FoMRHI: Communications

 

FoMRHI Communications

Communications are sent to the secretary and published every quarter.

Back issues of FoMRHI are now available on this website, in electronic format. See All bulletins for links to downloadable PDFs. See below for listings of the communications in each bulletin.

For paper copies, we can send out a whole Quarterly. We ask for a payment of £4 per issue, including postage anywhere in the world. Contact the secretary for details.

For a copy of an index of Quarterlies and their contents up to 1998, contact the secretary. You can find a searchable index of Comms at www.xs4all.nl/~stremen/fomrhi_i.html

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LIST OF FOMRHI COMMUNICATIONS (‘Comms’) PUBLISHED IN FoMRHI QUARTERLIES SINCE 1975 up to end of subscription year just passed

Most recent Quarterlies first

Quarterly No. 120, October 2011

1953 Reports of woodwind instruments in Dutch sale catalogues and inventories between 1700 and c.1800 by Jan Bouterse
1954 An old list of gut string specimens by Marco Tiella
1955 European music in Japan in the 16th and 17th centuries by David van Ooijen
1956 The dangers of trusting iconography by Tim Watson
1957 A Japanese vihuela spotted in China; footnote to Comm 1955 by David van Ooijen
1958 Obituary of a FoMRHI fellow: Ian Harwood MBE, 1931-2011 by Thea Abbott
1959 Meantone fretting, by John Catch

Quarterly No. 119, July 2011

1942 ‘Caveat Emptor’, some thoughts relating to Comms 1939 and 1941 by Eric Franklin
1943 Catgut, some comments by John Catch
1944 Napoleon and a seven-course oud by John Downing
1945 A mediaeval oud, Ikhwan al-Safa and the ‘Pythagoras of Ulm’ lute by John Downing
1946 Volumes of different kinds of double reeds by M. van der Most
1947 One more instance of musical onomataopoeia,further to Comm 1932 by Chris Goodwin
1948 The Brussels #0164 Oud case and 16th C lute case design by John Downing
1949 Pitch relativity in the renaissance and the sizes of fiddles and viols
by Ephraim Segerman
1950 A fixture for cutting windways on a metal-working lathe by Sid Jones
1951 The story of Giuseppe Fiorini – appeal for assistance by Roberto Regazzi
1952 The guitar and Praetorius’ finger by John Downing

Quarterly No. 118, April 2011

1929 Alto recorders by Bressan by Jan Bouterse
1930 Two unstuck bagpipe tenons by Julian Goodacre
1931 More on the dangers of combustion by Julian Goodacre and Chris Allen
1932 Tronc, tronc, tronc, preng, preng, preng: onomatapoeic words as an indication of the sound and playing technique of early stringed instruments by Chris Goodwin
1933 Sliding tubes by M. van der Most / L. van Assendelft
1934 Correction to Comm 1918, questions about curtal and bassoon by M. van der Most
1935 Ancient metrology, Ibn al-Tahhan and the Maler and Frei lutes, part 1 by John Downing
1936 part 2 by John Downing
1937 ‘Catgut’ revisited by John Downing
1938 A very useful tool by Peter Wynn
1939 The significance of the evidence of historical scholarship by E. Segerman
1940 Another look of the cetra in the Gubbio intarsia by E. Segerman
1941 Historical accuracy and the early music movement by E. Segerman

Quarterly No. 117, December 2010

1916 A geometrical analysis of an old Nahat oud by John Downing
1917 Silk strings – making sense of the historical data, part 1 by John Downing
1918 Questions about the origin of the curtal and the bassoon by M van der Most
1919 A comparison of oud and lute geometries – a 16th century lute by Giovane Hieber
by John Downing
1920 Early clarinet iconography by Albert R. Rice
1921 A comparison of oud and lute geometries – the 17th century
‘Cleveland Tiorbino’ by John Downing 22
1922 Towards an affordable South African recorder by Sid Jones
1923 Workshop idea: shaped file, e.g. for cutting windways by Barry Lloyd
1924 Further to Comm. 1004, The Sorduen-Bas by Barry Lloyd
1925 Review: Stradivari by Stewart Pollens (C.U.P. 2010) by Ephraim Segerman
1926 Three Broadwood pianos spanning one decade by Chris Barlow
1927 Help needed regarding stuck bassoon tenons by David Rachor
1928 Danger of spontaneous combustion using linseed oil by Rick Damon

