“From Field to Fiddle” Historical Gut Strings in Production and Performance

International Conference

Bern University of the Arts,

19/20 November 2019

Programme

From Field to Fiddle

Gut strings are at the center of musical sound production and play a vital role in historical performance on all bowed instruments as well as on plucked instruments. However, materiality and craftsmanship have a great impact on the performance of gut strings. Few people realize that strings made of cow gut, such as are widespread today, differ fundamentally in their physical and performance properties from those made of sheep gut, which were the standard up until the middle of the 20th century.

The Bern research project on historical sheep gut strings (www.hkb-interpretation.ch/projekte/from-field-to-fiddle.html) explores string making processes as well as performance qualities from the perspective of German sources of the period 1750–1950. The conference aims to place the new findings in an international context by bringing together researchers, string makers, musicians and their audiences.

Provisional Conference Schedule

(Times and Speakers subject to change/ should we recieve many additional contributions, the conference will be augmented by adding the morning of the 19th of November)

3

Tuesday, 19 November 2019

Hochschule der Künste Bern, Veress-Saal, Papiermühlestr. 13h/j

Opening

14:00 Welcome and Conference Opening: NN. (HKB) and Kai Köpp (HKB)

14:30 Patrizio Barbieri (Rome) Gut-string making and its connections with science, organology, music performance and international trading: some basic considerations

15.15 Coffee break

String Making in Markneukirchen

15:45 Kai Köpp (HKB Bern) String Making in Markneukirchen according to 19th Century Sources

Experimental Strings in Practice

16.30 Johannes Gebauer (HKB Bern) Historical Gut Strings and Daily Practice. The Performer’s View Today and in the Past

17:30 Musical Interlude featuring experimental strings Ensemble Musicke&Mirth "A Store Housse of Treasure" – John Baldwin and his Commonplace Book

18:00 Apéro (Drinks and Snacks)

From Field to Fiddle

Wednesday, 20 November 2019

Hochschule der Künste Bern, Kammermusiksaal, Papiermühlestr. 13a

National String Making Traditions and String Making Today

9:30 Davide Longhi (Corde Drago, IT-Bologna) Experimental string making according to Italian sources of the 17th and 18th centuries

10:15 Valentin Oelmüller (Pure Corde, DE-Potsdam) Traditional string making in Northern Africa

11:00 Coffee break

11:30 George Stoppani (Pure Guts, GB-Manchester) Hand-made strings of sheep-gut for instruments of the violin and viola da gamba families

12:15 Mimmo Peruffo (Aquila Corde, IT-Vicenza) The rediscovered method of making strings from whole unsplit lamb gut

13:00 Lunch

Raw Material

14:00 Jane Achtman (HKB Bern) Casings for Strings: Limelight on a World Trade

14:45 Frank Smith (Smith Casings Ltd) Selecting casings for string makers – three generations of British experience

15:15 Coffee break

15:45 Stephan Schürch (Geigenbauatelier CH-Burgdorf) Authentische Schafsdarmsaiten für die historische Aufführungspraxis – Herausforderungen und Entwicklungen

16:30 Round Table Strings for the Future

Konservatorium Bern, Kramgasse 36

18:45 Pre-concert talk

19:30 Hans im B*A*C*H – Concert of the Camerata Bern (lead: Vital Julian Frey), on experimental strings.