Pardessus after Nicolas Bertrand, Paris 1714. The interior views show the light corner blocks and liners typical of 18th-century French work.Front view
Back view
Side view
Rough arching
Interior
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Northern-European Baroque Viols
Viol making is a surprisingly different art from violin making. Many techniques such as the making of five-piece bent-stave tops are unique to viol construction and the whole enterprise has a much freer, improvisatory feeling to it. Unlike Cremonese violins, which were conceived right from the beginning as repeatable, standardized instruments, viols in the classic period are highly idiosyncratic, with strong national schools and a great deal of variation in construction details from maker to maker. In England, it is rare to find two instruments whose dimensions match closely, even by the same maker. This has led me to base each of my viols closely on a specific original antique rather than design my own instruments in a generalized style. I feel that close copying better serves the player who is searching for a truly historical sound. Please see the page Workshop Principles for more discussion of viol construction. My instrument models cover the major viol types that were in use in the 17th and 18th centuries in England, France, and Germany. If you are interested in a copy of a particular instrument that is not listed here, please contact me to discuss feasibility. Please note that string lengths are slightly variable depending on the exact placement of the bridge. (top)
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Pardessus de Viole
Six-string Pardessus after Nicolas Bertrand, Paris 1714 (Cité de la musique, Paris), string length c. 31.5 cm.Five-string Pardessus after Louis Guersan, Paris 1754 (private collection, USA), string length c. 31 cm. (top)
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Treble Viols
Consort treble after John Hoskin, England, 1609 (National Music Museum, Vermillion SD), string length c. 40 cm.Treble after a fine anonymous French instrument c. 1690 (private collection, USA), string length c. 37.6 cm. (top)
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Alto, Tenor, and Small Lyra Viols
Alto viol or small tenor, Henry Jaye, Southwark 1629 (Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nürnberg), string length c. 45 cm.Consort tenor or small lyra viol after Richard Blunt, London 1605 (Ashmolean Museum, Oxford), string length c. 57 cm.Consort tenor or small lyra viol after John Rose, London 1598 (Ashmolean Museum, Oxford), string length c. 55 cm. (top)
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Constructing a Lewis division viol. Lewis was one of the first English makers to employ an inner form and build two-piece tops 'digged out of the plank.'Interior
Completed scroll
White instrument from front
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English Division Viols and Consort Basses
Six string division viol after Edward Lewis, London c. 1717 (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York), string length c. 69 cm.Six string division viol after Henry Jaye, London, 1624 (Cité de la musique, Paris), string length c. 65 cm.Six string division viol after Barak Norman, London, 1697, (Staatliches Institut fuer Musikforschung, Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz), string length c. 67.5 cm.Six string consort bass after Peter Hackings, London, 1621 (Cité de la musique, Paris), string length c. 71 cm. (top)
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The head of a Bertrand seven-string viol ready to join to the body. Here, I am using an English-style mortise and tenon joint to make a secure connection.
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French Seven-String Viols
Seven-string viol after Nicolas Bertrand, Paris, 1720 (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York). string length c. 70 cm. This quintessentially French instrument has a very long body, very deep sides, and a fairly long string length. The original has a two-piece carved top but otherwise closely resembles the earlier work of Colichon, who may have been Bertrand's teacher. Seven-string viol after Michel Colichon, Paris, 1691 (private collection, UK), string length c. 70 cm. A classic French viol whose highly idiosyncratic construction includes a bent-stave top, a construction technique adopted from English viols. This instrument is a fraction larger than the 1720 Bertrand viol.Ravalé seven-string viol after Henry Jaye 1624 (Cité de la musique, Paris), string length c. 67.5 cm. This instrument is based on the current seven-string configuration of the 1624 Paris Jaye. This six-string bent-stave English viol was carefully rebuilt in France in the 17th century, possibly by Michel Colichon, and represents the sort of English viol held in the highest regard by French players of the age. (top)
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German Bass Viols
Six string bass after Gregorius Karp, Königsberg, c. 1690 (private collection, USA), string length c. 68 cm.Six string bass after Joachim Tielke 1692 (private collection, USA), string length c. 67 cm. (top)
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