CIMCIM CIMCIMCIMCIM wishes to congratulate our member Renato Meucci from Milan, Italy for receiving The Christopher Monk Award 2003. Dr Meucci was presented with this prize by Trevor Herbert on behalf of the Historic Brass Society for his outstanding contributions to brass scholarship with studies from Roman times to the 20th century.
Reid Concert Hall, Edinburgh, UK
The Reid Concert Hall including the Edinburgh University Collection of Historic Musical Instruments will be closed to the public from 1st September 2003 for eight or nine weeks to improve access for disabled people.
I would be grateful if you could bring this to the attention of anyone you know who might be planning a visit.
Arnold Myers
Horniman Museum, London, UK
The Wayne collection of free reed instruments at the Horniman Museum, London, includes over 120 concertinas made by the family firm of the instrument's inventor, Charles Wheatstone. A large number are on display at the Horniman's new musical instrument gallery, in an exhibition that explores the history of the concertina.
The Horniman Library houses an archive relating to the concertina that was acquired from Neil Wayne in 1996, together with the instruments. The collection was purchased with generous assistance from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the PRISM Fund. The most important elements of this archive are the twelve ledgers from the C. Wheatstone & Co. factory, dating from the years 1836-1870. Included in the data they record are the names of the workers who made different parts of the instruments, their wages, the dates when the concertinas were made, the materials used in their manufacture, the serial numbers of the instruments, the names of the purchasers and how much they paid for the instruments. These ledgers represent an essential resource to anyone interested in researching the development of the concertina and the concertina industry in the UK.
Five further ledgers have kindly been loaned to the Museum by Steve Dickinson, the owner of C. Wheatstone & Co. They chronicle the Wheatstone factory output from 1910 until 1974. All the pages of the ledgers have now been digitized and produced as a single CD-ROM. The CD may be purchased from the Horniman Shop, price Lstg 20 plus postage and packing, or ordered on line for $30 in the US only. Alternatively, the entire collection of documents released so far is now available on the world wide web for viewing, printing, and downloading, free of charge and with no requirement to register or subscribe, at http://www.horniman.info
Margaret Birley
Request for help
I am a student of conservation sciences at the Technical University of Munich. Currently I participate in an interdisciplinary research project at the German Museum (Deutsches Museum München). We are investigating an historic organ built in 1630 in the south of Germany. Our interest focuses on the composition of the alloy of the pipes in the context of their origin. We would kindly like to ask you for your experience with the analysis of metal organ pipes. Particularily, we are interested in finding out about methods that have been used for this purpose so far (i.e. portable uXRF spectrometer).
Thank you very much for your help and cooperation!
Stefanie Gerzer
The conference started in Oxford with visits to The Pitt Rivers Museum, The Pitt Rivers Balfour Galleries, The Ashmolean Museum with the Hill Room, and the Bate Collection. Besides the general tours there were possibilities for more thorough studies of different instruments and the staffs of all the mentioned museums made a great effort to satisfy all our wishes. In addition, the delegates had access to the Christ Church Upper Library and the Bodleian Library to study two precious musical treasures, the Talbot Manuscript and The Conducting Score of Handel's Messiah, used at the first performance in Dublin in 1742. Jeremy Montagu opened his house to show his private collection of musical instruments, only recently published in a catalogue.
The programme in London comprised visits to the Royal College of Music, The Victoria and Albert Museum, The Royal Academy of Music with the York Gate Collection, and the Horniman Museum. An excursion to the Finchcocks Collection, with a presentation on a selection of keyboard instruments was a great experience for all those taking part.
Paper sessions started in Oxford and continued in London with CIMCIM's paper session comprising reports from member museums. We were informed on new exhibitions and new displays of the Leydi Foundation in Bellinzona and the Musée de la Musique in Paris. Reports from the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York gave an insight into the developments in those museums. The Vienna Museum of Technology contributed with a paper on Electronic Musical Instruments and the Musikinstrumenten-Museum Leipzig presented a research project which will continue at a conference in November (see CIMCIM Bulletin 52) on the musical instruments of the Freiberg Chapel. The CIMCIM Business Meeting was held at the Victoria & Albert Museum (see Minutes below).
The general paper sessions took place at the Royal Academy of Music and focused on instrument makers and their workshops of people such as William Lander and The Köhler Family, instruments such as the Gittern of the British Museum and two clavichords, and contributions to the piano, with papers ranging from the Taxonomy of Piano Actions to the Art Case Piano.
From London we travelled to Edinburgh, where the conference continued at Reid Concert Hall. Themes of the lectures comprised keyboard instruments such as The Tiorbino, brass instruments, such as Early English "Brass" Trumpets and string instruments, such as The Geigenwerk. Another session was dedicated to traditional instruments with contributions on the Turkish Kanun, played to the assembly by the lecturer, the Endingidi and the Engoma, both instruments from Uganda, presented in video and sound. For a more detailed programme please see: http://www.music.ed.ac.uk/euchmi/galpin/gxkp.html
In all 45 papers on different musical instruments were presented.
