Percusize Me!: Baroque timpani restoration.

Despite some of you already know my timps and the restoration process they undertook, I have been asked several times how I did it, so I´ll write about it in this post.

This is the original state in which these instruments were before the restauration process:

As you can see, kettles were dented and almost black because of the dirt, heads had holes, metallic parts were matt, paint was scraped... It was more than a cosmetic issue: these timpani were in serious need of a restauration.

First thing we did was repairing the kettles. For this, heads, rims and hardware were taken off, leaving the kettles "naked" (observe the difference between covered parts and those exposed to the elements):

All dents and imperfections were hammered out with a rubber hammer and, once they were completely even, the cleaning process begun. For this, we used a de-rusting product applied with a very thin metal wool. Next photo shows one of the kettles half-way the process:

Once they were clean, a polishing product was applied with the help of a cotton wool attached to a drill. When finished, all traces of remaining cleaning products were taken off with water and soap. After this, a spray protecting lacquer was applied to enhance their shine and to protect them from scratches. Next photo shows a finished kettle and a still to clean one:

Next thing to be repaired were tunning keys and all golden hardware (we knew they were golden once they were clean!):

They were inmersed into a de-rusting solution for a whole day and then were polished. There was no need to replate them, as they are made of brass, which has a natural beautiful golden colour which was brought to life again with a meticulous polishing process:

Counterhoops were in the condition you can see below:

All paint remains were taken off with the help of a wire brush attached to a drill. We can see the result in the next photo:

Clean again, they were spray-painted in black, leaving a very nice smooth and glossy finish. Next photos show the final result:

Once all pieces were repaired, drums were re-assembled:

Original wooden hoops were in very bad condition (bended and even cracked), so a local blacksmith made an exact copy of the original ones, resulting in a pair of sturdy and durable hoops. On these hoops, a pair of "SuperKalfo" heads were tucked:

As a final touch, leather rings were added between the counterhoops and the tunning keys (red arrow in the lower photo). This avoids any metal-to-metal contact, resulting in a noise-free mechanism. It also facilitates turning the keys:

Before being repaired, these drums had retractable legs (very similar to those in violoncelli). This was not practical at all because was noisy and, secondary, was not beautiful. To correct this, a pair of "quadpod" stands were built, allowing the drums to freely resonate. For this, a small metal cilinder was drilled every 90º. In each of these holes, a segment of threaded rod was introduced and then welded in order to form a cross which could be the base for our "quadpods":

Two curtain poles measuring 2,5 metres were cut into eight parts, each of these parts being drilled in its centre. These rods were then mounted on each arm of the crosses. In order to avoid any extrange noise, piano felt was used to pad both sides of the rods. We also used adhesive felt to cover the part that was intended to stay in contact with the instrument:

These stands stay in position and fold thanks to their wing nut system:

Once the restoration process finished,this is the final result:

Apart from being a very beautiful pair of instruments, they sound very well.

In this audio archive, recorded live on March 23rd, 2007 at Teatro Jovellanos in Gijón, you can hear me playing these timps with the Gijón Symphony Orchestra conducted by Óliver Díaz. The work is Mozart´s "Requiem" ("Dies Irae"):

In this other archive, recorded at the Toledo Cathedral in May 2008 (and part of the CD "Corpus Christi en Toledo"), you can hear me playing these instruments with "Sphera Antiqva" and "Memoria de los Sentidos". The work is "¡Alarma, alarma, sentidos!", by Jaume Casellas (the timpani part was edited by me, as there´s no timpani in the original):

As a final detail, these timpani have a pair of custom made softbags, as well as a pair of flight cases: