Olbrycht Górecki
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| Edytowane; Struny w owijce metalowej. Pierwsza i druga od lewej to struny o owijce zamkniętej, takie, które zdaniem Emilly Peppers mogłyby być wynalazkiem Olbrychta Góreckiego. Struny trzecia i czwarta - struny o owijce otwartej, czyli te, które póxniej Stradivari preferował dla instrumentów smyczkowych. Fot. Emily Peppers Edited; Metal-wound strings. The first and second from the left are close-wound strings—the type that, according to Emily Peppers, might have been an invention of Olbrycht Górecki. The third and fourth strings are open-wound—the kind Stradivari later preferred for bowed instruments. Photo: Emily Peppers. |
Musicological discovery: Polish-Lithuanian
nobleman
invents metal-wrapped strings
From
Vivaldi's violins to Chopin's pianos to Metallica's guitars, strings wrapped in
metal wire have provided low-pitched sounds to stringed instruments for over
300 years. A scientific investigation by Dr. Emily Peppers of the University of
Warsaw has identified Olbrycht Górecki, a Polish-Lithuanian nobleman associated
with the court of Bogusław Radziwiłł, as the inventor of such strings.
"Virtually
all modern stringed instruments: guitars, violins, violas, cellos, and pianos,
utilize metal-wrapped strings," Dr. Peppers from the University of Warsaw
reminded PAP in an interview. She explained that the lighter string is wrapped
in metal wire, which gives it greater density while also guaranteeing
flexibility and good vibration parameters.
This string
construction, although invented in the 17th century, became widespread in the
first half of the 18th century. Previously, to achieve low tones, instrument
makers relied on very thick and long sheep gut strings or experimented with
dipping the strings in metal solutions.
"To
make a bass string thick enough, you needed the gut of up to 60 sheep,"
Dr. Peppers pointed out. However, these old-style strings produced a hollow
sound, had to be very long, and quickly went out of tune. Only the presence of
a metal braid allowed to produce pleasant, resonant low tones in small
instruments.
WHO WAS
"GORETSKY"?
Until now,
little was known about the inventor of the metal-wrapped string. Inquisitive
historians and musicologists had only the dry information from Oxford chemist
Robert Boyle, recorded in Samuel Hartlib's 1659 index of inventions,
"Ephemerides," that the inventor of silver-wire-wrapped lute strings which
make exceedingly charming music"—was a certain "Goretsky."
Hartlib received additional confirmation in a letter from the inventor.
However,
because no one could identify a specific Goretsky, the history of the braided
string remained unknown for centuries.
It was only
Dr. Emily Peppers, a musicologist doing a fellowship in the Marie
Skłodowska-Curie program at the University of Warsaw, who became interested in
the Polish-sounding name of the 17th-century innovator and decided to find out
who this mysterious figure was.
The
researcher searched databases and archives in various countries and analyzed
the stories of people with surnames that might sound like "Goretsky"
to English-speaking readers. A breakthrough came with the discovery of letters
written in Polish from Oxford to Prince Bogusław Radziwiłł from Olbrycht
Górecki, discovered at the Central Archives of Historical Records (AGAD) in
Warsaw.
“That was
my eureka moment!” Dr. Peppers recalled.
Her
findings indicate that Olbrycht Górecki (c. 1621–c. 1684) was a
nobleman of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. He was a well-educated man, a
polymath (meaning someone possessing comprehensive, encyclopedic knowledge of
many different fields), and a polyglot. He was closely associated with the
court of Bogusław Radziwiłł (the man well known from Sienkiewicz's "The
Deluge") and was also a sub-equerry of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. We
know that he served under Hetman Janusz Kiszka, knew Janusz Radziwiłł, and
frequented the court of John II Casimir Vasa. He also fought during the
Khmelnytsky Uprising, where he distinguished himself as a great soldier.
Górecki was
a Calvinist and, likely due to religious persecution, left the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. He studied in Leiden, lived in Utrecht, and in
1654 settled in England.
At Oxford,
he encountered an inspiring environment, the then-republic of scholars known as
the Respublica Literaria (Republic of Scholars). This was an international
network of contemporary intellectuals. People like Robert Boyle, known as the
father of modern chemistry, and Walter Charlton exchanged ideas there.
"Incidentally,
the birth of the modern scientific method, based on experiment and observation,
was accompanied by the emergence of the first coffeehouses. It was there, over
bitter, grainy coffee, that debates about acoustics and the density of bodies
could take place," Dr. Peppers pointed out.
It was
probably in Great Britain that Górecki made his discovery.
FROM
EMBROIDERY TO MUSIC
Górecki's
first lute strings were wrapped with silver wire. "Silver allowed for
incredibly thin wire, smaller in diameter than a human hair. At the time, only
a few centers in Europe, such as Nuremberg and London, had the technology for
such precise wire drawing. We know that Górecki, a wealthy man living in Great
Britain, had access to such techniques," explained Dr. Peppers.
The
technology for producing thin silver wire was already readily available at the
time, but it was being applied in a completely different field – embroidery and
fashion. Dr. Peppers noted in her research that techniques such as gold
spinning and silver wrapping were used to create luxurious metallic embroidery
threads, which were used to adorn items such as kontusz (nobleman's robe) sashes,
medals, and women's gloves. However, a stroke of genius was required to apply
this technique to produce strings with a more pleasant sound.
"Górecki
likely combined the worlds of fashion and music. He transferred the embroidery
technique to the musical field by wrapping a lute gut string in silver. In my
opinion, he approached it strictly scientifically. Knowing from coffeehouse
debates that density is crucial for achieving a low sound, he wrapped the
string as tightly as possible, creating a structure reminiscent of a modern
electric guitar string," Dr. Peppers explained.
THE
INVENTION IS GAINING SUPPORTERS
However, it
took several decades for the invention to gain popularity. "Musicians
spent years perfecting the technique of playing on traditional sheep gut
strings. And the new strings behaved completely differently under the fingers,
had a different weight, and offered a different resistance to the instrument.
It was not until the last quarter of the 17th century that the French composer
and viola da gamba virtuoso, Jean de Sainte-Colombe, introduced metal-wrapped
strings and added a seventh, lowest string to his instrument. Over time,
paintings from this period, especially in Italy, began to depict instruments
with gleaming, metallic strings."
"At
the beginning of the 18th century, Antonio Stradivari experimented with
so-called open-braid strings, resembling vines, which made bowing easier. The
revolution took time and new aesthetic requirements. Metal-braided strings also
gained popularity as music moved from intimate salons to grand concert halls,
where a more powerful, resonant sound was needed," the researcher
explained.
After
Olbrycht Górecki's death, an inventory was compiled in Oxford: he left behind
musical instruments, numerous books, and a toolbox. "I'd love to look into
it!" Dr. Peppers dreams.
No further
details about Olbrycht Górecki's life are known. The nobleman's correspondence
was irretrievably lost in the fire at the Załuski Library during the Warsaw
Uprising.
Dr.
Peppers's reviewed monograph on the life of Olbrycht Górecki will be published
by Brill Publishing House at the end of the year. Meanwhile, this summer, an
exhibition about the life and invention of Olbrycht Górecki will be on display
in the old University of Warsaw Library building until August 6th. Among other
things, you can touch the strings characteristic of different eras.