Since these sessions took place in the Reid Concert Hall the delegates had the opportunity to wander through the exhibition, and study and train their ears in the Sound Laboratory. In addition, the Russell Collection invited the assembly to visit and treated the group with the presentation of a fortepiano by Thomas Loud (ca. 1810), which for many in the audience was an revelation concerning the possibilities of the una-corda pedal.
Some conference attendees took a Sunday excursion to Dean Castle to visit the musical instrument collection housed in this old Scottish Castle.
Of course we did not only listen to papers and look at musical instruments. All those who have attended conferences organised by these societies know that a reasonable amount of time is reserved for social meetings with delectable meals. In Oxford, most people felt as if they were having dinner with Inspector Morse, his assistant Harry Potter at his side, as we met in the Hall of Wadham College. In Edinburgh, we gathered for the Farewell Dinner, incorporating an auction for the benefit of students of organology. Laurence Libin, the master of ceremonies, did not let anyone escape without a purchase!
Corinna Weinheimer
Present: Ture Bergstrøm (Denmark), Margaret Birley (UK), Nancy Hao-Ming Chao (Taiwan), Peter Donhauser (Austria), Martin Elste (Germany), Eszter Fontana (Germany), Alicja Knast (Poland), Beryl Kenyon de Pascual (Spain), Mats Krouthén (Norway), Hélène La Rue (UK), Laurence Libin (USA), Sue Manus (USA), Renato Meucci (Italy), Jeremy Montagu (UK), Ken Moore (USA), Arnold Myers (UK), Frances Palmer (UK), Gabriele Rossi-Rognoni (Italy), Patrice Verrier (France), Corinna Weinheimer (Norway), Elizabeth Wells (UK), Miguel Zenker (Mexico).
1. Welcome: The President Dr Eszter Fontana welcomed the assembly at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Her special welcomes were extended to Mrs Eloisa Zell, ICOM membership officer and Mr Kim, ICOM Seoul.
2. Regrets of absence: Carmelle Bégin (Canada), Stefan Bohmann (Sweden), Cristina Bordas (Spain), Martha Clinkscale (USA), Florence Gétreau (France), Sumi Gunji (Japan), Friedemann Hellwig (Germany), Cynthia Adams Hoover (USA), Roland Hoover (USA), Peter Andreas Kjeldsberg (Norway), Michael Lea (Australia), Catherine Megumi Ochi (Japan), Anne Marie Österberg (Sweden), Carlos Rausa (Spain), Christiane Rieche (Germany), Lisbet Torp (Denmark), John Watson (USA)
3. Minutes of the CIMCIM Business Meeting St Petersburg, 15th September 2003 The minutes, published in the CIMCIM Bulletin No. 50 were approved by the members.
4. Treasurer's Report The Committee thanked ICOM Norway and the Ringve Museum, Norway for postage of the CIMCIM Bulletin. The treasurer thanked specially the Board member Alicja Knast for taking on the printing of the Bulletin in Poland. The current balance of the CIMCIM US dollar account is $2578 and the Euro account is 16,123.02 Euro.
5. Report from working groups
5.1 Communications Arnold Myers, co-ordinator of the working group communications reported on the progress of the CIMCIM website, which now also includes an update on the international directory of French museums. This work was carried out by Patrice Verrier, Paris. Concerning the CIMCIM L-discussion list on the internet, the point was raised that e-mails not always seem to be marked as such in the subject line, and that with the amount of spam mail received nowadays there is a risk of loosing valuable e-mails. Arnold Myers will look into that.
6. Future meetings
6.1 2004: Seoul, Korea The conference in 2004 will take place in Seoul, Korea at the 20th General Conference and 21st General Assembly of ICOM. At this year's business meeting in the Victoria & Albert Museum, the attendees had the pleasure to welcome Mr Kim, Korea, who gave an introduction to the conference venue and the program. The meeting will take place from the 3rd - the 8th October, with an excursion day on the 7th; the theme of the conference is Museums and intangible heritage. Mr Kim also gave practical information, which is now available on the official website: http://www.icom2004.org/ and will be sent out as regular mail to ICOM members in late October.
Eszter Fontana reported on planned joint meetings with SIBMAS (International Association of Libraries and Museums of the Performing Arts) and ICOFOM (International Committee for Museology). The assembly was honoured to welcome Eloisa Zell, membership service officer from ICOM, who also attended the business meeting. Mrs Zell gave a short report on ICOM's status: nearly 19,000 members from 147 countries, with 115 national and 29 international committees. She also reported on the progress of plans for the next General Conference and about new ways of sponsoring scholarships for ICOM members: ICOM now has an ICOM Foundation that publishes an ICOM engagement diary for sale to ICOM members. The income of the sale will be used to sponsor scholarships.This information will be sent out by regular mail shortly.
