This is the largest viola I normally make. I drew up the design some years ago, based on the Gasparo da Salo tenor viola in the Ashmolean Museum. That's a very large instrument, so I redrew it to what is a more comfortable size. This one is a commission from a pupil at Chetham's School of Music. He's been hiring a Maurice Bouette viola from me for the last year, and is excited that he'll be having his own custom-made viola soon. As ever, I've started by making the ribs, strips of maple … [Read more...]
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Violas: sizes and proportions
Talk given at Viola Day for Teachers at Chetham's School of Music, Manchester in January 2004. It … Read More...