Rare Musical Instruments Donated To Duke

DURHAM, N.C. - An educational collection of more than 400 rare musical instruments from the late 18th century through the early 20th century has been bequeathed to Duke University by alumnus G. Norman Eddy and his wife, Ruth.

An English church serpent, a German bassoon, a Clementi grand piano, a slide trumpet and a double bell euphonium are among the most extraordinary instruments in the collection. It is especially strong in woodwinds and brass, but also contains a dozen pianos, free reeds and strings, said Brenda Neece, collection curator.

"There are many outstanding instruments in the collection, but its greatest gift is its teaching potential," Neece said. "It gives Duke the capacity to have one of the top organology centers not just in the Southeast, but in the world."

The Eddys arranged to donate the collection to the university in the late 1970s after they saw a photograph of the Mary Duke Biddle Music Building, which had just been constructed. At the time, the university was expanding the music department, and consequently the Eddys saw an opportunity to give the instruments a permanent home, as well as to ensure that they be used for teaching.

Norman Eddy, who received his Ph.D. in sociology from Duke in 1944, died in July 2000, nine years after his wife. The collection was shipped to the university last fall. It is now being cataloged, but some items are already on display in the music building

In all, the collection contains 260 woodwinds (flutes, fifes, piccolos, clarinets, oboes, saxophones and bassoons), 140 brass (trumpets, trombones, horns, cornets, bugles, mellophones, euphoniums, helicons and tubas), 12 pianos, six free reeds (accordions and concertinas) and four strings.

In addition, it includes 90 paintings by Norman Eddy that show families of instruments and the variations within them.

"We expect to make good use of the paintings as well," Neece said. "Not only do they speak to Dr. Eddy's love of the instruments, but they are also innovative and technically refined."

One of the more unusual items in the collection is an early 20th century Vorsetzer, a precursor to the player piano. Fitted with music rolls and pushed up to a piano, this device plays pianos using a system of levers that press the keys. Duke's Vorsetzer does not work, but Neece said she hopes to have it restored.

Norman Eddy's interest in musical instruments began when he was a child in the days prior to World War I. In his autobiography, he wrote that he often would study the pages of the musical instruments in the Sears, Roebuck and Co. catalogue.

He acquired his first instrument - a pocket mandolin - while attending Mount Hermon School for Boys in Massachusetts. It seemed of little importance at the time, but it nevertheless marked the start of his collection.

After the Eddys married, they acquired one item after another and jointly developed the collection. They both were music lovers and amateur musicians.

Professor R. Larry Todd, chair of Duke's Music Department, said the strength of the collection is not only its size, but also the care and thoughtful attention with which the Eddys made their choices.

"We don't have a random collection of this and that, but families of instruments that demonstrate trends in instrument making," Todd said. "This is very important from a teaching perspective."

For instance, because of the variety and ages of the pianos, students can get a sense of how the instrument evolved from the late 18th century through the early 20th century. Similarly, by studying the flutes and trumpets, people can obtain a deeper understanding of the social context and technology of music making.

The instruments will be used in a number of Music Department courses, but Neece also said she expects over time they will be studied by students in other disciplines, such as literature, history and the physical sciences.

What makes the Eddy collection different from many of its counterparts is that - in addition to examining the instruments - faculty, students and guest performers will be permitted to play them beginning in the spring. Individuals who wish to do so will be required to first take a tutorial during which they will practice on replicas, Neece said.

"The pianos, for example, are sturdy, but not as strong as some people might imagine," Neece explained. "You can't play them with the same force that you would play a Rachmaninov concerto on a 9-foot Steinway grand."

Several instruments in the collection were donated by the Eddys' son, Neal, who inherited his parents' love of music and decided to build on their work. So he acquired and restored some 18th and 19th century wind instruments, which he recently has given to Duke.

Norman Eddy is survived by his second wife, Miriam; his son, Neal; a daughter, Jeanne; and several grandchildren.

The Music Department has built a glass enclosure in the building's lower lobby to display the Eddy collection pianos, which are currently on view. A series of glass cases will be created next year for the upper lobby near the building's entrance.

Instruments in the collection will be exhibited on a rotating basis. Neece said she intends to match the displays to the department's curriculum whenever possible. Some of the motifs could be jazz, early military bands, and English literature and instruments, she said.

The Eddy collection complements the Music Department's existing collection of harpsichords, fortepianos and tracker organs, and the Alexander Weinmann Collection of Sheet Music (18th and 19th-century primary sources) housed in the William R. Perkins Library on the university's West Campus.

Note to editors: Images of two rare instruments, a double bell euphonium and a serpent, each held by collection curator Brenda Neece, are available as "instrument1.jpg" and "instrument2.jpg" at http://photo1.dukenews.duke.edu/pages/Duke_News_Service/.

For more information about the Eddy collection, contact Brenda Neece at Duke's Music Department, (919) 660-3320 or bneece@duke.edu.