Category Archives: Non classé

Jordi Savall

Non classé, viole de gambe, , , , , ,

English version below
Je suis allé montrer les archets renaissances à Jordi Savall lors du Festival Musique et Histoire à l’Abbaye de Fonfroide près de Narbonne. Il a trouvé un peu de temps pour les essayer entre la répétition et le concert du 19 juillet dans l’église abbatiale.
Jordi Savall à Fontfroide
Il a joué, testé sur toutes les cordes, et il a acheté l’archet de dessus nr 80 et l’archet de basse nr 79. C’était d’une grande simplicité.

Pour la petite histoire :
J’avais suivi les stages d’été de Jordi Savall de 1992 à 1995 à la Seu d’Urgell en Espagne. Je me rappelle très bien un des derniers cours dans le cloître où était la classe de viole.

J’avais joué la Dubuisson de Forqueray et Jordi disait : ‘Si tu pouvais faire un vœux, qu’est-ce que tu demanderais ?’. Comme je jouais sur une viole que j’avais fabriqué, qui étais assez limitée, je disais : ‘une Barak Norman’ (= viole ancienne Anglaise de grande qualité).

Jordi Savall : ‘Je ne crois pas que ce soit le meilleur choix. Si tu demandes un archet magique tu pourras faire la meilleure musique, même sur une viole modeste’. Alors il prit ma viole et montrait comment on peut rendre chaque phrase encore plus expressif avec un coup d’archet magique par l’attention qu’on lui donne.

Vingt ans plus tard je fabrique des archets, et je souhaite qu’ils participent à rendre chaque note jouée plus magique …
archet magique

English :
I went to show the Renaissance viol bows to Jordi Savall during the Festival of Music and History at the Abbey of Fontfroide, near Narbonne. He found a little time to try them between the rehearsal and the concert on the 19th of July, in the church of the abbey.

He played and tested them out on all the strings, and bought my treble bow no. 80 and my bass bow no. 79. It was very simple.

A little back story: I attended the summer workshops he gave at La Seu d’Urgell in Spain from 1992 to 1995. I remember very well one of the last classes in the cloister where we held the viol class.

I had played La Dubuisson of Forqueray, and Jordi said : “If you could make a wish, what would you ask for?” As I was playing on a viol that I had made myself, that was very limited, I said, “A Barak Norman”. (An antique English viol of great quality).

“I don’t think that is the best choice,” he said. “If you were to ask for a magical bow, you could make the best music, even with a lesser viol”. Then he took my viol and showed us how one can make each phrase even more expressive with a bow stroke, made magical by the attention that we give to it.

Twenty years later, I am making bows, and I hope that they participate in making each note played more magical.
Jordi Savall et archet en bois de robinier

Abbaye de Fontfroide

Abbaye de Fontfroide, France

How to shorten the playing length of the bow hair

bow repairing, Non classé, , ,

After some time, especially when it’s raining all the time, the hair on your bow can become too long. Adjust the hair length is part of the service I provide when you play an Acacia bow so don’t hesitate to contact me, come and see me and it will be fixed in a few minutes.
BUT … if you live at the other side of the world you can also do it yourself.


What do you need ? Clamps, button thread, scissors, a chisel or a knife, and before all : a gimlet.
Fix your bow on a table or working bench. Take the frog out. Turn the gimlet into the tiny hole in the wedge which fixes the hair in the stick. When it grips into the wedge, gently but firmly pull the wedge out. It might resist, feel the right determination to get it out.
Then you put the thread around the hair left of the existing ligature. Keep one end between your teeth, turn around the hair between six and ten times and finish with two or three knots.
Cut the ends, comb the hair to get it straight and fold it back into the mortise. Put the wedge in place, push it down with a knife or chisel and put the frog back in place.
You can put some rosin between frog and stick to get the right friction.

Please let me know your experience !

The video is HD to get all the details. The music is from Marcabru “L’Autrier una sebissa”, CD Longpré el bosquel https://coenengelhard.com/cds/

Pieter Wispelwey plays Bach in Toulouse

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June 7th Pieter Wispelwey, one of the finest baroque cellists, played Bach in Toulouse’s Festival “Passe ton Bach d’abord”.

After suites 3 and 4 I talked with him and, since he was not happy with the acoustics and the sound, I let him try one of the acacia bows. He immediatly asked if he could play the last two suites with my bow.

It was amazing to hear and see him play with so much ease with the bow.  These two very demanding suites were beautifull, with great sound and inspired.