7. Any other business
7.1 Musikkmuseet Copenhagen Ture Bergstrøm reported on the status of the Music Museum in Copenhagen, thanking the assembly for the support CIMCIM gave by sending a letter to the cultural minister of Denmark. For the time being the situation is safe.
7.2 CIMCIM Guidelines Two new guidelines were prepared by the Board: Guidelines &Criteria for Travel Grants for CIMCIM Annual Meetings and Invitation to an Annual Meeting - Guidelines for Hosting Institutions. The former will be published on the website and also available through the CIMCIM secretary, the latter will be sent to those institutions inviting CIMCIM to a meeting.
9. Closing remarks The president, Dr. Eszter Fontana expressed her thanks on behalf of the assembly to Margaret Birley, Hélène La Rue, Arnold Myers, Frances Palmer, Bradley Strauchen-Scherer and Elizabeth Wells, who made a tremendous effort to make this wonderful conference happen. She also thanked the attendees for their contributions to a successful meeting.
Corinna Weinheimer
CALL FOR PAPERS
The 33rd annual meeting of the American Musical Instrument Society will take place 19-22 May 2004, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Hosts for the event are Old Salem, Inc, the Wake Forest University Department of Music, and the Duke University Department of Music. This conference commemorates the life and career of the pioneer German-American organ builder David Tannenberg (1728-1804) on the 200th anniversary of his death. The famous organ Tannenberg built in 1800 for Home Moravian Church, now under restoration by Taylor & Boody, Staunton, Virginia, will be a central feature of the conference. This instrument will be installed in the newly completed Visitors' Center Auditorium at the historic village of Old Salem, which is also a venue for AMIS paper sessions. Tentative plans for the conference include tours of instrument collections in Old Salem and at Duke University, a concert featuring the Tannenberg organ, and the traditional gala banquet and auction. Further information and registration instructions will be available on the AMIS website, http://www.amis.org
Proposals for papers, lecture-demonstrations, and performances should be sent to Laurence Libin, Program Chair, 126 Darlington Avenue, Ramsey NJ 07446 (e-mail laurence.libin@metmuseum.org or ksl@nic.com). The deadline for proposals is 1 January 2004.
Musikmuseet in Stockholm has recently opened a new room for playing and experimenting with instruments, LIRUM. It has been designed with particular regard to the needs of the mentally disabled, but will offer fun for all. The emphasis is on self-activity - playing, singing and dancing - in a variety of directions and on a number of activity levels. Our motto at LIRUM is what you do; you can look at and listen to. Some examples: You can caress and tickle a wooden sculpture and listen to baby laughter's, dance in front of a mirror and make music from your own movements, you can play on a starry sky with a flashlight etc.
On the 6th November 2003 we will open a new exhibition called Musical Instruments as National Symbols. Questions asked are: What makes a nation? Why do we have national symbols?
The nyckelharpa (keyed fiddle) is promoted today as a symbol of Sweden. But why should one create national symbols? Those and many more subjects are to be discussed in the exhibition.
Anne-Marie Österberg
Trento, Italy
The reawakening of ancient chords. Three centuries of pianoforte history
Trento, Castello del Buonconsiglio, 21 June - 19 October, http://www.buonconsiglio.it
At Castello del Buonconsiglio - the largest exhibition ever devoted to an instrument that symbolises Western musical culture
The History of the Pianoforte - On Display in Trento
The reawakening of ancient chords (from 21 June to 19 October) also includes the piano with four tones commissioned for Wagner's Parsifal.
It was the genius of Bartolomeo Cristofori, working at the Medici court in Florence, which made possible the invention in 1700 of the pianoforte, one of the instruments that symbolises Western musical culture. The largest and most interesting display of antique pianofortes ever realised is dedicated to this important instrument. The exhibition, which is being mounted in collaboration with the Museo del Pianoforte Antico of Ala (Tn) in the magnificent rooms of the Castello del Buonconsiglio, opens on 21 June. It will be a unique opportunity not only to admire masterpieces created by major European craftsmen of the 18th and 19th centuries, such as stein, Walter, Erard, Pleyel, Broadwood, and Steinway, but also to hear concerts by leading European pianists.
Among the authentically restored pianofortes there will be a Viennese travelling piano from the time of Mozart, a Viennese pyramid piano, the Pleyel models familiar to Chopin, one played by Liszt at Bayreuth and a piano with four tones commissioned for Wagner's Parsifal.
