The Lituus
It is often said that ‘the past is a foreign country’, but increasingly science enables us to bring the past to life. When the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, from Basle in Switzerland were looking to recreate a long-lost instrument to be played in a performance of Bach, they contacted  the Acoustics and Fluid Dynamics group at the University of Edinburgh.  Software developed by researcher Dr Alistair Braden while studying for his Ph. D (supervised by Professor Murray Campbell) would enable them to design the ‘Lituus’, which no one had heard, played, or even seen a picture of.

Testing out designs
‘The software,’ explains Dr Braden, ‘was a tool for designing and optimising brass instruments. It’s intended to be used not just for historical instruments but for modern instruments as well, manufacturers will be able to use it to help refine their existing designs.’ The major benefit of the software is that it allows users to test the shapes of instruments without the time and expense of building them. Designers can quickly try out new designs, with the software creating the correct pitch and tone required. The facility to change the design quickly was important for this project. ‘When the Swiss conservatory got in touch,’ says Braden, ‘they wanted to do as authentic a performance of this Bach piece as possible. They didn’t know exactly what the instrument was, but they had a reasonable idea of what they wanted the instrument to look and sound like.’