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credit: Mark Inglis |
There has been considerable debate surrounding the reasons
why instruments crafted in the late 17th and early 18th
centuries are tonally superior to modern instruments. Theories
range from the skill of the craftsman to secret techniques
such as a special varnish, the drying of the wood, the
storage time, or even the use of old wood from historic
structures. Lloyd Burckle of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory,
Columbia University, and Henri Grissino-Mayer of the Laboratory
of Tree Ring Science, University of Tennessee, have proposed
an alternate hypothesis -- climate. Their research was
published in the journal Dendrochronologia.
Burckle and Grissino-Mayer propose that the
superior sound quality of instruments from this era may be explained
by the climatic regime that gripped Europe and perhaps much of
the world from AD 1645 to 1715. Known as the Maunder Minimum, it
was a period characterized by a scarcity of sunspots and a reduction
in the Sun's overall activity. The less intense solar radiation
and activity coincided with a sharp decline in temperature during
the Little Ice Age and a period of very cold weather in western
Europe. The Maunder Minimum is clearly seen in tree-ring records
from high-elevation forest stands in the European Alps. The long
winters and cool summers of this 70-year period produced wood that
has slow, even growth -- desirable properties for producing quality
sounding boards.
Antonio Stradivari of Cremona, Italy, perhaps
the most famous of violin makers, was born one year before the
beginning of the Maunder Minimum. He and other violinmakers of
the area used the only wood available to them -- from the trees
that grew during the Maunder Minimum. Burckle and Grissino suggest
that the narrow tree rings that identify the Maunder Minimum in
Europe played a role in the enhanced sound quality of instruments
produced by the violinmakers of this time. Narrow tree rings would
not only strengthen the violin but would increase the wood's density.
The onset of the Maunder Minimum at a time
when the skills of the Cremonese violinmakers reached their zenith
perhaps made the difference in the violin's tone and brilliance.
Climate conditions with temperatures such as those that occurred
during this time simply can not and do not occur today in areas
where the Cremonese makers likely obtained their wood.
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
The Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, a member of The Earth Institute at Columbia
University, is one of the world's leading research centers examining the
planet from its core to its atmosphere, across every continent and every
ocean. From global climate change to earthquakes, volcanoes, environmental
hazards and beyond, Observatory scientists provide the basic knowledge of
Earth systems needed to inform the future health and habitability of our
planet.
The Earth Institute
The Earth Institute at Columbia University is the world's leading academic
center for the integrated study of Earth, its environment, and society. The
Earth Institute builds upon excellence in the core disciplines -- earth sciences,
biological sciences, engineering sciences, social sciences and health sciences
-- and stresses cross-disciplinary approaches to complex problems. Through
its research training and global partnerships, it mobilizes science and technology
to advance sustainable development, while placing special emphasis on the
needs of the world's poor.
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