Chrysalis I


Photo by Will Gullette

 

A child said What is the grass? – 1986
Poem by Walt Whitman
Music by Cris Forster
Cris Forster, Chrysalis I and Voice

Built: 1975–1976, San Francisco, California.
Restored: 2015, San Francisco, California.
With the exception of two original soundboards,
support rings, bridges, and the wave-like stand,
all new
components based on Chrysalis II
construction.
Modified: San Francisco, California.
2020. Remachined and screw assembled Delrin nuts and Lexan shields.
2020. Replaced 32 commercial cherry buttons with machined aluminum buttons.
2021. Machined 16 felt-covered Delrin brake pads.
Dimensions: Total number of strings: 164.
Longest string: 19⅝ in.
Shortest string: 7¾ in.
Wheel diameter: 36¾ in.
Wheel width: 5⅛ in.
Stand length: 61.0 in.
Stand height: 41¾ in.
Stand width: 10½ in.
Height from floor to top of wheel: 56
¾ in.
Materials: Sitka spruce, Honduras rosewood, birch, maple,
ash, oak, Delrin, Lexan, aluminum, brass, and
stainless steel.
Strings: For Song of Myself.
Left Side: music wire #6 — 0.016 in.
Right Side: music wire #9 — 0.022 in.
Range: For Song of Myself.
Left Side: F#4 (13/9) 377.9 cps ← C5 (4/1) 523.3 cps → B5 (15/8) 981.2 cps.
Right Side: B3 (15/8) 245.3 cps ← C5 (4/1) 523.3 cps → G#5 (25/16) 817.2 cps.
Tuning: Just Intonation.

Chrysalis I Tuning Table and String Tension Calculations [PDF]

Chrysalis I, my first concert-sized instrument, was inspired by a huge, round, stone-hewn Aztec calendar. I asked myself, “What if there were a musical instrument in the shape of a wheel? And what if this wheel had strings for spokes, could spin, and when played, would sound like the wind?”

Chrysalis I has two sides, or two circular soundboards, and 82 strings on each side. The wheel, which sits on the crest of a wave-like stand, may be freely spun in either direction.

 

Building New Chrysalis II

October 2013–March 2015

The Chrysalis Foundation