Quarterly No. 116, August 2010

1907 Lute pegs from Holbein’s Ambassadors Portrait by Eric Franklin
1908 Clarinets are older than you think: a reply to Comm 1092 by Uta Henning
1909 Early keyboards in Israel: reportage from the field, by Alexander Rosenblatt
1910 Bressan alto recorders: pitch and sound; and some tips to make a copy, by Jan Bouterse
1911 ‘Pythagoras of Ulm’ and the geometry of a 19th century oud, by John Downing
1912 Templates for grinding tools on a bench grinder, by M van der Most
1913 Hie Folget ein Welsche Tanz?, by John Downing
1914 A lute pet retrofit with ‘silver’ inlays, by John Downing
1915 An Italian harpsichord rebuilt as a tangent piano, by Marco Tiella

Quarterly No. 115, March 2010

1895 English Guitars in the Danish Music Museum, Copenhagen
Additions to Comms 1876 and 1884 by Ture Bergstrom
1896 Design and construction of a multipurpose lute by Chris Coakley
1897 How big is a lute? The statistical evidence from hand
sizes by Eric Franklin
1898 Five alto recorders by Bressan: windways and blocks by Jan Bouterse
1899 A renaissance piano? by Chris Barlow
1900 Reply to David Rachor’s Comm 1889 on adapting techniques
to the material or not by Chris Barlow
1901 A keyboard instrument in a museum; a rebuilt Italian harpsichord in
The Metropolitan Collection (NY): restoring a chain of events by Alexander Rosenblatt
1902 A clarinet from before when clarinets were invented? by Daniel Spicka
1903 On the gittern’s body change around 1500 by Ephraim Segerman
1904 The step between the top of the sides and the top of the neck by Ephraim Segerman
1905 Angled bowing by Ephraim Segerman
1906 Why it was the vihuela and not the lute in 16th century Spain by Ephraim Segerman


Quarterly No. 114, November 2009

1884 Additions to Comm 1876, some more English Guitars by Taro Takeuchi
1885 An Early Lute Construction Technique, further to Comm 1836 by John Downing
1886 A Keyboard Instrument in a Photograph; a reed organ in the house of German Clergy
in Jerusalem by Alexander Rosenblatt 1887 Pinched notes by Peter Madge
1888 Home-made tools for lute building by Eric Franklin
1889 Bassoon Reed-Making: Adapting the reed making technique to the
material or forcing the material to the reed making technique by David Rachor
1890 Inventing the Guihuela – a radical approach to instrument accessibility by Luke Emmet
1891 On an often misunderstood picture of a mediaeval fiddle by Ephraim Segerman
1892 The lost art of declamation in music performance by Ephraim Segerman
1893 What types of fiddles were the Charles XI Andrea Amati instruments when made? by Ephraim Segerman
1894 On late 18th century archcitterns by Ephraim Segerman

Quarterly No. 113, August 2009

Comm 1875 Lute peg shank taper John Downing
Comm 1874 More on making recorder blocks, comments on Comm. 1867 Peter Madge
Comm 1875 Every musician an instrument maker, or Bach’s viola pomposa Fatima Lahham
Comm 1876 English guitar makers in 18th century Britain: a directory James Tyler
Comm 1877 A Wooden ocarina Jan Bouterse
Comm 1878 More on Young’s modulus Robert Cronin
Comm 1879 Another useful free online resource John Downing
Comm 1880 Recorder research: windway design Jan Bouterse
Comm 1881 Some thoughts on ‘reverse’ moderators in Austrian pianos at the end of the 18th century Marco Tiella
Comm 1882 A keyboard instrument in a painting Alexander Roseblatt
Comm 1883 On lute sizes Ephraim Segerman

