Sigma Alpha Iota

Spring 2020 10 PAN PIPES By Jayne I. Hanlin The red carpet inside the Barcelona Music Museum in Spain is an inviting pathway to view the musical instruments displayed in huge glass cases. In the Forest of Sounds, visitors learn about common features of music: melody, rhythm, and timbre. Contrasting instruments from different countries are next to each other. Audiovisual displays present informative explanations. If you are in Venice, Italy and don't have time to travel about three hours by train to Cremona to visit the Museo del Violino with its collection of instruments by Stradivarius, Guarnari, and Amati, you can still see a 1670 double bass of Niccolò Amati (1596-1684) as well as many other mainly baroque instruments from the private collection of Artemio Versari at the free Music Museum in the San Maurizio Church not far from St. Mark's Square. Besides violins, violas, cellos, and double basses, there are more unusual instruments, such as a monochord with horn, a tromba marina, violin d'amour, and an archlute. Background music enhances the visit. Additionally, if you are going to the Rialto market, more instruments in this collection can be seen at San Giacomo di Rialto Church near the Rialto Bridge. ese museums are all well worth visiting. In Germany, close to the concert hall of the Berlin Philharmonic is the Museum of Musical Instruments. e approximate 3500 instruments in the collection date from the 16th century to the present time. One instrument is of special interest: the Mighty Wurlitzer Organ, around which the museum was built, has 1228 pipes. Frequently, on ursdays at 6 PM and on Saturdays at 11 AM, one can hear a performance on this large 1929 instrument, originally designed for accompanying silent movies. Alternatively, on Sundays at 11 AM, there is "Early Music — Live" with performances on original instruments. Aer studying in Italy in the 17th century, Matthias Klotz (1653-1743) returned to his birthplace, Mittenwald, Germany, and began making violins. Since then, a violin-making school has continued in this Bavarian town. A fabulous display of instruments can be seen there at the Geigenbau Museum located in the oldest house in the Mittenwald registers and renovated about a decade ago. During my visit, there was an additional and rare opportunity to attend a "hands-on" presentation in which a luthier explained the different stages of the time- consuming process craing string instruments. She passed around wood samples to feel, tools (such as handsaws with teeth at different angles) to examine, as well as varnishes to smell. She showed purling (three thin layers of wood about 1.2 mm all together) used for decoration. Typically, it takes about a month to cra a violin and four times longer to make a cello. e climate (ideal to produce fine wood grains) in the nearby mountain forests means slow growth for the birch and maple trees used in making quality string instruments in the area. In the 1950's, my parents purchased my first cello — which was labeled "Mittenwald" — for $125. To my surprise and delight, I discovered at the museum that there is evidence that as a child, Mozart had a Mittenwald violin. Currently, 80 Mittenwalds are in circulation around the globe. Assuming my first cello was one, I can only wonder where it is today — and speculate on its current value! A World of Music Wurlitzer Organ at the Museum of Musical Instruments in Berlin Potpourri of Musical Instrument Museums: Spain, Italy, and Germany TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE DIFFERENT MUSEUMS, VISIT THEM ONLINE: BARCELONA MUSIC MUSEUM: https://ajuntament.barcelona.cat/ museumusica/en MUSEO DEL VIOLINO: www.museodelviolino.org/en MUSIC MUSEUM IN THE SAN MAURIZIO CHURCH: www.museodellamusica.com/en SAN GIACOMO DI RIALTO CHURCH: www.museodellamusica.com/en/ instruments-the-church-of-san-giacomo MUSEUM OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS: https://www.berlin.de/en/museums/3109765- 3104050-musikinstrumentenmuseum.en.html GEIGENBAU MUSEUM: www.geigenbaumuseum-mittenwald.de

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