The Pinned Barrel as Music Archive
Musical clocks are fascinating with both a clock work and a musical instrument - often a small organ. Hence the word organ clocks. Per Strand (1758-1826) is the leading builder of organ clocks in Sweden around 1800. His customers were merchants, the nobility and even the court. The music is programmed with metall pins and bridges on a wooden barrel. When the barrel rotates reading arms transfer the information and play the music on the organ. These barrels can be seen as a kind of music archive, often silent, but unique because it carries the information about how the music sounded around 1800. The proposed project would like to make the music on the preserved organ clocks by Strand and their almost 150 barrels available to researchers. Which musik was popular, how was the music re-arranged to fit the barrel and the clock? The project will use a new optical method to digitalize the music on the barrels that cannot be played on their original clock. Finally the project would like to communicate the organ clocks and their music to the general public- a unique cultural heritage from Sweden around 1800.
Final report
THE GOAL OF THE PROJECT AND ITS DEVELOPMENT
The goal of the project “Pinned Barrels as a Music Archive” was to investigate musical taste around the turn of the nineteenth century in an upper-class environment in Sweden through the study of preserved pinned parrels for flute clocks built by Pehr Strand. In addition to the preserved flute clocks, archives, newspapers and other contemporary texts were used as source material for this study. The project formulated four research questions: Who programmed the pinned barrels?; How was the repertoire choice made, and is there a connection to the printed music of the time represented in the publication “Musikaliskt Tidsfördrif” ?; How should an optical reader be designed to transcribe non-playable barrels ?; How can this cultural heritage be made available for further research and a wider public?
PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION
The project was carried out partly according to plan, however with a changed focus as a result of the restrictions introduced in Sweden due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The reading of a large number of barrels could not be carried out as planned because visits to museums and their archives were not possible. The development of the barrel reader was also initially delayed due to long delivery times for electronic components due to the boom in the industry. The development of the barrel reader could, however, be completed thanks to a private person who generously loaned a flute clock with its barrels for documentation which made development of the barrel reader possible. In 2020, therefore, a complete technical documentation could be made of a flute clock (including the action and the organ pipes). The technical measurements were documented in CAD, and a 3D model was created, whose digital interface allows the user to study details up close. The CAD drawings are available through Open Access. According to his application for Royal Privilege, Strand presented a certificate stating that he knew the craft, and that he would not manufacture the clock parts himself but hire established masters. What was included in the craft cannot be determined in detail when original documents are missing, but based on practice in, for example, Berlin, various subcontractors could be hired. The similarities with the Berlin tradition raise the question of whether Strand learned his craft through studies in Berlin or by building a copy of a model. In the Swedish Museum of Performing Arts collections there is a flute clock attributed to Strand (signum M2086). However, the project has shown that the flute clock was built in Christian Ernst Kleemeyer’s workshop in Berlin. How it came to Sweden is not clear, but one possibility is that it was a model that Strand used. The similarities are striking, although some clear details differ.
The archive studies proceeded according to plan, and new findings show that Pehr Strand had been granted another privilege, namely for cork cutting. In addition to organ and music production, he also was involved in sealing vax production. Archive studies have also been able to link the sculptor Pehr Ljung closer to Pehr Strand, which was not unexpected as Pehr Strand’s first education was as a sculptor. In 1777, Pehr Strand moved from Arnäs, outside Örnsköldsvik, to Stockholm and started as an apprentice with the court sculptor Johan Ljung, Pehr Ljung’s father. There are striking similarities between the sculptures made for a flute clock now in Ljungby, and the altarpiece in the Adelsö Church. The altarpiece in Adelsö Church was made by Pehr Ljung in 1802. In 1829, Pehr Zacharias Strand, Pehr Strand’s youngest son, also built a new organ for the church.
As to the selection of repertoire and the programming of the barrels, questions remain. What is clear is that in Stockholm there were several knowledgeable barrel programmers, similar to the situation in Berlin and London. Some of these may have been involved in the pinning of the barrels, and possibly one of Strand’s musically talented children may later have participated in this work. Any clear connection between Pehr Strand and Olof Åhlström and the "Musikaliskt Tidsfördrif" has not been found.
The Center for Digital Humanities (CDH) at the University of Gothenburg has played a crucial role in making the material available, both technical data and a large number of photographs. Based on their previous research, a web portal has been developed to present measurement data, photographs, descriptive texts and longer introductory articles. The web portal also provides an advanced search interface where all data is searchable. All information, including photographs and technical drawings, is published under Open Access (CC BY-NC 4.0).
THE PROJECT’S THREE MOST IMPORTANT RESULTS, AND A BRIEF SUMMARY OF ITS CONCLUSIONS
The complete technical documentation and 3D model of a flute clock has given a deeper understanding of the design, especially in terms of the relationship between the parts of these advanced mechanical objects. Furthermore, it provides great opportunities for continued research and dissemination of various aspects regarding the field. The music represented as metal pins is a concrete example of a visualization of programming.
