, two at the end of the spindle and two on the bell. The ritta is mm. 662 with a low A note, has three holes plus one controlled by an iron key. The key is hidden by a barrel with eight holes and the bell has four tuning holes. The two bourdons have no holes, they have a cork to silence them, they are 359 mm. and 125 mm. long and emit C and A; the body are in two pieces, olive and maple. the mouthpiece is 119 mm. long and, at the top, has the usual plastic blowpipe. There is also another cane of mm. 319 3 a bell of mm. 109.

 

M. 109.  Cattle and mamuthones bells made in Sardinia. They have an oval mouth, datable to the first half of the 20th century. There are eight bells, made of brass: the first three with a small brass clapper, the others with an iron clapper.

 

M. 110.  Four sonorous distaffs from the Calabrian area datable between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. The distaff had a use function (a spinning tool) and a symbolic one (symbol of women's work and domestic virtues). It generally consisted of a handle, a bulge and a figurine at the top representing the beloved woman. The distaff is connected to domestic work and to female virtues for which it was often a wedding or engagement gift. Other symbolic values are attributed to the sonorous distaff. In fact, it had a control function over the work: the movement of pebbles, pellets, dried legumes or other, contained in the swelling, determines a sort of rhythmic scansion that accompanies the work and prevents it from being overlooked. An original purpose of a magical nature has also been hypothesized: the sound was meant to keep evil spirits away. They all have a cylindrical handle with a lower foot. The first has the swelling with five external and five internal interlocking slats with a containment band and pebbles inside. The external ones are decorated with black designs on an ocher background while the internal ones are colored in red. The terminal part consists of a standing female figure with long hair, a necklace, earrings and a sort of crown on her head. Her cloak is painted blue with yellow friezes while her dress is red. The overall height is mm. 298, the diameter of the swelling of mm. 60 and the height of the figure of mm. 114. The second has the swelling with five external and five interlocking internal slats, painted in dark brown, with a containment band and pebbles inside. The terminal part consists of a female figure standing on a pedestal, with hair gathered behind her neck and hands resting on her belly. The overall height is mm. 314, the diameter of the bulge of mm. 60 and the height of the figure of mm. 114. The third has the swelling with four external and four interlocking internal splints, painted in brown, with a containment band and pebbles inside. The terminal part consists of a stylized figure with a helmet on a quadrangular base, standing on a pedestal. The overall height is mm. 253, the diameter of the swelling mm. 53 and the height of the figure of mm. 98. The fourth has the swelling with four external and four interlocking internal splints, painted in dark brown, with a containment band and pebbles inside. The terminal part consists of a standing female figure with long hair gathered behind her shoulders, hands on her belly and an embroidered dress. The overall height is mm. 268, the diameter of the bulge of mm. 55 and the height of the figure of mm. 99.

 

M. 111.  French naval signaling siren (klaxon), built in 1874. The instrument is entirely made of brass, mm long. 548, the diameter of the bell is mm. 158. Issues the note Re. On the vent hole there is the writing: "AUTOMATIC - ANCHE", BTEÉ S. G. D. G., MODEL / DEPOSÉ. On the mouthpiece the writing is: BREVETE / S. G. D. G. / FRANCE & ETRANGER and, on the opposite side, the monogram G C. On the base of the trumpet there is the writing: LE TROMBLON / BREVETE S. G. D. G. / MODELE DEPOSE. On the tip of the internal resonator there is the writing: BREVETE S. G. D. G. The Tromblon was a ship steam gunboat and auxiliary sail (gunboat) of the French Navy in active service from 1875 to 1881. It participated in the Tunisia campaign of 1881. It concluded its career in 1898 as a target ship and ended up sunk in the Anse aux Sablette by fire from the Saint-Elme battery not far from Saint-Mandrier in the Var, one kilometer south of the Pointe de Saint-Elme.

 

M. 112.  Ocarina in C, made of white polylactic acid (PLA) filament with 3D printer by Vincenzo Annicchiarico of Grottaglie. The instrument is 135 mm long, 80 mm wide at the mouthpiece and the maximum thickness is 45 mm. There are eight front holes (the third and seventh double) and two rear holes.

 

M. 113.  Two whistles made in polylactic acid (PLA) filament; one white and the other in black PLA with a 3D printer by Vincenzo Annicchiarico of Grottaglie. The dimensions are mm. 50 x 25; they have a thin insufflation hole and, at the top, the labium hole.

 

M. 114.  Popular whistle made from a large apricot stone. This whistle is made by cutting the upper part of the apricot stone so as to obtain a sharp edge on which the air is blown out and emptying the inner almond to create a resonance chamber.

 

N. 6.       Turkish flute, dating back to the last decades of the Ottoman Empire. The instrument, made of bronze, is 778mm (30.6”) long, and is open at both ends. The flute is played holding it obliquely and leaning the upper extremity of the lower lip, it presents two sound holes on the foot, 7 front holes, and a back hole to produce the notes.

