An instrument built by digging into a single block of wood until a “pear” shape is obtained comprising the body and neck; among the elements that will remain in the future that are already present are; the fingerboard, the bridge and the tailpiece. The presence of only three strings, the dry and penetrating sound, meant that the instrument can play mainly one note at a time. In the iconography we can see the Ribeca present both alone and in large groups of instruments, in sacred and profane environments.

Instrument built from classical iconography by unknown maker (probably 2010-2012)

THE RIBECA IN THE ART

THE VIELLA ( sec. XII- XV)

The first instrument built with boards that unite the harmonic plane and foundation of the instrument; the neck is tan glued and ends with the base of the five pegs; the five strings rest on a reasonably flat bridge that invites the player to play more than one string at a time; together with a rich, soft tone and the tuning of 3rds and 4ths, creates a basically polyphonic instrument. One of the most represented instruments in all forms of art in various situations.

Instrument built from classical iconography by Gianluca Pierozzi (Florence, Italy) in 2015
www.gianlucapierozzi.it

THE VIELLA IN THE ART

THE VIOLA DA BRACCIO (sec. XV-XVI)

This instrument in particular has been re-built from the image imprinted on a ceramic piece from the later XV century; in this form, with four strings, pegs for the first time laterally placed and no longer under or over the neck has also the presence of the “C” which meant it was much more comfortable for the player to use the 1st and the 4th string. This was the first real step towards the imminent birth of the modern instrument. Its medium timbre and velvet sound typical of the viola makes it comfortable to play in modern times, one of the many representatives of the world of the Violas.

Viola built following the design on ceramic by Deruta (later XV century) by Gianluca Pierozzi (Florence, Italy) in 2012
www.gianlucapierozzi.it

THE VIOLA DA BRACCIO IN THE ART

THE BAROQUE VIOLIN (from 16th century)

The real heart of our journey, the Violin was created from an extreme synthesis of all previous experiences; 500 years of experiments are condensed in one instrument that begins life in perfection; harmonic plane and foundation are finally curved for a richer and more powerful sound; the neck finished with a flourish, the scroll which became the signature of the Liutier. Now the “Cs” are finished with a small point and holes that let out the sound of the violin, always present, now take on the form of an “f”. This miracle took place in a small area of northern Italy, between the cities of Brescia and Cremona and from there would go on to conquer the world. Together with the Violin even the great Violin Players and Composers are arrived: Corelli, Vivaldi, Geminiani, Tartini, just to name a few.

THE CLASSIC VIOLIN (18th century)

Almost identical to the baroque violin, the biggest difference being in its accessory; the Bow! In all these years the bow was developed following instrumental needs, musically and technically, of both composers and virtuosic performers who dedicated their art to the violin, making it necessary to have a more developed bow; it was the time of Haydn, Mozart, Salieri, Boccherini.

Violin built in 1765 by Johann Andrea Boland
Conservative restoration and creation of the baroque neck by Alessandro Lanaro (Padua, Italy) in 2019

THE BAROQUE VIOLIN IN THE ART

THE MODERN VIOLIN (19th century)

Finally even the instrument has its final touches and changes; not in the main body which remains unvaried in its form and dimensions, but the neck which slopes and is lightly lengthened ,and in the tuning which raises all strings up a semitone. All changes were due to the research of more power and volume to be able to face up to the new demands of the violin repertoire, such as the great Romantic Concertos, where one single violin fights to be heard over a symphonic orchestra with 60 elements. Viotti was a major decider on the development and construction of the modern bow, to Paganini who touched on the virtuosic extremes of the instrument, all the great Maestros of the 800’s and 900’s have dedicated their finest works to the violin: Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn, Ravel, Stravinsky…

Instrument built from by Sergio Scaramelli (Ferrara, Italy) in 2019
www.contrabbassi.it

THE CLASSICAL AND MODERN VIOLIN IN ART

The bows (XI – XX Century)

The evolution of the Bow followed the stringed instruments all their life; above all, the availability of more materials (new types of wood that were more resistant and elastic) made it possible to build longer, thinner and more resistant bows. Note in particular the various solutions used in the relation between the tension of the bow hairs and the wood.

Conservative restoration and preparation of the bows by Lorenzo Lazzarato (Ferrara, Italy)
www.lazzaratobows.com

Comparison between Instruments

INSTRUMENTS AT THE NATIONAL GALLERY

EVOCATIVE LOCATIONS

These are a few of the places that most inspired my Project thanks to their history and the emotions created in any who visit them or have the luck to actually live there. I then put in order with a thought to the parallelism ideal between the instruments and the sounds they have echoed through the ages.