There will be fifty pianofortes on display from major European collections, together with paintings and engravings of composers and famous pianists, musical scores, designs for mechanisms, original handbooks, and manuscript letters, which will all contribute to an overall appreciation of the history of this valuable instrument, documenting its technological evolution and developments in style and taste.
The curators of the exhibition are Temenuschka Vesselinova, Alain Roudier and Bruno Di Lenna. The catalogue is being prepared by the Ala Museo del Pianoforte Antica (Bruno Di Lenna) in collaboration with Ad Libitum of Besançon (Alain Roudier).
There will be concerts on Tuesday and during "Notte dei Musei&uot; (museum nights) and a guide to listening, "Piano Lessons", all evoking the original atmosphere and emotions associated with the salons of the 18th and 19th centuries. The recreation of a restorer's workshop in collaboration with the Centre International du Pianoforte et de la Harpe Ad Libitum of Besançon (France) will allow the visitor to understand the profound changes that have marked the history of this instrument, a symbol of European musical culture which also provides important evidence of the development of the furniture maker's art.
On 21 June, the day the exhibition opens, an international congress Three centuries of the pianoforte is being held in the Sala Falconetto of Trento Town Hall. It will be an important opportunity for bringing together the latest specialist research being conducted in Europe and the United States. Some of the most distinguished scholars of pianoforte theory: musicologists, curators of musical instrument museums, collectors, restorers and performers will be present in Trento.
In addition to the concerts by musicians of international fame, offered by the cycle "Notti dei Musei" being held in castles and ancient palaces in the Province, the series of concerts "Antichi Suoni d'Organo" will help to recreate the atmosphere and sounds of the past. This cycle of organ concerts, performed on 18th and 19th century instruments in many churches in the valleys of Trentino, will emphasise a musical tradition which flourished widely in the whole of the region from the 18th century onwards. This initiative forms part of the project Trentino and Europe.
Elahe Galalian,
No. 2 Tipc. Block 12, Kooh Sar Street, Isar Street, Farahzadi Street
Qods Teheran
Iran, Islamic Republic
Fax no+98 21 889 8828
E-mail: elahe-_er@yahoo.com
Friedemann Hellwig
Charitas-Bischoff-Treppe 13A,
D-22587 Hamburg
Germany
Fax: +49 40 2 866 87 88
Email: friedemann.hellwig@t-online.de
Katia Kukawka
2, rue du Bouloi
F-75001 Paris
France
Toshihayu Matsuo
Curator, Mim-on Music Library
7-8-1005 Hirkarigoka
Nerima-ku
Tokyo 179-0072
Japan
Fax no.: +81 3 39768994
E-mail: m-lib@mim-on.or.jp
www.mim-on.or.jp
Dr Barnali Mitra
Assistant Curator, Gurusaday Museum
26, Babu Ram Ghosh Road
Tollygunge
Kolkata 700 040
India
Fax no. +91 33 2453 5972
Ülle Reimets
Director, Theatre and Music Museum,
Müürivahe 12
EE 10146 Tallinn
Estonia
Fax +372 644 2132
E-mail: ylle.reimets@tmm.ee
François M. Rohart,
Directeur - Service "Culture"
Lille Métropole Communauté Urbaine
1, rue du ballon
F-59034 Lille Cedex
France
Fax +33 3 20 21 37 40
frohart@cudl-lille.fr
Koleda, Romans
Curator, Literature, Theatre and Music Museum
Talsu Street 1
1002 Riga
Latvia
Fax no.: +371 721 6425
Fax numbers:
Alla Bayramova: +944 12 98 6972
Richard Ching Sheng Chou: +886 62651407
E-mail addresses:
Brigitte Bachmann-Geiser: bachmann-geiser@bluewin.ch
Alla Bayramova: musculture@azdata.net
Margaret Birley: mbirley@horniman.ac.uk
Pengo Bonket: Didopengo@hotmail.com
Marie-France Calas: marie.france.calas@wanadoo.fr
Richard Ching Sheng Chou: yser@mail.chps.tn.edu.tw
Katia Kukawka: kkukawka@freesurf.fr
Klara Radnoti: radnotik@hnm.hu
Mireille Rakotomalala: mialyrakotomalala@wanadoo.mg or mialyrakotomalala@hotmail.com
Edward Tarr: edward@tarr-online.de
Please send your contributions, preferably by e-mail, by November 15th to the editor:
Corinna Weinheimer
Ringve Museum
Pb 3064 Lade
N-7441 Trondheim, Norway
Fax: +47 73 92 04 22
e-mail
corinna.weinheimer@ringve.museum.no
Communications about the content of these pages to Arnold Myers, Co-ordinator, CIMCIM Communications Working Group: E-mail Arnold.Myers@ed.ac.uk.
Text © CIMCIM, 2003.
This page updated: 17.9.03