PASSAGE 2 Violins and very cold weather- a hypothesis 16 December 2022

READING PASSAGE 2
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14 – 26, which are based on Reading Passage 2 on pages 7 and 8.

Violins and very cold weather- a hypothesis
Lloyd Burckle and Henri D Grissino-Mayer suggest a link between the great Italian violin­ makers and a mini ice-age 300 years ago

A There is considerable controversy surrounding reasons why instruments made by the artisans of Cremona in Italy in the late 17th and early 18th centuries sound superior compared to modern instruments. The famous violin-making families ofAmati, Stradivari, and Guarneri certainly included many highly accomplished craftsmen, and the popular belief is that the skills ofthese Cremonese artisans, combined with either a secret ingredient or undocumented process, gave their instruments the rich sound so highly admired by professional musicians. The nature of that secret ingredient has been the subject of conjecture for many years and is still fuelling discussion. Theories have included the development and use of a specially fonnulated varnish applied to tl1e wood to protect it, 山ying the wood in ovens, the re-use of old wood taken from castles, and soaking the wood in water to get rid of supposedly harmful chemicals before seasoning.

B However, no basis has been found for these possible explanations. There is no documented evidence of wood being artificially dried by violin-makers, and this process was most likely unknown to these artisans. Nor can seasoning— the practice of leaving wood for the moisture to evaporate naturally- be invoked as a possible explanation, as considerable variability exists in the lengths of seasoning periods, even among individual makers. Instruments made by the most renowned of all violin-makers, Antonio Stradivari (1644-1737), have seasoning periods as short as seven years and as long as 31 years, for example. A secret varnish has yet to be demonstrated, despite considerable scientific analyses that include ultraviolet photography, electron microscopy, ion backscattering and x-ray investigations.Finally, some have suggested that Stradivari used wood taken from castles. This theory has been discounted because analyses on numerous instruments attributed to Stradivari demonstrated ages for the wood that were contemporary with his lifetime.

C Violin-makers have always known that the secret ofa quality instrument lies in the selection of the wood. Maple wood (Acer spp.) is preferred for the back, ribs, and neck of the instrument while spruce (Picea spp.) is often used for the top These woods have superior acoustical and mechanical properties, having the least loss of energy tluougl顷ternal friction compared to other woods.For example, spruce cells are light, physiologically simple, hollow, and rigid-ideal properties for enhanced acoustic quality. Only trees that have grown in thin, poor soils at higher elevations on north-facing slopes have the dense wood grain that helps instill a superior tone in violins. Long winters and cool summers produce wood that has the slow, even growth ideal for producing quality sounding boards

D Stradivari and other eminent Italian violin­ makers ofthe 17th and early 18th centuries had neighbouring workshops in Cremona and would most probably have used the nearby high forest slopes ofthe southern Italian Alps for their supplies ofspruce wood. A probable location is the famous”Forest ofthe Violins” in the Parco Naturale Paneveggio in the eastern part of Trentino, long familiar to violin-maker s for its ‘frr trees ofresonance’.

E Wood with high density can, however, be found exactly with this clim汕c period, and that to in trees growing in a variety of habitats and environmental settings in numerous higher­ elevation locations throughout the world. Hence, an account of the Cremonese craftsmen’s superior sound quality based solely on wood properties is insufficient. Instead, could the superior sound quality be explained by a combination of wood properties, env订orunental characteristics, and macroclimatic conditions? Could the wood used by the Cremonese makers have had particular physical characteristics that were perhaps time­ specific? These were questions that requ江ed more thorough research.

F The well-documented Maunder Minimum (1645-1715) was a period characterized by a scarcity of sunspots and a reduction in overall solar activity. It coincided with a sharp dip in temperatures and a period of extremely cold weather in western Europe. Analyses of high­ elevation forest areas of tl1e Europea.11 Alps reveal a long period of reduced grow小rates between approximately 1625 and 1720, identified by the narrow rings visible in the cross-sections of tree samples from that era. fashion the most prized and valued instruments of his’Golden Period'(I700-1720), he would have used the only wood available to him, i.e. from trees that grew during the Maunder Minimum. The onset of the Maunder Minimum at a time when the skills of the Cremonese violin-makers reached their peak perhaps made that crucial difference in the violin’s tone and brilliance. Furthe皿ore, the conjunction of elevation, topography, soil properties and a deterioration in climate was temporally unique­ climate conditions with temperatures such as those that occurred during the Maunder Minimum simply cannot and do not occur today in areas where the Cremonese makers obtained their wood.

G It seems likely that the narrow tree rings that identify the Maunder Minimum in Europe played a significant role in the enhanced sound quality of instruments produced by the Cremonese craftsmen. Narrow rings would not only strengthen the violin, but lend the wood a high degree of density-the property so important for acoustic resonance. It is surely significant that Stradivari’s working lifetime coincides

Questions 14-20
Reading Passage 2 has seven paragraphs, A – G
Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the fist of headings below Write the correct number, i-ix, in boxes 14- 20 on your answer sheet.

List of Headings

i Propositions that needed further investigation
ii The most valuable instrument ever made
iii An unrepeated mix of professional and environmental circumstances
iv A remarkable woodworking technique
v An ongoing debate
vi Choosing the materials for different parts of a violin
vii Disproving some hypotheses
viii A well-known source of suitable wood
ix Evidence of some exceptional environmental conditions

14 Paragraph A
15 Paragraph B
16 Paragraph C
17 Paragraph D
18 Paragraph E
19 Paragraph F
20 Paragraph G

Questions 21-24
Complete the summary below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer Write your answers in boxes 21-24 on your answer sheet.

The Cremonese violins: fine artistry-but what else?

There is no doubt that the superior quality of the late 17th-and early 18th-century Cremonese violins is due in large part to the 21 ……… of the people who crafted them. But it has long been felt that other factors were involved.

There has been extensive research into whether the composition of the varnish that was put on the wood could account for the unique sound of the Cremonese violins. Some people have also put FORWARD the idea that Stradivari made his instruments from wood which had already been used in old buildings such as 22 ………Scientific analysis
has proved this not to be the case.

Other theories have focused on the violin-makers’ method of using 23  ………to dry their wood before use, or using water to remove dangerous 24 ……… from the wood. A further suggestion concerns the amount of time taken for the process known as seasoning. However, craftsmen differed in the time they allowed for this.

Questions 25 and 26
Choose TWO letters, A-E
Write the correct letters in boxes 25 and 26 on your answer sheet.
Which TWO of these factors are mentioned in the passage as possibly having a significant effect on the eventual quality of a violin?
A the altitude at which a tree is grown
B the stage of a tree’s growth at which it is cut down
C the steepness of the mountains where a tree is grown
D the lack of rain during a tree’s growing period
G the nutritional composition of the earth in which a tree is grown