Despite the pandemic, the development of the optical reader became possible. It was also surprising how well the measurements converted to MIDI. Contingencies were prepared in case some adjustments to the information were necessary to compensate for wear or damage to the barrels; however, such measures did not need to be taken.
Interesting new sources have given a better picture of the context, among other things exemplified by a development of the history of the so-called Bremer flute clock, now at Årsta Castle, Haninge. From the correspondence between two of the Bremer’s acquaintances, professors Henrik Gabriel Porthan in Turku and Matthias Calonius in Stockholm, it appears that Bremer bought the flute clock and that it was intended as a gift to his mother.
The results create good conditions for continued research. The 3D model provides, for example, opportunities to communicate digitally, or to interact with the model through digital interfaces. The model also opens up new possibilities with the help of 3D printing.
The findings in archives and other sources also show that there is every reason to continue the work and to strive to reach researchers in related subject areas. The rapidly growing field of digital humanities has proven to be very helpful when it comes to establishing collaborations.
POSSIBLE FURTHER RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The question of who programmed the barrels could not be answered. However, the project has shown that the barrels have some clear features. Two different manufacturing methods have been identified. Further research needs to be expanded to examine the production of other contemporary builders of mechanical musical clocks in order to possibly find connections between the various manufacturing methods. Advertisements in Swedish newspapers have already shown that the manufacture of mechanical instruments was more widespread than previously known. A survey of the other builders may help to identify the programmers of the barrels.
HOW THE PROJECT GROUP HAS DISSEMINATED RESEARCH RESULTS AS AWELL AS HOW COLLABORATION WAS ENGAGED
All of the museums have been interested and accommodating, and provided their material within the applicable framework. The restrictions due to the pandemic meant that archives could not be visited after the summer of 2020. Several museums, including the National Museum and the Alingsås Museum, have shown great continued interest in highlighting this part of their collections. Alingsås Museum has, together with RISE, applied for funding in collaboration with the project manager for further research and digital accessibility of its flute clock.
Parts of the project have been described in two articles, published under Open Access. This applies to the flute clock at Årsta Castle and the flute clock at Lövstabruk’s manor. The first article is aimed at an international audience and written in English. The second article is published in Swedish in the journal Sjuttonhundratal, with the intention of presenting the flute clock to a broad research group working within the time period and with a stated purpose to seek collaborations and perhaps thereby find new sources that describe the use of the flute clock. The project was also presented internationally in collaboration with Gothenburg International Organ Festival 2019. During the festival, a symposium was organized on 12 October 2019 under the theme “The Organ Clock as Mechanical Music Marvel,” with eight presentations by invited researchers from Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Sweden, Germany, and Austria.
The project also made a poster presentation in connection with Heritage Science Forum 2019, arranged by RISE on 3–4 December 2019. The poster’s title was “Metal analysis for provenance? Flute clocks from the 18th century,” and aimed to investigate possible collaborations regarding the use of different alloys, this to determine the origin of the material.
Furthermore, the web portal, developed in collaboration with CDH, has made it possible to distribute the digital material in an adequate and innovative way. The collaboration with CDH has also generated two new applications for research grants.
The goal of the project “Pinned Barrels as a Music Archive” was to investigate musical taste around the turn of the nineteenth century in an upper-class environment in Sweden through the study of preserved pinned parrels for flute clocks built by Pehr Strand. In addition to the preserved flute clocks, archives, newspapers and other contemporary texts were used as source material for this study. The project formulated four research questions: Who programmed the pinned barrels?; How was the repertoire choice made, and is there a connection to the printed music of the time represented in the publication “Musikaliskt Tidsfördrif” ?; How should an optical reader be designed to transcribe non-playable barrels ?; How can this cultural heritage be made available for further research and a wider public?
PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION
The project was carried out partly according to plan, however with a changed focus as a result of the restrictions introduced in Sweden due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The reading of a large number of barrels could not be carried out as planned because visits to museums and their archives were not possible. The development of the barrel reader was also initially delayed due to long delivery times for electronic components due to the boom in the industry. The development of the barrel reader could, however, be completed thanks to a private person who generously loaned a flute clock with its barrels for documentation which made development of the barrel reader possible. In 2020, therefore, a complete technical documentation could be made of a flute clock (including the action and the organ pipes). The technical measurements were documented in CAD, and a 3D model was created, whose digital interface allows the user to study details up close. The CAD drawings are available through Open Access. According to his application for Royal Privilege, Strand presented a certificate stating that he knew the craft, and that he would not manufacture the clock parts himself but hire established masters. What was included in the craft cannot be determined in detail when original documents are missing, but based on practice in, for example, Berlin, various subcontractors could be hired. The similarities with the Berlin tradition raise the question of whether Strand learned his craft through studies in Berlin or by building a copy of a model. In the Swedish Museum of Performing Arts collections there is a flute clock attributed to Strand (signum M2086). However, the project has shown that the flute clock was built in Christian Ernst Kleemeyer’s workshop in Berlin. How it came to Sweden is not clear, but one possibility is that it was a model that Strand used. The similarities are striking, although some clear details differ.
