Let’s talk about wine and song. I used to refer to my wine structuring as ‘aging,’ but now realize that was both inadequate and imprecise. To merely ‘age’ a truly awful wine to begin with would not be something to write home about. Similarly, there were plenty of mediocre violin makers living during the time of the great masters (Amati, Guarneri, Stradivari, Steiner, etc.). After studying violin from a brilliant virtuoso,
https://wernerlywen.com/
I took a brief detour into violin making in rural Pennsylvania from a brilliant, largely self-taught Luthier (violin maker) named Edward Campbell. Campbell was also a member of the Violin Society of America which just happened to hold their annual conference in his little village that year (Boiling Springs Pennsylvania [the heart of Amish country]).
https://www.pennlive.com/west-shore/2011/01/violin_shop_turns_golden.html
Campbell was a truly gifted violin maker. An engineer by profession, he employed all the latest modern techniques for ‘tuning’ the wood of his instruments to achieve a truly remarkable balance and tone. His were the best modern fiddles I had ever played. Then came the old fiddles on loan to the Society for the conference (Amati, Guarneri, Stradivari, Guadagnini, Steiner). I swear I never heard or felt anything like it before or since. The depth and breadth of these instruments were so far and beyond anything I had ever experienced, I found myself literally drunk with envy. I knew no matter how ‘expert’ Mr. Campbell became, I would either have to invent a time machine or find some pretty remarkable life extension technology to fully enjoy his instruments the way I did these old masters. Anyone who tells you modern instruments sound just like the old ones, is a liar, at least from the perspective of the player. The audience may hear something similar, but what I felt beneath my fingers was almost supernatural.
Now onto wine. The overtones of structured wines are so multi-layered, it’s like a kaleidoscope on your tongue. Similarly, the deep, rich sound of violins made by great masters like Stradivari, Guarneri and Guadagnini is attributed to several factors, including overtone complexity. Conventional wisdom will tell you that it’s the varnish, the aging of the wood, etc., but as with so many other lost arts, I think it boils down to craftsmanship. Where are the Mozarts, the Beethovens of today? Or philosophers, for that matter? Today we have literal noise passing for music. Sophistry passing for legal wisdom (see recent SCOTUS ruling)
Everywhere we look for inspiration we find nihilism and idiots. Where is the craftsmanship in Hollywood? Most of it seems to be wasted on luring young women to the casting couch.
This is why I call my device a ‘wine polisher’ because like the translucent varnish of a great Stradivarius, it brings out the grain and depth and yes, overtones, of even the most uninspired wines!
Beautifully written. And I agree, where is all the beautiful music? Where is all the fabulous literature? Have we surpassed our golden age and have been declining ever since? Now I will tell you from personal experience, there is still beautiful wine out there. And I’m very much interested in your wine polisher