Bowles-The Timpani Supplement II: Still More Pictures and Documents

The Timpani Supplement II (Still More Pictures and Documents) by Edmund A. Bowles represents a unique iconographical and documentary history of the timpani. This volume is the third in a trilogy entitled The Timpani. Combining a wealth of pictorial material with extensive written sources, it offers a rich and comprehensive survey of the instrument's history from the middle ages to the present. This series of books fills a gap of long standing in the published literature of kettledrums by providing a combination of visual and descriptive evidence. Presented here is a wide-ranging pictorial lode drawn from a variety of sources-for example paintings; baroque organ cases topped by angel-musicians; engravings from books describing court festivals; prints and drawings; wood carvings; and photographs. Written references reflect a wide and fascinating panoply of descriptions concerning the construction, musical contexts and performance techniques of the timpani-for example, eyewitness accounts chronicling the role of instruments at various historical events; archival documents dealing with payments to musicians or the make-up of instrumental ensembles; regulations concerning court musicians; and even patent specifications.