Exploring lost violin making practices 3: the rib structure
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- Опубліковано 7 вер 2018
- Around 2009, research was started on the life, instruments and working methods of the violin maker Benoit Joseph Boussu (1703-1773). As a first step, his previously unknown biography was disclosed in detail, demonstrating that Boussu first practised as a notary in the north of France until 1748, before working as luthier in respectively Liege (1749), Brussels (c1750-c1762) and Amsterdam (c1767-1772). The biographical results were published in the Galpin Society Journal of 2013 and updated in Early Music journal (November 2016). These investigations are part of the PhD project of violin maker/researcher Geerten Verberkmoes, initiator of the Boussu research project.
Next, many surviving original instruments by Boussu were studied, amongst these a violin and a cello in unaltered mid-18th century state from the collection of the Musical Instruments Museum in Brussels. The unaltered violin was CT-scanned and analysed in cooperation with dr. Anne-Emmanuelle Ceulemans (MIM Brussels), prof. dr. Danielle Balériaux (Erasmus hospital) and dr. Berend Stoel. The results of this study were published in the Galpin Society Journal of 2016. In a later stage, the unaltered Boussu cello was CT-scanned in the St. Luc hospital in Brussels under the guidance of professors Danse and Coche and their team.
Based on the CT-scan of the violin, two replicas were built in parallel between spring and fall of 2017 by Verberkmoes, using construction methods most likely employed by Boussu. These practices include an assembling process without the use of an inside mould. The replication process was captured entirely on video and is presented here as a series of videos. After finishing the violins, a cello replica was made in a similar way, during the end of 2017 and early 2018.
In the final stage of the study, the three replicas are played by the newly formed 'Ensemble Boussu' (dr. Ann Cnop, Shiho Ono and Mathilde Wolfs), to perform Brussels court music from the times of Boussu. The musicians perform the trio sonata repertoire using solely bowed stringed instruments, a nowadays abandoned practice, but apparently a more common fashion in the middle of the 18th century. Examples of these performances can also be found on this channel.
The PhD project 'Boussu Inside Out' is supervised by prof. dr. Francis Maes (Gent University), dr. Geert Dhondt (School of Arts Gent) and dr. Anne-Emmanuelle Ceulemans (Musical Instruments Museum Brussels).
Enjoy watching and listening!
It's fascinating to watch such skilled craftsmanship
Thanks Richard, I appreciate your kind comment!
thank you so much for this video , i was looking for some good ideas on putting my old fiddle back together , this shows exactly what I must do , merci mon frere .
Hi Michel, happy to hear that the video was helpful. Good luck with the work on your fiddle!!
(BTW, does your fiddle have the same construction as the one in the video, so with a neck that protrudes into the soundbox?)
Hi Thank you , mine does not have the same as in your video but I like and prefer this design I dont think I wanna change my captain(my old violin), it is the clamping the back block first and side down one at a time in your video that helped me with my next step:o) but when I make one( my own violin) I will love your design the best built into the neck so elagant and LOVELY , it must give a better sound transfer .@@Boussu_Inside_Out
@@michelnagumaqmorton Great!! Good luck with the repair and with the new violin. Greetings from The Netherlands, Geerten
Thank you m, greetings from North Quebec Mountains @@Boussu_Inside_Out
I do like the way you have made the head block and the neck from a single piece of wood.
Thanks you for your message. Yes, that was one of the techniques I wanted to try out with this project!
Man, so interesting. Great work! No inside or outside mold. Glue ribs, etc. to blocks on back. The neck goes through to the top block, like a classical guitar. The linings are trimmed short of the blocks. Everything needs to be so precision! Especially the neck.
Cool, thanks!
What an absolutely fascinating project!
Dear scruffycritter, thank you very much for your very kind and encouraging comment. Highly appreciated!
Fascinating! I’m familiar with building “on the table” as it’s called sometimes for classical guitars, but I’ve always used molds for violins. If everything is square, it works fine. Great and inspiring work. Thank you for posting.
Dear John, thank you for your kind replies. Yes, the methods shown in the videos quite resemble those of classical guitar making. It is a fun and satisfying way of working. Regarding the wood, I selected it at Kreuzer tonewood in Mittenwald. Indeed the most plain wood available, as in the original instruments. As an additional advantage, the price of the wood is really moderate. For the cello, material costs stayed below 100 euro!
Good luck with your own making,
Best regards,
Geerten
Interesting to watch the neck fitment. The traditional neck joint in classical and flamenco guitars is not glued. The traditional method is a friction fit. The wedge shims in the neck fitment is new to Spanish style guitar making. But it coming from violin making makes sense. I'll have to check out some more violin making videos. Romanillios uses the wedge method in guitar making but i'm not sure he uses glue with it. I use no glue just from the perspective of admiring tradition. I use an external mould on guitars during assembly and this is where i depart from tradition because I'm not so clever. Traditionally, Spanish guitar assembly work-boards have an elaborate system of moveable stops that can used as a solid structure the ribs can be clamped against during fitment. He's the thing: using an internal or external mould keeps the shape consistent from one instrument to the next. Thanks for the share.