Quarterly No. 112, May 2009

Comm 1859 Errata in Comm. 1858 by Christopher Goodwin
Comm 1860 Mortua dolce cano – an answer to Comms 1848, 1849 by Peter Forrester
Comm 1861 Bouwerskontakt and its publications by Jan Bouterse
Comm 1862 Further to Comm 1854 on Fretting by John R. Catch
Comm 1863 David Hockney and ‘The Ambassadors’ lute by John Downing
Comm 1864 Oud or lute? – The Ambassadors lute seen from a computer’s perspective by John Downing
Comm 1865 A brief review of sound hole configuration in early ouds/lutes by John Downing
Comm 1866 Glue – more information from the Asiatic bowmakers by John Downing
Comm 1867 Making a recorder block by Jim Lymhan
Comm 1868 Supporting claims of kithara or lyre origin by Ephraim Segerman
Comm 1869 On the development of early music by Ephraim Segerman
Comm 1870 The tempos of common time as explained by Purcell by Ephraim Segerman
Comm 1871 A basic theory about string twist by Eprhaim Segerman
Comm 1872 The Young’s modulus made easy by Jean Louchet

Quarterly No. 111, February 2009

Comm 1835 Jan Steenbergen and his oboes by Jan Bouterse
Comm 1836 Observations on glue and an early lute construction technique by John Downing
Comm 1837 Thomas Stanesby Junior’s ‘True Concert Flute’ by Philippe Bolton
Comm 1838 Oil paintings of musical instruments – should we trust the Old Masters? by Julian Goodacre
Comm 1839 A method of fixing loose soundbars by Peter Bavington
Comm 1840 Mediaeval and Renaissance multiple tempo standards by Ephraim Segerman
Comm 1841 The earliest soundposts by Ephraim Segerman
Comm 1842 The historical basis of the modern early-music pitch standard of a’=415 Hz by Ephraim Segerman
Comm 1843 Notes on the symphony by Ephraim Segerman
Comm 1844 Some design considerations in making flattened lute backs by Ephraim Segerman
Comm 1845 Tromba Marina notes by Ian Allan
Comm 1846 Woodwinds dictionary online by Mona Lemmel
Comm 1847 For information: Diderot et d’Alembert, L’Encyclopedie – free! by John Downing
Comm 1848 ‘Mortua dolce cano’ – a question by John Downing
Comm 1849 Mortua dolce cano – two more instances by Chris Goodwin
Comm 1850 Further to Comm. 1818, the new Mary Rose fiddle bow by Jeremy Montagu
Comm 1851 Oud or lute? Comm. 1819 continued by John Downing
Comm 1852 Wood fit for a king – a case of mistaken identity?
Comm 1826 updated by John Downing
Comm 1853 Reply to Segerman’s Comm. 1830 by John Downing
Comm 1854 Reply to John Catch’s Comm 1827 on frets and temperaments Thomas Munck
Comm 1856 Re: Comms 1810 and 1815, Angled Bridges, Tapered Strings
Frets and Bars by Ephraim Segerman
Comm 1857 The lute in renaissance Spain: comment on Comm 1833 by Ander Arroitajauregi
Comm 1858 Review of Modern Clavichord Studies: De Clavicordio VIII by John Weston

Quarterly No. 110, November 2008

Comm 1815 On frets and barring; some useful ideas by David E McConnell
Comm 1816 Modifications to recorder blocks to improve sound production by Peter N Madge
Comm 1817 What is wrong with Vermeer’s guitar by Peter Forrester
Comm 1818 A new addition to the instruments of the Mary Rose by Jeremy Montagu
Comm 1819 Oud or lute? – a study by J Downing
Comm 1820 Some parallels in the ancestry of the viol and violin by Ephraim Segerman
Comm 1821 Notes on the polyphont by Ephraim Segerman
Comm 1822 The ‘English’ in English violette by Ephraim Segerman
Comm 1823 The identity of the lirone by Ephraim Segerman
Comm 1824 On the origins of the tuning peg and some early instrument names by E Segerman
Comm 1825 ‘Twined’ strings for clavichords by Peter Bavington
Comm 1826 Wood fit for a king? An investigation by J Downing
Comm 1827 Temperaments for gut-strung and gut-fretted instruments by John R Catch
Comm 1828 Reply to Hebbert’s Comm. 1803 on early bending method by Ephraim Segerman
Comm 1829 Reply to Peruffo’s Comm. 1804 on gut strings by Ephraim Segerman
Comm 1830 Reply to Downing’s Comm. 1805 on silk/catgut by Ephraim Segerman
Comm 1831 On stringing of lutes (Comm. 1807) and guitars (Comms 1797, 8) by Ephraim Segerman
Comm 1832 Tapered lute strings and added mass by C J Coakley
Comm 1833 Review: A History of the Lute from Antiquity to the Renaissance
by Douglas Alton Smith (Lute Society of America, 2002) by Ephraim Segerman
Comm 1834 Review: Die Renaissanceblockfloeten der Sammlung Alter
Musikinstrumenten des Kunsthistorisches Museums (Vienna, 2006) by Jan Bouterse