 

N. 7.       Turret recorder (cevara), 19th century, oriental make, 7 holes and a tone hole, dark-stained reddish wood with nickel silver decorations.

 

N. 8.       Recorder (cevara) datable to the end of 19th century, turret embouchure with bulb ending, body made of mahogany with seven ring nuts, embouchure and foot made of ebony. It is 670mm (26.35”) long and presents seven front holes, a back tone hole, and a sound hole on the foot.

 

N. 9.       Double pan flute, Bolivian, made of bamboo cane, 20th century. The panflutes are made of a series of flutes with different length held together in the shape of a raft. The pipes have not holes for the finger, the lower end is closed, and the sound is produced blowing in the upper holes.

 

N. 10.     Dvojnice, 2 specimens, first half of 20th century, one (317mm – 12.5”) with simple pipe (frula) and 6 front holes, and the other (321mm – 12.65”) with double pipe having four front holes on the right pipe and three holes on the left pipe. The dvojnices are doublepipes flutes from Dalmatia, richly decorated with geometric intaglios, and obtained from a single wooden block.

 

N. 17.     Gusla, string instrument from Serbia or Dalmatia with body and handle obtained from a single wooden piece (maple), richly marquetried; the only string, starting from a long peg passing through the handle, is made of twisted horsehair and the bow hair are made of horsehair too. The sound board is made of a sheep leather membrane tighten on the border of the soundbox while the string passes through a hole on the upper side of the bridge. The player sits while playing, holding vertically the instrument on the knees and singing; the gusla has not a fixed chorister instrument but it is adapted according to the singer playing. Since there is not a fingerboard the string is fingered sideways with the fingertips of the index finger, the middle finger, and the little finger (the ring finger is never used), without touching the handle. The length is 625mm (24.6”) including the handle sculpted in the shape of a horsehead, while the bow, also decorated, is 398mm (15.65”).

 

N. 41.     Kis-la, Finnish psaltery of 19th century. This ancient instrument was part of the collection of Alessandro Kraus (born in Florence, October 12, 1853 – dead in Fiesole, May 21, 1931) who was a very famous Sammarinese musicologist, pianist, organologist, and collector of musical instruments. The instrument is organologically, historically, and documentary extremely important, because it is really rare, also because it is extinct in the origin ethnic group. It is on the catalogue of instruments of Kraus collection with n° 119 of the archiving. The caption of the catalogue says: Kis-la, Psaltery of Maris. The original label handwritten by Kraus has the caption: Kisla / Salterio dei Ceremissi / di Siberia / XIX S° / (Asia). This instrument was bought and brought to Italy by Kraus himself during a stay in Northern Europe, (Alessandro Kraus musicologo and antropologo, Gabriele Rossi Rognoni, Giunti Editore, 2004) and he also described the playing methods and the timbre possibilities. This instrument presents 21 original gut strings, length 840mm (33.05”), wooden pegs. The sound board (in two pieces) and the body are made of fir and on the board there are two hard wood planks, in the shape of parabola arc, with the strings tightened between them.

 

N. 42.     Bulgarian gadulka, made in mid 20th century. This is the most representative rubbed string instrument in Bulgarian folk music bands. It is pyriform and recalls very much the rebec, having the neck and the body obtained out of a single piece of carved wood and a large superimposed soundboard with two D-shaped sound holes. Unlike other types of fidels and lyres, the gadulka, other than the three playing strings, has numerous sympathetic strings. The three metal playing strings are tuned in A, E, A while the nine sympathetic strings are tuned in B, C#, D, E, F#, G, G#, A, B. The pegs are carved with a knife, very sturdy for the playing strings and the central string support, more slender for the others: the strings start from the pegs, without a nut they arrive to the bridge with superficial attachments for the playing strings, very deep for the sympathetic strings. This instrument is played vertically with a horsehair bow and the notes are produced lightly fingering the strings without touching the neck.

 

N. 48.     Multiple fujara with single head joint and three feet (in F, in G, and in A) made by Dušan Holík with carved wood and pyrographated with floral figures. The fujara is made out of a long elder branch dried for several years before being hollowed by hand, while a smaller one (about 70cm – 27.55” long) is used for the blowing pipe with, at the end, a bocal made of maple: the two pieces are held together with leather twine and communicate by means of a bridge at the top of the instrument. It is a contrabass Slovakian flute (lit. shepherd’s pipe), only known in a small area in mountains of Central Slovakia and in Podpoľanie (below the Poľana Mountains), it has had a large spread in 20th century becoming a symbol of Slovakian culture, being declared Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO, in 2005. The fujara is a harmonic flute with three holes for the fingers on the foot and the harmonics are produced by varying the pressure of blowing. The length of the instrument is 200 cm (78.75”) with the foot in F, 180cm (70.85”) with the foot in G, and 160cm (63”) with the foot in A.

