16 5/8 inch (42.5cm) viola based on Gasparo da Salo |
return to work in progress June 2008 I spent a very interesting couple of days last year at an exhibition of the work of two of my favourite makers, Gasparo da Salo and Paolo Maggini, in their home town of Brescia, Northern Italy. I was particularly fascinated by the Gasparo violas. Those in the exhibition were all of the large tenor size, and I've been thinking ever since about making something based on Gasparo but closer to the original size - not as large as a tenor, but larger than the plus-or-minus 16-inch violas I regularly make. I'm interested both in the sound possibilities of the larger model, and in trying to transfer the ideas about weight and ease of playing that I've developed from smaller violas to a larger viola that is still easy to get round.
July 2008
August 2008
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I've
started by making the head. I've used a model that I developed,
loosely based on a Gasparo head, that I usually use for smaller
violas. But there is no reason to think that the player of a
larger viola is looking for a heavy instrument, so it seems sensible to
stay with the small, light head.
This
viola is based on a reduction of the tenor viola by Gasparo da
Salo made at the end of the 16th century, and housed in the Ashmolean
Museum, Oxford. I've scaled down the body to 16 5/8 inches,
keeping a good width across the C bouts. For the back I've
chosen poplar, partly because it contributes warmth and richness to the
sound, and also because its combination of low density and stiffness
means that it will make quite a light-weight viola. The photograph
shows the back with the arching shape roughed from the solid wood.
The
front of the viola is steam-bent from thin strips of spruce. The
photograph shows me driving in the wedges which determine the shape of
the arching.
The
ribs of the viola are made from maple planed to just over 1mm thick, and
bent round a mould.
Having
finished the ribs and prepared the back and front, I've shaped the
outlines following an even margin from the ribs. The next stage is
to inlay the purfling, which is made from a sandwich of
black-white-black wood, glued into a channel cut around the edge of the
plates.
Now
I've finished the arching of the back and front. I've made it
reasonably high and chosen strong shapes, which I think contribute to a
rich and powerful sound.
I've
now thicknessed the back and front. The poplar for the back is
quite light, but strong, so I leave it somewhat thicker than the more
usual maple, but it weighs rather less than a maple back. 
I've
cut the soundholes in the front. Most Gasparo da Salo instruments
have wonderfully wayward and characterful f-holes, so I've tried to keep
that spirit of freedom and spontaneity.
I've
now taken the back off the mould and glued it to the ribs.
The
front is now finished, with the bass bar fitted, and everything is ready
to glue it to the back.
The
body of the viola is finished, ready to fit the neck.
I've
spent some time carefully shaping the neck, so that it will feel
comfortable for the player.
The
viola is now finished "in the white", ready for varnishing.
The
viola is now finished. I've varnished it a deep chestnut brown
colour, which shows up the figure in the poplar back really well.
It's sounding good - very dark and resonant, but also powerful. It
feels light in weight and comfortable to play.