Dear Claire, thank a lot for your reply and explanation. Yes, there are some parallels between the construction of classical guitars and the way of violin making I explored in the videos. The wedges I used are similar to those observed in the original violins I copied. I have also seen violins (by other makers) with 'through necks' where no wedges were used, just as you describe for Spanish guitar making. Using no glue on the wedges would feel a bit tricky to me, for introducing the risk of loose joints and unwanted resonances.
Btw, I built some classical guitars according to the traditional method in the past (-:
Good luck with making your own instruments,
Best regards,
Geerten
I would take the plane right now to come and make that kind of pieces of art with You.
Thanks, you're always welcome, Laurean! Happy to hear that you enjoyed the video. Best regards, Geerten
I'm a violinist, not a violinmaker. I love watching luthiers at work, but haven't seen this approach before. The norm seems to be to use a template to set blocks, then attach the back and top, then cut/carve and set the neck. Truly just curious, what are the differences in this approach, and what are the pros and cons? Please don't think I'm questioning your capability, I can see from the precision of the work that you know what you're doing. I'm truly just curious as to the difference in the approach. Thanks for the video, and the insight into your craftmanship!
@TheJmills39
I employed this method to find out how workable and effective it was. No present-day violin maker uses it anymore, although it was a way of working that was widespread in earlier times. So, the purpose of my project was research into these forgotten techniques. That said, the main advantage, for me, was the ease with which the neck is incorporated and aligned in the entire structure. It omits the step of making the mortise for the neck, one of the more difficult procedures of making a modern violin. On the other hand, a neck with an upper block in one piece (as shown in my videos) is really hard, or impossible, to reset or remove during a later repair or modification. This could be a disadvantage of this method. So, both the pro and con have to do with the way the neck is attached (-:
@@Boussu_Inside_Out I like this thought process! I do a bit of wood working as a hobby (hope to one day make a violin or two). I really enjoy the process of do everything manually. It takes longer, is generally not as precise, and much much easier to screw up. But you learn so much about the wood used for the piece, and appreciate it alot more. Too bad people don't pay more for the experience lol.
Thanks again for the video, and for the detailed response. You made this violinist's world better!
@@TheJmills39 it's really great to learn making violins, so I would definitely encourage you to start doing it! Especially if you have prior experience in wood working, that will help. You will pick up a lot from your first instrument, it will probably not be perfect but you sure will get inspiration to do the second one! Good luck and you can always get in touch for some advice, if needed. Best regards, Geerten
PS I would recommend that you first learn the standard way of making before getting into the more eccentric approaches as shown in my videos (-:
@@Boussu_Inside_Out It is quite easy to reset actually. You just pop the top, cut the neck, and put shim maybe and a screw through ... heh heh ... put the top back on ... no one will know ... maybe a few nails too to make it authentic ... just kidding! Yeah, the neck alignment would need to be very precise. And also the pitch angle too. Did you make the pitch similar to the old instruments, or more like a modern one? I saw the end video, with gut strings and no chin rest (hey, saved you one step there anyway ... heh heh). But, just beautiful work.
@@bennyblanko3 thanks for your replies, that was fun to read. Thanks also for the nice words. I used the pitch as in the original, aiming for a fingerboard projection at the bridge of about 22-23 mm. So a few mm lower than a modern setup.
I have watched other videos were they made the rib structure first and then glued on the back, and fitted the neck afterward. Obviously you prefer this method, any particular reason why? Fascinating to watch thank you very much for showing us.
Forgot to mention I’ve just started making my first violin from an oak Worktop!!!
Good luck with your first instrument! Enjoy discovering the world of violin making!
As to your first question, thanks for your nice comment! I don't necessarily prefer the method shown in my video's. It's an old, forgotten method, and I wanted to explore it, and also document it (hence the videos). I also enjoy building violins according to the other 100+ methods that one can imagine! (-:
Wow, wat een mooi werk zeg!!!, mag ik tegen betaling een paar lessen volgen bij u?
Hallo Mk Dijkstra, bedankt voor uw bericht. Wat zou u willen leren? Stuur me anders een emailtje. Het email adres staat onder het ""About"/"Over" tabje van dit UA-cam kanaal. Met vriendelijke groeten, Geerten
@@Boussu_Inside_Out hallo Geerten, of ik kijk er overheen, of kan het mail adres niet vinden, alvast bedankt voor uw reactie.
I have not seen the violin made this way. Is this the way Stradivarius made violins?
Hello AFITC! Stradivari is believed to have made violins using an internal mould. In the videos, the instruments were made without a mould. That's a methods that is believed to have been used throughout many places in Europe in the 17th and 18th century. Thank you for your interest, best regards, Geerten
@@Boussu_Inside_Out Thank you for responding to my question. Where did you learn to build violins in this way?
I learned it myself by looking at original instruments (-:
Excuse me, @Mr. Lee, what is your question?
@Yippity Doodah Thanks for your kind comment! Yes, our cd just came out on Etcetera records. It's titled 'Brussels Trio Sonatas' by 'Project Boussu' (KTC 1679). You can also listen to it on Spotify.
A recent concert recording can be found here:
ua-cam.com/video/qLSWtNTSClk/v-deo.html
Merry Christmas!!