 

N. 49.     Dutch midwinterhoorn (lit. midwinter horn), datable to early 20th century. This is an ancient wind warning instrument, the first iconographic documents date back to 15th century, it is used even now in Twente, Veluwe, in South-East of Drenthe, in Achterhoek, and in some towns in Germany just beyond the border as a folkloric instrument. It is similar to an Alphorn: it has the body, lightly curved, made of birch, with an elder mouthpiece with distinctly ovoid shape. It is a natural horn and only produces harmonics. In Twente and in Achterhoek it is only played between the first Sunday of Advent ("anbloazen") and Epiphany ("afbloazen") spreading the dark and majestic sound in the valleys. The instrument is 790mm (31.1”) long, while the mouthpiece is 140mm (5.5”).

 

N. 51.     Bolivian charango, anonymous, but attributable to Isaac Rivas Romero (1913 - 1976), dating back to the first half of 20th century, commercialised in Mexico. This is an instrument with five courses of two strings (tuned in E5-E5, A4-A4, E5-E4, C5-C5 and G4-G4), with bowlback made of armadillo shell. When the Spanish conquistadores arrived in South America, took the vihuela and the lute. The history says that the native musicians liked the sound of these instruments but they had not the technology to mould the wood into staves so they used the shell of the armadillo. The charango was born during the first part of 18th century in Potosí in Real Audiencia of Charcas and keeps even now the particular tuning similar to other South American instruments. The armadillos are now a threatened species so that the instruments made starting from the second half of the century are entirely made of wood. This instrument is 621mm (24.45”) long, and the vibrating length is 351mm (13.8”), it has a sound board made of fir with a semicircular sound hole, and, inside, the writing moli.. / gua.. / a. obregon.

 

N. 55.     Bulgarian kaval datable to the first half of 20th century. The typical instruments of Bulgarian folk music are the kaval and a bagpipe called gaida.  The instrument is made of three ashwood pieces with two ring nuts made of pale horn and the two ends painted black; it has 8 holes (7 on the front and one on the back for the thumb) and four sound holes near the bottom. Unlike the side-blown flute, the kaval is completely open at the two ends, and it is played blowing on the thin border of one end. It is 630mm (24.8”) long, the diameter of the holes is 8mm (0.3”), the embouchure hole is 16mm (0.6”).

 

N. 56.     Djura gaida branded Π Д datable to mid 20th century. This instrument, with a higher tuning and coming from Thrace, is commonly played for melodies while a lower type, called Kaba Gaida, is preferred to accompany singings and ballads. The gaida, (gajda), is a bag pipe widespread in Balkan regions; it is played in Bulgaria, Macedonia, Thrace regions, and Greece. Similar instruments can be found in Albania, Romania, Turkey, and in the whole Balkan Peninsula. The bag of the instrument is made out of treated goat or sheep leather. Though a short and conical bocal, the player fill up the bag with the air, a non-return valve prevents the air to go out from the bocal itself, but to go out through the drone, giving a continuous note, and through the chanter that allows to modulate the sounds by opening or closing the holes with the fingers. During the use of the gaida, the drone is leant against the shoulder of the player. This instrument is made of ashwood, the bocal is 83mm (3.25”) long, the chanter is 247mm (9.7”), and the drone, in three pieces, is 537mm (21.15”). The chanter is cylindrical, has six front holes, a back hole, and the flea-hole for the half steps. Both the chanter and the drone have a simple reed.

 

N. 69.     Tamburitza, sort of small lute with a flat bottom, narrow neck and long, Persian origin, but affirmed in the Croatian popular music. The instrument can be dated to the first half of the twentieth century, marked Shneider / Zagreb. Francis Schneider (March 29, 1903 Končanica near Daruvar - November 30, 1966 Zagreb), thirteen, was a pupil of Lenhardt in Pecs, then worked for Pilat in Budapest until 1924. From 1925 he opened his own workshop in Pakrac and Zagreb since 1928. He settled here and it was the first and largest manufacturer of musical instruments in the former Yugoslavia and employs 35 employees in the construction of stringed instruments. The "laboratory of the Master for the restoration and construction of stringed Franjo Schneider" tools was created in 1983 thanks to the donation of his daughter Erna Schneider Nikolic, for the conservation and management of the School of Applied Arts, and in 1994, Zagreb School direct Music by Darko Stipešević. The instrument has five strings, has a total length mm. 625 while the resonating chamber, carved from a single block of wood, is mm. 151 x 215. There are 23 metal frets, the belly is in fir tree, without hole, the upper part is covered by a thin sheet of rose wood, while the lower part shows two roses to five holes.

 

N. 84.     Serbian frula, datable to the second half of the twentieth century. This fipple flute is part of the pastoral tools used in Serbia but also in Croatia and in many Balkan countries. It is richly decorated with carvings of geometric figures and obtained from a single block of wood, with a simple barrel, with five holes in the front and an approximate labium for a length of mm. 320.