Rola rekonstrukcji w konserwacji zabytkowych instrumentów muzycznych

• Authors: Bielawski Bolesław

Title variants

EN

The role of reconstruction in the сonservation of old musical instruments

• Languages of publication: PL EN

Abstracts

EN

Owing to their small number and high value old musical instruments in Poland should be mentioned in our law concerning the protection of cultural property expressis verbis and not simply listed as an „instrumentaria”. A correct understanding of the specific nature of the conservation of musical instruments is facilitated by a presentation of various circumstances which accompanied the making of an instrument that is at present regarded as historical. One of such circumstances is the mutual influ ence of music and instruments. Attention was drawn to the fact that the constructor of the instrument was concerned with its durability; at the same time, he foresaw its repair and restoration which would ensure the instrument’s efficiency. Such repairs constitute, so to speak a natural part of the existence of the instrument and they are carried out with the same techniques which were originally applied in its construction. With time, however, whenever possible, the instruments were adapted to new types of music, usually beyond the range of functions proposed by the builder. Worn intruments were replaced by new ones, and the former were sometimes retained as relics of the past, frequently thanks to their rich embellishments. Nineteenthcentury historicism led to collecting, preservation and display of old instruments in museums, where they were treated on par with other examples of craftsmanship. At the same time, a gradual rediscovery of old music prompted performance on instruments from the epoch. At preservation, the state of the prevention of a given instrument and its characteristic may require different methods of conservation: 1. The state of the instrument is such that the restoration of its sound quality would be a threat to its further material existence, or require far-reaching intervention which, in turn, would deprive it of historical value. Such a state does not permit the restoration of the original sound of the instrument which can be only surmised. 2. The extant part of the historical instrument can be included into the reconstructed whole. 3. After conservation and supplementation, the extant instrument can be used. We are now faced with two possibilities: either the instrument survived in its original, unaltered state or it was rebuilt upon a number of occasions. In the second instance, we can attempt to recapture the original sound either by retaining the subsequent reconstruction or to recreate the sound prior to the reconstructions by the removal of the latter. The important factor in the reconstruction and conservation operations listed above is a familiarity with old crafts and the ability of their application. This ability itself could constitute a intengible cultural property, with its own specific cognitive and aesthetic values. The protection of the original is the most frequently encountered motive for making a copy, whose purpose is the most faithful recreation of the actual state of the original. The range of this undertaking depends, however, on the requirements. It is possible for example to copy only the extermal appearance of the instrument and in this way to produce a model. A copy can be supplemented by the reconstruction of missing parts. Only a single historical layer can be copied in an instrument which had been reconstructed upon many occasions. Finally, the last form of copying the original is the recreation of its selected historical state. As a rule, this is the state of the completed process of building the historical instrument. Restoration intends precisely to repeat the history of the making of the instrument and its usage during the period of its efficiency. The cultivation of old music calls for authentic instruments of the period or their faithful copies. Do the latter deprive the originals of their value? The answer is: no. The original will always remain superior thanks to its multifold merits which are of essential value for historical relics, and which remain inaccessible for copies. Not only is the copy harmless for the original but, on the contrary, it makes better understanding possible. It is owing to a copy that we do not have to limit ourselves to solely visual perception — we can touch the copy and play on it. The best way to understand and experience the original is to make its copy. One of the fundamental values of a historical monument is historical truth; its full cognition and experience is unattainable but we can approach it gradually by means of the reconstruction and recreation of the historical monument.

• Publisher: Narodowy Instytut Dziedzictwa
• Journal: Ochrona Zabytków
• Year: 1993
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 246-250

Dates

published

1993

Contributors

author

Bielawski Bolesław

Identifiers

ISSN

0029-8247