Half-Tan vs Vellum
Outdoor vs Concerted
or
Half-Tan vs Vellum
Striking the drum in the center or slightly off-center seems foreign to the modern timpanist because when done on modern timpani with modern heads, the sound is very “thuddy” and non resonant with very little musical appeal. This happens because modern timpani have larger diameters with deeper bowls, much thinner (vellum or Mylar™) heads, and superior mechanical tolerances. For the very early “outdoor” cavalry instruments, the thickness and homogeneity of the half-tanned (Speer 1697, Majer 1732) 19.1 heads was the primary factor influencing the sound, and consequently how one played the instrument.
The early half-tanned heads were produced by leather, vellum and parchment makers, just as the natural skin heads are today. Should half-tanned heads even be considered drum heads? Or perhaps just drum coverings? Jeremy Montague writes:
“… all would recognize the difference in preparation between tanning, which would produce leather, and the simpler, and much shorter and less smelly, processes which produce parchment or vellum and thus drumskin. ” 19.2
The process of treating animal skins and producing various leather, vellum and parchment products is a millenniums old tradition. Even though the manufacturing principles remained unchanged throughout the history of leather, vellum and parchment making, the end product varied greatly. This variance can be a consequence of things like the maker’s expertise, the quality of the skins and different raw materials used in the production processes, and the desired outcome/thickness of the end product. It could also be argued that the wealth or economy of the making process was reflected in the degree of thinness and finish. Sampled 13th century parchment has ranged in thickness from .03 to .28 mm. Compare that to contemporary Kalfo timpani heads that range in thickness from .20-.25 mm. There is no doubt that various degrees of thinness and finish were produced so there is little question that the timpanists in the wealthy courts of the early, middle, and late periods of the Baroque could have had any type of skin of any thickness and finish they desired. 30
The head of choice for the 16th and 17th century “outdoor” cavalry timpani was a less flexible, half-tanned hide which was much thicker than standard “finished” vellum products. This was not because of lack of resources, but by design. Thicker heads were needed because of the impact they had to endure from the volume need for “outdoor” playing.29.1 The thickness and less flexibility of the half-tanned leather made it less resonant so striking it slightly off-center projected the sound (more volume) with a better sense of relative pitch than when playing on the edge. The resulting discordant sound was due to the poor mechanical tolerances of the tensioning system, small diameters of the drums, shallowness of the bowls, and an inferior vibrating membrane. Fine for “outdoor” pageantry where only a relative pitch would suffice.
Other factors to be taken into consideration, of course, are the lack of pitch standards in Europe (even at different venues in the same city state) at that time, which would affect the frequency of the actual fundamental of the smaller drums with thicker half-tanned heads. This lack of pitch standards would also influence the size of the bowl needed to produce the pitch, which helps explain the varying sizes of early timpani found throughout 16th and 17th century Europe.
However, timpani were being featured as a solo or soloistic instrument early in the 18th century where pitch and sensitivity were required to a degree more than that of what an outdoor cavalry drum could produce. It comes into question whether or not half-tanned was the head of choice for indoor playing at all. One could surmise not, but how, why, when, and who first consider that using a thinner head would improve the sound of the instrument?
Early Orchestral Literature
Featuring Timpani
J.S. Bach 1733 Cantata no. 214 BWV 214 Tönet ihr Pauken! Erschallet, Trompeten! (Ring out, ye trumpets!) Opens with a timpani solo.
J.S. Bach 1734 Weihnachts-Oratorium BWV 248 (The Christmas Oratorio) Opens with the same timpani solo.
C.Graupner 1749 Sinfonia a 2 Corni, 6 timpani, 2 violini, viola e Cembalo One of first pieces written for multiple timpani (d,c,Bb,G,F)
Johann Melchior Molter C1750 Sinfonia No. 99 in F Major uses five timpani (F G A Bb and c)
Mozart Classical 1773 Divertimento per 2 Flautti, 5 corni, e 4 Timpani K.188 Features 4 timpani throughout (d,C,A,G)
J.C.C. Fischer c. 1785 Sinfonie mitachtObligaten Pauken First piece written for 1 solo player and 8 drums spanning an octave.
Georg Druschetzky 1790s Concerto per 6 Timpani and Orchestra & Partita for 6 Timpani and Orchestra in C major