ascaules

thank you, I look forward to spending many happy hours around here!

seems whenever I finally stop lurking and register on a forum it's because I need help! I'm currently writing an article that includes a long section on bagpipes in the ancient world and their relationship to organs and I'm stuck over a chunk of Latin from De Tribus Generibus Instrumentorum Musicae Veterum by Italian scientist Francesco Bianchini (1662-1729). I confess my Latin is very poor (slightly better than google translate which gives 75% gibberish!). I've given the entire text below, but the sections I'm having trouble with are these Figura hujus Tibiae Utricularis desumpta est ex antiquo anaglypho marmoreo Visitur pneumaticum Organum in nummis contorniatis, ut vocant, insignitis imagine Neronis. Eorundem iconem protulit Patinus ad Suetonii cap. 41. vitae Neronis, page 304. & vidimus apud Antonium Borionum Romanum. In the first is he talking about more than one tibia Utricularis (bagpipe) image? He seems to be using the singular verb, singular or plural "images" and plural "bagpipes" (which are often rendered plural anyway when there is only one)...?? In the second, is he saying he took the image from a contorniate of Nero or from Patinus and Suetonius? It might seem of little importance, but i have reason to believe that misunderstanding of these passages has led to 300 years of error in the musicological/historical record! If you want the whole context, here it is, and if anyone wants to do a complete translation it woud be interesting to compare to mine!! Hope someone can help - and all help very gratefully received!! 12. Tibia Utriculariae, sive Utriculares quae nostris pasloribus , & messoribus passim adhibentur. Ab Antiquis pariter usurpatas noscimus ex Svetonio in Nerone cap. 14 Vide Vossii Lexicon Etymologicum in verbo Utricularius, quem a Varrone pythaulam dici observat. Ejus figura exstat in aenea icuncula antiqui operis, exhibente pastorem utriculari tibia canentem, in Musaeo Albano, & in gemma apud Ficoronum delle Maschere Tab. 83. p. 214. Figura hujus Tibiae Utricularis desumpta est ex antiquo anaglypho marmoreo in zophoro supra columnas porticum fulcientes in impluvio aedium Principis Sanctaecrucis prope Ecclesiam S. Caroli ad Catinarios. 1 3. Subjecimus Organum Pneumaticum Tibiae Utriculari, cum ad genus utricularium Tibiarum pertinere videatur. Olim hydraulicum fuerat, vento excitato per lapsum aquae praecipitem, eoque perducto ad tubos, seu calamos syringiae : mox, adjumento follium, compendiosius evasit Organum pneumaticum, per eosdem inflatile. Visitur pneumaticum Organum in nummis contorniatis, ut vocant, insignitis imagine Neronis. Eorundem iconem protulit Patinus ad Suetonii cap. 41. vitae Neronis, page 304. & vidimus apud Antonium Borionum Romanum. Panvinius de Ludis Circensibus, p. 58. describens parallelopipedum, seu stylobatem Obelisci Constantinopolitani, ejusdem meminit, Tab. 19. Ante illa tempora suit etiam Chorus, instrumentum ex simplici pelle cum duabus cicutis aereis, quarum per primam inspiratur aer, qui per secundam emittit vocem; uti legimus in epistola ad Dardanum Hieronymo attributa. Videndus ea de re Scaliger in notis Eusebii ad annum MDCCCCXCV pag. 169. col. 2.