Fomrhi Quarterly 109, August 2008

Comm 1808 Tuning temperaments for lutes by Chris Coakley
Comm 1809 Elasticity of lute strings by Chris Coakley
Comm 1810 Tapered lute strings, angled necks and bridges by Chris Coakley
Comm 1811 Acoustics of lute soundboards and bars by Chris Coakley
Comm 1812 Lute stability by Chris Coakley
Comm 1813 Further acoustics of lutes: bridge areas, minor bars, angles by Chris Coakley
Comm 1814 Lute sizes and optimum design by Chris Coakley

Fomrhi Quarterly 107, April 2002 / Quarterly 108, July 2002

Bulletin A virtual Sodi harpsichord by Lewis Jones
Bulletin Joint meeting with the Lute Society by Lewis Jones
Comm 1799 The Kloster Michaelstein Guitar and Cittern Symposium: a report by Peter Forrester
Comm 1800 Spreadsheet I & F (Ingerslev & Frobenius) calculation of organ pipe pitch by Ephraim Segerman
Comm 1801 More ancient varnish recipes. by Owen
Comm 1802 The clavisimbalum from the manuscript of Henri Arnaut de Zwolle, c. 1440: an update to 1765 by Rennoldson
Comm 1803 Bending vihuela ribs: a response to Ephraim Segerman's 1793 on Richard Coleman's 1753 by Hebbert
Comm 1804 Gut strings: further to 1683 by Mimmo Peruffo
Comm 1805 On Segerman's speculations on catgut, etc in 1791 by Robert Downing
Comm 1806 Some relationships involving string displacement by Ephraim Segerman
Comm 1807 An analysis of the bridge hole data on lutes in 1288 and 1350 by Ephraim Segerman

Fomrhi Quarterly 106, Jan 2002

Further to Comm 1751 (silkworms). [Bulletin] by Ian Harwood
Further to Comm 1751 (silkworms). [Bulletin] by Jeremy Montagu
Further to Comm 1765 (the clavisimbalum). [Bulletin] by Jeremy Montagu
Further to Comm 1785 (reviewing of published articles). [Bulletin] by Lewis Jones
The violino piffaro. [Bulletin] by Ephraim Segerman
Comm 1783 Progress report 2001 on the collection of historic musical instruments of the Edinburgh University by Arnold Myers
Comm 1784 Larigot 27, Août 2001, Larigot 28, Décembre 2001, Larigot Spécial XII, Avril 2001, Larigot Répertoire et Listing, Avril 2001. [Review] reviewer:Jeremy Montagu
Comm 1785 On the 'English scholarly tradition' expressed in Jeremy's 1761. by Ephraim Segerman
Comm 1786 Hornworking reference sources by Helen Leaf
Comm 1787 A Workeshoppe Restor'd - an attempt to recreate a North European string instrument maker's workshop of the late 16th Century (or the search for the lute makers donkey!). by Andrew Atkinson
Comm 1788 Harpsichord - to build or buy by Peter Foster
Comm 1789 My problems with traversos in a-440 Hz by Jan Bouterse
Comm 1790 High f on the baroque alto recorder (further to Comm 1742 and Comm 1749) by Philippe Bolton
Comm 1791 On Downing's speculations on catgut in Comm 1751 by Ephraim Segerman
Comm 1792 On Skeaping's fiddle reconstruction in Comm 1752 by Ephraim Segerman
Comm 1793 Comments on Coleman's Comm 1753 on rib bending by Ephraim Segerman
Comm 1794 The 'Angel in Green' Lyra - a response to Eph Segerman's observations on Comm 1792 by Joe Skeaping
Comm 1795 Further to Comm 1751 - Silkworm Gut and the Origins of the Minikin Lute String by John Downing
Comm 1796: Silk Strings? - Putting Another Spin on Interpretation of the Sources (Further to Comm 1767) by John Downing
Comm 1797 Translation of the tuning instructions in Girolamo Montesardo, 'Nuova inventione d'intavolatura per sonare li balletti sopra la chitarra spagniuola (Florence, 1606) by Monica Hall
Comm 1798 A few notes on Montesardo's 5-course guitar tuning by Ephraim Segerman

Fomrhi Quarterly 105, Oct 2001

[Bulletin] by Lewis Jones
Form for the submission of entries for the FoMRHI Directory of Suppliers to Musical Instrument Makers. [Bulletin] by Lewis Jones
Comm 1772 A brief response to Comm 1752 and Bull-103 by Jeremy Montagu
Comm 1773 The peoples organ - investigating the concertina by Joe Macneil
Comm 1774 A look at the mechanics of the vibration of the bowed bridge by Ephraim Segerman
Comm 1775 Measuring the elastic modulus of gut by Ephraim Segerman
Comm 1776 Tables in steps for close-wound strings by Ephraim Segerman
Comm 1777 Jerome of Moravia and the Tractatus de musica by Joe Skeaping
Comm 1778 Tuning and stringing medieval fiddles by Ephraim Segerman
Comm 1779 The anomalous size of the pardessus de viole by Ephraim Segerman
Comm 1780 Román Martinez Gayol. The aging process (in 'the Strad', vol 112, # 1335). [Review] reviewer: Ephraim Segerman
Comm 1781 A timeline of 18th century bassoon makers by Matthew Dart
Comm 1782: Early ud fretting systems described by Al-Kindi by Alice Margerum

Fomrhi Quarterly 104, July 2001

Delays in publication - an apology. [Bulletin] by Lewis Jones
Titles of FoMRHI s. [Bulletin] by Lewis Jones
Comm 1758 Bouwerskontakt Bouwbrief l00 and 101, my summaries by Charles Stroom
Comm 1759 F Delbanco. Posaunen und Trompeten - Geschicbte, Akustike, Spieltechnik. [Review] reviewer: Jeremy Montagu
Comm 1760 Andrew Ashbee, et al. The Viola da Gamba Society index of manuscripts containing consort music, vol 1. [Review] reviewer: Lewis Jones
Comm 1761 Response to Eph's (Segerman) response to Lewis's (Jones) Comm 1721 by Jeremy Montagu
Comm 1762 Irving and historical scholarship: a lesson for music historians by Ephraim Segerman
Comm 1763 Double chamfers by Alec V Loretto
Comm 1764 A synthetic finish for recorder bores by Andrew Colebrook
Comm 1765 The clavisimbalum from the manuscript of Arnaut de Zwolle, c. 1440 by Carl Rennoldson
Comm 1766 Some theory on pitch instability, inharmonicity and lowest pitch limits by Ephraim Segerman
Comm 1767 Response to Comm 1744 (strings of silk and other textiles) by Ephraim Segerman
Comm 1768 Stringing renaissance fiddles and rebecs by Ephraim Segerman
Comm 1769 Early sound posts and bass bars, by Ephraim Segerman
Comm 1770 17th century English viols by Ephraim Segerman
Comm 1771 Stress equilibrium and moisture content in gut and wood, by Ephraim Segerman

Fomrhi Quarterly 103, Apr 2001

FoMRHI Treasurer - a vacancy. [Bulletin] by Lewis Jones
Wood auction. [Bulletin] by Lewis Jones
Comm 1746 Progress report 2000 on the collection of historic musical instruments of the Edinburgh University by Anrold Myers
Comm 1747 Koen Vermeij. The Hubert Clavichord Data Book. [Review] reviewer: Lewis Jones
Comm 1748 Horn - several more toots by Julian Goodacre
Comm 1749 Comment on Comm 1742 by Alec V Loretto
Comm 1750 Comment on bulletin 102 by Alec V Loretto
Comm 1751 Catgut - Comme 1567 revisited by John Downing
Comm 1752 `An angel in green with a vielle' - a reconstruction by Joe Skeaping
Comm 1753 16th century rib bending by Richard Coleman
Comm 1754 More on the violino Piffaro by Steve Heavens
Comm 1755 About the history of the use of metal in violin strings by Ephraim Segerman
Comm 1756 The appoggiatura, early vocal style and instrument imitations by Ephraim Segerman
Comm 1757 When the neck length (nut to body) became 2/3 the body stop (neck to bridge) on violins and violas by Ephraim Segerman


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