Some pictures of the reconstitution of ancient instruments

A rebec from the 13th.

I was in charge, in a college, of an extra activity for the students, concerning the construction of some musical instruments, and one of the pupils having moved, I did recuperate and finish that instrument, a rebecof which I had established the plans after the big statue of a musician-apostle from a gothic cathedral. The dimensions were calculated in relation to the size of the statue (which was very big), but taking account of the artistic rubato used by the sculptor.

A harpe from the begining of the 15th,

The plans where established after two colored drawings of the time. I used maple, even a piece out of a bended branch (were are the pegs, and to give a better resistance, keeping the wood fibers intact). The table, of course is in epicea, and the sculpted parts in wild cherry tree, the rings are in silver.

A big bowed hurdy-gurdy from the 13th/14th

It was constructed after some drawings of the time. That was one of the principal instruments used by the travelling singers (trouveres, troubadours, minstrels, contere, whatever name one is giving to them).

It is by learning on how to play that instrument that I realized the reason why, on the pictures, the players where always represented holding those instruments horizontally, flat accross the breast…

It's to long to do anything else… even to tune it, the hand couldn't arrive to the pegs! The five strings are played together, and it looked adequat to me, to tune it in a way similar to the Irish crwt : "D A D D A", 3d and 4th strings in unisson, the chantarelle being used to play the melodies, and the others used as drones.

When one has to play a melody going down lower than the chantarelle open string, one plays on the next D string, and then, the chantarelle giving an open A, plays together with the drones, and it sounds perfectly good.

Bowed Hurdy-gurdy from the 15th.

It is a smal hurdy-gurdy, after the musical angels from Memling, where one can see an assembly of angels in a row, and playing all sort of instruments… I was interested in experimenting with that very peculiar bridge, which seemed to have struck the attention of no one upto now by its shape in the form of a comb…

I wanted to see what it could bring as advantages, if however it brought any… and, in truth, the sound is purer so, and the attacks clearer, without those whistlings, otherwise difficult to avoid…

All the strings vibrating together, when they are interdependent, on one single bridge, have the tendancy to contradict each other, and doing so, provocate those whistlings, but with that particular shape, they are vibrating in a more individual way… One looses a bit of the power, but certainly gains on tone quality and easyness to produce it…

I didn't myself construct that instrument, but I guided during a training course a student from "La Sorbonne" who choosed to do that work with me for the obtention of his diplomas.

Big Italian 5 strings Bass Viola (16th)...

That it's name, but in fact, it is more a double-bass viola. The plans were established after the Veronese's painting "The wedding at Cana" at the Louvre museum.

One can see in the foregroun, a group of musicians busy playing : Flûte, violin, two violas (seems to be an alto viola and a tenor viola) of a particularly interesting form, and then, this bass.

For the dimensions, I used the hight of the players tibia (that's about the only thing not altered by perspective, being vertical, and at the level of the instrument. But I also did take care of the fact that todays size of peoples is about 10% higher than at the 16th. Of course, I had to re-invent the form of the instrument after its shades, since it has been painted profile… but I believe it was clear enough.

The smal rosette in front of the finger board is of course not indicated on the painting, but it was very usual at the time on that type of instrument, and I thought it would add something. The same applies to the form of the ƒ, for what by the way, I used a form used on some other basses, and that seemed to be convenient for that instrument.

The next picture represents this bass viewed under another angle, closer to the one under which Veronese did paint it. One can remark that curious heel of the neck, but it is neither by chance nor esthetic… to follow the form of the ribs, the back must curve itself (must be forced), what is a way to give to it more strength in the elasticity, in so re-inforcing the system back-ribs, used to dynamize the vibrating table. But, since the back is only glued, that heel of the neck, applied on top of it comes to re-inforce it, and so, is a security against unglueings.

Two amusing anecdotes:

1) Occupied to note with a dry point compass all the exact dimensions given by Veronese on his painting to the different parts of the instrument, I amused myself, almost as a joke, to also note the distances between those strings, across the fingerboard, used to define the intonation (like the barrettes of a guitar), and, the instrument finished, and when busy doing the last adjustments, I placed those strings exactly how they where on the painting (they can be moved up or down, like on a luthe), just to see…

Well, when one played that bass in that condition, the notes where in tune !… and that signifies that Veronese went to the detail to the point of being true to the reality on that too.

2) To varnish that instrument, I had use an old varnish recipe (with benzoin) coming from an old Italian violin maker from 1564… and the bass was of this colour that I rather like: a sort of light honey colour. Of course, the colour has no importance whatsoever for an instrument apart for the look of it, and I was more concerned with the sound, but, all the same it was quite different from the original painting: much darker, and more into the browns category.

But, only few weeks later, I received (still dunno why!… I had no contact with le Louvre) a leaflet coming from Le Louvre, announcing that the painting had just been restored… And what wasn't my surprise then, looking at the picture, to see that the bass on the painting was now exactly of the same colour as mine!

About that work of restoration, that I do find extremely interesting (insofar as this search, from another domain as mine, is very much the same by it's Sherlock Holmes side), and for more details about it, click HERE. (not yet translated)

Détail from the Veronese painting (Musée duLouvre)