The archive studies proceeded according to plan, and new findings show that Pehr Strand had been granted another privilege, namely for cork cutting. In addition to organ and music production, he also was involved in sealing vax production. Archive studies have also been able to link the sculptor Pehr Ljung closer to Pehr Strand, which was not unexpected as Pehr Strand’s first education was as a sculptor. In 1777, Pehr Strand moved from Arnäs, outside Örnsköldsvik, to Stockholm and started as an apprentice with the court sculptor Johan Ljung, Pehr Ljung’s father. There are striking similarities between the sculptures made for a flute clock now in Ljungby, and the altarpiece in the Adelsö Church. The altarpiece in Adelsö Church was made by Pehr Ljung in 1802. In 1829, Pehr Zacharias Strand, Pehr Strand’s youngest son, also built a new organ for the church.
As to the selection of repertoire and the programming of the barrels, questions remain. What is clear is that in Stockholm there were several knowledgeable barrel programmers, similar to the situation in Berlin and London. Some of these may have been involved in the pinning of the barrels, and possibly one of Strand’s musically talented children may later have participated in this work. Any clear connection between Pehr Strand and Olof Åhlström and the "Musikaliskt Tidsfördrif" has not been found.
The Center for Digital Humanities (CDH) at the University of Gothenburg has played a crucial role in making the material available, both technical data and a large number of photographs. Based on their previous research, a web portal has been developed to present measurement data, photographs, descriptive texts and longer introductory articles. The web portal also provides an advanced search interface where all data is searchable. All information, including photographs and technical drawings, is published under Open Access (CC BY-NC 4.0).
THE PROJECT’S THREE MOST IMPORTANT RESULTS, AND A BRIEF SUMMARY OF ITS CONCLUSIONS
The complete technical documentation and 3D model of a flute clock has given a deeper understanding of the design, especially in terms of the relationship between the parts of these advanced mechanical objects. Furthermore, it provides great opportunities for continued research and dissemination of various aspects regarding the field. The music represented as metal pins is a concrete example of a visualization of programming.
Despite the pandemic, the development of the optical reader became possible. It was also surprising how well the measurements converted to MIDI. Contingencies were prepared in case some adjustments to the information were necessary to compensate for wear or damage to the barrels; however, such measures did not need to be taken.
Interesting new sources have given a better picture of the context, among other things exemplified by a development of the history of the so-called Bremer flute clock, now at Årsta Castle, Haninge. From the correspondence between two of the Bremer’s acquaintances, professors Henrik Gabriel Porthan in Turku and Matthias Calonius in Stockholm, it appears that Bremer bought the flute clock and that it was intended as a gift to his mother.
The results create good conditions for continued research. The 3D model provides, for example, opportunities to communicate digitally, or to interact with the model through digital interfaces. The model also opens up new possibilities with the help of 3D printing.
The findings in archives and other sources also show that there is every reason to continue the work and to strive to reach researchers in related subject areas. The rapidly growing field of digital humanities has proven to be very helpful when it comes to establishing collaborations.
POSSIBLE FURTHER RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The question of who programmed the barrels could not be answered. However, the project has shown that the barrels have some clear features. Two different manufacturing methods have been identified. Further research needs to be expanded to examine the production of other contemporary builders of mechanical musical clocks in order to possibly find connections between the various manufacturing methods. Advertisements in Swedish newspapers have already shown that the manufacture of mechanical instruments was more widespread than previously known. A survey of the other builders may help to identify the programmers of the barrels.
HOW THE PROJECT GROUP HAS DISSEMINATED RESEARCH RESULTS AS AWELL AS HOW COLLABORATION WAS ENGAGED
All of the museums have been interested and accommodating, and provided their material within the applicable framework. The restrictions due to the pandemic meant that archives could not be visited after the summer of 2020. Several museums, including the National Museum and the Alingsås Museum, have shown great continued interest in highlighting this part of their collections. Alingsås Museum has, together with RISE, applied for funding in collaboration with the project manager for further research and digital accessibility of its flute clock.
Parts of the project have been described in two articles, published under Open Access. This applies to the flute clock at Årsta Castle and the flute clock at Lövstabruk’s manor. The first article is aimed at an international audience and written in English. The second article is published in Swedish in the journal Sjuttonhundratal, with the intention of presenting the flute clock to a broad research group working within the time period and with a stated purpose to seek collaborations and perhaps thereby find new sources that describe the use of the flute clock. The project was also presented internationally in collaboration with Gothenburg International Organ Festival 2019. During the festival, a symposium was organized on 12 October 2019 under the theme “The Organ Clock as Mechanical Music Marvel,” with eight presentations by invited researchers from Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Sweden, Germany, and Austria.
The project also made a poster presentation in connection with Heritage Science Forum 2019, arranged by RISE on 3–4 December 2019. The poster’s title was “Metal analysis for provenance? Flute clocks from the 18th century,” and aimed to investigate possible collaborations regarding the use of different alloys, this to determine the origin of the material.
Furthermore, the web portal, developed in collaboration with CDH, has made it possible to distribute the digital material in an adequate and innovative way. The collaboration with CDH has also generated two new applications for research grants.