Choosing the model
When the
news came that the Gabrieli Trust was able to
provide the financial support for this project we had to move fast,
since a
recording date was already fixed. I had been discussing for some time,
with
violinist Oliver Webber, the possibility of making reconstructions of
instruments explicitly suitable for performing Monteverdi for his
ensemble, the
"Monteverdi String Band". The first step was choosing the right model
and finding an original instrument as the basis of the reconstruction.
Monteverdi himself was said to prefer Cremonese violins, which at that
time
could mean older instruments by Andrea Amati, or more likely his sons,
the
brothers Antonio and Girolamo. A further consideration was that the
instruments
made by Andrea were probably originally set up in a very different way:
the
earlier ones were probably viole da
braccio and had only 3 strings. If any of
these instruments were used as violins by musicians working for
Monteverdi, they
would have been modified to have a set-up like those which the brothers
were
doing at that time. Therefore it seemed a much better choice to look
for a
brothers Amati violin from around 1610 or a bit earlier.
By a bit of
extraordinary luck, there happened to be a 1595 example a mere 15
minutes from my workshop, at the
Royal Northern College of
Music.
Another strong contender was the 1629 at the Royal Academy of Music in
London. There are some significant differences in the models, and this
one is thought to be possibly made or part-made by the young Nicolo
Amati. It also may be the first -
or a very early- example of a model that they used from that time on.
The
National Music Museum at the University of South Dakota has a smaller
Brothers Amati violin of 1604, which has a great many features in
common with the 1595. We felt it a reasonable assumption that Brothers
Amati violins were more like these two than the 1629 one. Despite the
beauty of the 1629, we felt that the 1595 was the best choice for the
intended usage.
 The
Brothers Amati original - 1595
Photo:
George Stoppani
The 1595 has a
similar corpus length but is a little narrower than the 1629 and has
different archings and graduations. The style of the f-holes is a good
illustration of the differences.
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| Brothers Amati - 1595 |
Brothers Amati - 1604 |
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| Brothers Amati - 1629 |
Hieronymus Amati II -1695 |
| Photos: George Stoppani |
Deriving working drawings
When
making a copy of an old instrument, it is not enough simply to attempt
to duplicate the dimensions and shape as it is now. Account must be
taken of distortion, particularly of the archings of the back and
front, due to wood shrinkage and the forces exerted by the string
tension over the centuries. The measurements have to be interpreted in
a way that points to how the instrument might have been originally. Therefore
there is no scientific
method for doing this that is any more reliable
than informed guesswork based on observations of distortion in
instruments of different ages.
It
is generally believed that the Amatis used an inside mould to form the
rib garland. Though it seems likely that they had a geometric system of
constructing the outline or the mould, it appears that they did not
adhere to it with rigidity. There are therefore asymmetries and
variations from one instrument to another that were made using the same
mould. The process involved regenerating that mould and building the
instrument with similar deviations. The intention is not an exact
replica of the dimensions of the original but of keeping very close to
the original, with some natural deviation commensurate with the working
methods of the time allowed. If this is not done, then the copies will
look too geometrically perfect and therefore not in the style of the
Brothers Amati or any other early Italian maker.
The original is now
set up as a modern violin,, and we turned to various sources to decide
what sort of bass bar, neck, fingerboard, tailpiece, bridge and
stringing would be appropriate. One of the pleasures of this project
was working with Oliver Webber on resolving issues about set-up. He has
a very serious and scholarly approach to the history of music,
instruments and stringing. We were able to sift through all the
information we could lay hands on and discuss its implications. We
don’t think we have made any serious mistakes, but this area of
research is dynamic – new pieces of evidence are continually emerging.
Fortunately, there is
at least one surviving Amati bass bar, which is very small by modern
standards. There is a lot of information about Stradivari violins and
their fittings which, though much later, can be used to corroborate
other information. A major source is old paintings which are sometimes
very detailed and almost photographic. Again fortunately, there are a
great many to look at and it is possible to form a reasonably precise
idea about the necks, fingerboards, tailpieces and bridges.
For example, this is
by Bartolomeo Cavarozzi:
He worked in Rome but, since the violin making industry had not
developed there at that time, this may well have been a Cremonese
instrument.
Taking measurements
The Royal Northern
College of Music kindly arranged for me to have access to their 1595
instrument. I had two sessions when I photographed this violin and took
measurements. The photos were not taken with a view to a publication
in The Strad but were to give me useful info, and keep the
appearance fresh in my mind. The measurements included outlines of back
and front, wood thicknesses, arching curves, rib heights, scroll
dimensions and f-holes. I also examined the internal work for clues as
to which blocks and linings might be original. I was also able to take
similar measurements of a Hiernonymus II violin belonging to the Halle
Orchestra. Though out of the date range for this project, it was very
helpful in focusing my mind on the ways in which the earlier violins
were different. The Royal Academy of Music also generously provided
access to their precious 1629 instrument and no doubt the time will
come to make a copy of this one.
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