He stood at the keyboard. Sometimes he was so focused on the technical aspects of piano construction that he forgot how lovely the instruments could be. Many of the Erards built during the same period were ornately decorated with inlaid wood, carved legs, even a sculpted nameboard. This one was simpler. A dark brown mahogany veneer stretched into curved, feminine legs, so smooth that they seemed almost lascivious; now he could understand why there were those in England who insisted that piano legs be covered. The nameboard was decorated with a thin, elegant line of mother-of-pearl, curling at each end into a bouquet of flowers. The case was smooth, monochrome, the texture found only in the interlocking pieces of veneer.
He said at last, “I admire your taste, Doctor. How did you know to select this one? Or an Erard for that matter?”
“Or a piano for that matter, you should ask.”
Edgar chuckled. “Indeed. At times I suppose I am a bit singleminded. It seemed so fitting…”
“Well, I am touched by the sentiment. You and I think in a similar manner…There is something about a piano that is different from other instruments, something imposing, deserving of admiration. It is always a subject of much discussion among the Shan I know. They say it bestows honor to hear it played. It is also the most versatile of instruments, something I think anyone would enjoy.”
“And an Erard?”
“My request was actually not that specific. I did ask for an Erard, an older model. I might even have mentioned one from 1840, as I had heard somewhere that Liszt had once played one. But the War Office chose, or maybe I was just lucky and this was the only one for sale. I agree it is beautiful. I was hoping perhaps that you could educate me to more of its technical aspects.”
“Of course…only where can I start? I don’t want to bore you.”
“I appreciate your humility, Mr. Drake, but I am sure you won’t.”
“Very well then…but please stop me if I do.” Edgar ran his hand over the case. “An 1840 Erard grand, Doctor, built by Sebastien Erard’s Paris workshop, which makes it unusual, as most of the Erards you find in London are from the London workshop. Mahogany-veneered. It has a double-escapement repetition action– the action is the set of levers that lift a hammer to the strings. It is designed so that after the hammer hits the strings it can fall back, ‘escaping.’ The double-escapement action was an innovation developed by Erard, but is standard on pianos now. It is very slender on Erards, hence it is common for the hammers to go out of adjustment. The heads of the hammers are made of alternating leather and felt, much more difficult to work with than most other pianos, which are pounded felt only. Before I even examine it, I will wager that the voicing on this one is in terrible shape. I can’t imagine what the humidity has done to the felt covers on the hammers.
“Hmmm…What else can I tell you, Doctor? Two pedals—a sustaining pedal and an una corda. The dampers will run to the second B key above the middle octave—that is pretty typical. Erard dampers are located below the strings and held there by a spring, which is unusual, most piano dampers rest on the strings from above. I’ll know when I look inside, but it should have cast-iron tension bars between the wrest-plank and the rim, this was pretty standard by 1840; it served to support the tension of stronger steel wires, which were used because of their louder sound.” He touched the design that stretched above the keyboard. “Look at the nameboard, it is mother-of-pearl.” He looked up to see a bemused look on Carroll’s face, and laughed. “Forgive me, I am getting carried away…”
“I am glad to see you are so pleased. I must confess, I was actually concerned that you might be angry.”
“Angry? Good Lord, what would I be angry about?”
“I don’t know, part of me has felt that the piano’s condition is my fault, that I put it at risk by bringing it here, and that would anger a lover of musical instruments. I don’t know if you remember, but I asked the War Office to give you an envelope, with instructions not to open it.” He paused. “You may open it now. It is nothing, just a description of how I transported the piano to Mae Lwin, but I did not want you to read it until you saw that it was safe.”
“Is that what the letter was about? I have been quite curious. I thought perhaps it was something about the dangers here, that you might not want my wife to read…but the Erard’s journey? Perhaps you are right, perhaps I should be angry. But I am a tuner. The only thing I care for more than pianos is repairing them. And regardless: it is here, and now that I am here as well…“ He stopped and looked out of the window. ”Well, I can’t think of any place more exciting and worthier of its music. Besides, the strings can stand up to incredible abuse, although perhaps not what this instrument has been through, and I certainly can’t say the same about mother-of-pearl decoration. What I would be worried about is the sun and humidity, which can cause it to go out of tune in days.“ He paused. ”Actually, Doctor, I do have one question. I have never spoken to you about this, and I couldn’t find any mention of it in your letters, but I don’t even know if you have played the piano yet, or what it has…accomplished.“
The Doctor put his hand on the Erard. “Ah, Mr. Drake. We haven’t spoken about this because I don’t have much to tell you. There was a celebration soon after I brought it here. An occasion notable for both sadness and rejoicing—you will read about it in my letter—the village insisted, and I obliged. They made me play for hours. Of course, only then did I realize how out of tune the piano already was. If any of the Shan felt so too, they were polite, although I think that the instrument is strange enough for them; tuning was the least of their concerns. But I have great aspirations for it. You should have seen the faces of the children who came to watch.”
“You didn’t play again.”
“Once or twice, but the piano was so flat—”
“Sharp probably if it was its first time in a humid country. It’s flat now, because of the dry season.”
“Terribly sharp then. And so I stopped playing. It was almost impossible for me to bear.”
“And yet, you thought you could tune it…” Edgar said, half to himself.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Drake?”
“Well, someone who knows enough about pianos to select an 1840 Erard would know that it would go out of tune, especially in the jungle, that it would need a professional tuner. Yet, still, you thought you could do this yourself.“
The Doctor was quiet. “That is what I told the army, but there are other reasons. I was overjoyed that they had granted my request, and I was afraid to ask for more. At times my enthusiasm outruns my abilities. I have seen a piano tuned before and I thought I would try alone first. I thought that, after surgery, it would be easy.”
“I will forgive you for saying that,” said Edgar, lightly. “But I can teach you something about tuning if you like.”
Carroll nodded. “Of course, but only for a little while. I should leave you alone. I have work to do. Besides, it has taken me a long time to become comfortable with observers in the surgery. I imagine it is even more difficult when it comes to treating sound.”
“These, Doctor, are my instruments.” Edgar opened his bag and spread them across the bench. “I brought a basic set. This is a tuning hammer, these narrow-blade screwdrivers are for general use, this special thin screwdriver and a drop-screw regulator are for the action. Let’s see…What else? Key-easing pliers and a key spacer, bending pliers, two damper-bending irons, a spring-adjusting hook, parallel pliers, a special thin capstan-screw regulator used for Erards, for adjusting the hammer height. Also: leather-covered wedges for tuning, and coils of replacement piano wire of different gauges. There are other tools as well, these over here are specifically for voicing: a hammer iron, glue, and multiple extra voicing needles, as they frequently become bent.”