Next to the positive optical side-effect there is another reason for the intensification of the colour which has above all a background linked to the sound effect that should not be underestimated. So the reason for this intensification mostly lies in an enhanced brilliance and resonance such as known from prominent originals – we are talking about a very specific coloration of the timbre. I achieve these transformations through a chemical reaction which resembles a form of creation of a patina as used in ancient times.

You may now wonder how I hit on it.

When you look at original harpsichords you can often find a very dark soundboard which is usually much darker than what would be achieved through a patina of several centuries. Then one has also to take into consideration that the lid, especially in ancient times, would only be opened mostly to play music. There is evidence for this for example with Türk. This gave me the idea to have a closer look: I can observe these points for instance when looking at paintings of the soundboard whose compositions make only sense if the background has already been dark before it got painted – at least not clear as we know it from simple spruce wood. One also finds that the soundboard was only painted after being put into the instrument. The same goes for the browning which was achieved after gluing. This is of course only a part of my observations. Such an original is like an open book, one has to be alert with all the senses.

To be honest, I’m more interested in this "book" than all the written ones – because the written books are always nothing else than interpretations too...