He has taken the bow with him to Holland. 

Robinia pseudoacacia

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What is the wood I use for the bows ?

Robinia pseudoacacia, in English known as the black locust, is a tree of the genus Robinia, named after the French botanist Jean Robin, who introduced the tree to Europe in 1601.

In France we are used to the common name Acacia or, more accurately, Robinier. In mai the trees flower and the white abundant flowers show us how common they are in forests and along the roads. The common name Acacia is well known for the transparant, deliciously flavored acacia honey.

The species is native to North America, but has been widely planted and naturalized  in Europe, Southern Africa and Asia.

The wood has a pale yellowish color, sometimes with pistachio green lines. Exposed to the sunlight it turns to a reddish brown. It is resistant to rot, due to the Flavonoids in the heartwood, which allow the wood to last over 100 years in soil. We see it often used to make fence posts.

 

Although it is a North American genus, traces of Robinia are found in the Eocene and Miocene rocks of Europe.

By a strange telescoping between common names and scientific names, there is confusion in the names of three kinds: the genera Acacia, Robinia and Mimosa. Indeed, the species called Mimosa in everyday language has the genus name Acacia, when what we call Acacia is actually Robinia, belonging to the Fabaceae family, subfamily Mimosoidea.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robinia_pseudoacacia

Is the use of Robinia historical or not ?

I am happy to use local wood, as bow makers did before the introduction of tropical woods, like Snake wood, Iron wood and Pernambuco.

Did renaissance bow makers use Robinia ? No, it was introduced in Europe in 1601.

But I am pragmatic, it is local now and extremely suitable for the goal : producing a good sound on a renaissance viol, direct and clear. For me it’s the best option.

Take your viol and try these bows, you will be amazed … and we will talk about it …

Even in modern bow making I see possibilities for Robinia bows. Pernambuc is no longer available and with a sustainable and ecological trademark, Robinia could be a good option for the future …

Why not ?

And, what else is possible ?

Acacia wood and Shaving horse

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Where do I find the wood to make the renaissance viol bows ?

In 2007 I was looking for wood to make bows for renaissance viols. From where I live in the Ariège I went down the hill to the forest, where Acacia trees grow.

Acacia trees are common in France, known for the delicious acacia honey. Farmers use the wood to make fence posts, because it doesn’t rot and can stay outside in the rain and sunshine for decades.

Down in the valley the forest is dark and humid, the small creek has steep slopes and dead trees are lying down, covered with green moss. I was surprised though to find such high quality, dry and firm wood showing up beneath the moss cover on a tree lying on the ground for years already.

Acacia has very long and strong fibers, which makes it easy to split. Working with a draw knife on a shaving horse you can really keep the fibers from one end to the other in the bow. This wood has a natural tendency to bend, from an inner tension I would say, and that tension I use to give the bow its arch. For that reason these bows keep the tension very well, you don’t need to relax them all the time as with Pernambuc.
Working with a draw knife and a shaving horse or bench is really fun, it goes so fast and gives me also kindling-wood to light the stove.

I never found better wood for my bow making since. Although Pernambuc and Snake wood are much easier to work with ( because of the homogeneity you can more or less make the bow you want from whatever piece of wood) I find Acacia much more exciting to work with. Because of its irregular structure, you have to find where the bow is in the wood. Your piece of wood delivers a bow, which is always different, always a surprise … I like that interaction with the material !

It’s awesome to have the wood abundantly available for free just in front of me. Getting it directly from nature, there are no discussions about tropical hardwood, suppliers, transportation and prices, and I know the material from the beginning to the end of the process. How can it get even better ?

Next time we will look into the species Acacia – Robinia pseudoacacia more in detail.

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Viol bow and Pyrenees December 22

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We had a wonderful day in the French Pyrenees, an hour away from where I live, hiking in ‘Les Mont d’Olmes’ with my three grownup children. I took a bow with me. I like to have a bow in my hands, touching it, being with it, and I am convinced that the energy of nature adds to the energy of the bow, reflecting in the playing afterwards. 

Videoclip Tobias Hume

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In the following clip you can see and hear the first renaissance violbow with Merens hair. 

Merens is a local horse breed from the Ariège, French Pyrenees.
I filmed in the ‘Château de Mayragues’ where I made the recording of ‘Le Manuscrit de Foix’ in 2001. 

It’s Tobias Hume’s music : Becchus an Hungarian Lord his delight.

If you listen with headphones you will have a lot better sound …