|
Yes
the scroll is absolutely magnificent. Yes the instrument as a whole
is truly mouth-watering in terms of it is form, proportions and detail.
Yes this is indeed a truly glorious French instrument in every respect.
So stop keeping me in suspense - who do you think made it? Well
unfortunately our instrument is not labelled or dated so this is
not such an easy question to answer without a good deal of detective
work. Our first thoughts lent towards the merger of Parisian makers
- Gand and Bernadel - who worked around the third quarter
of the nineteenth century. Rather like a trademark - a detailed
and well-executed lions-head scroll adorns a high proportion of
Gand and Bernadel contrabass instruments. Now however we're pretty
sure that this instrument dates some time after their 21 year (1866-1887)
partnership and is made by one of their followers.
We have compared our instrument
to photos of a classic Gand and Bernadel instrument that is held
at the Paris Conservatoire de Musique (for whom Gand and Bernadel
were luthiers) and there are several stylistic differences - but
the main clues in ascertaining the period of our instrument can
be found on the peg box. Firstly this instrument was made as a four-string
instrument (By 1865 the use of the three string instrument in France
had almost completely faded away). Secondly the tuner-heads are
made from bakelite - an early form of brittle plastic - which
was first introduced around 1905. Thirdly our instrument received
a neck graft at some stage of it's life by a member of the Calow
family of Nottingham, England. We know this for sure - because
inside the peg box is the brand Calow, Nottingham.
There were three members of the
Calow family strongly associated with bass making who lived and
worked in Nottingham.
According to The Universal Dictionary
of Violin and Bow makers by William Henley [Amati Publishing Ltd
1973]
- William Calow (1847-1910) - collected basses
and specialized in making them.
- Thomas Calow (1868-1905) - son and pupil
of William. Assisted father in repairing. Committed suicide at
37 by hanging himself with a bass string.
- Francis William Calow (1884-1925) - son, pupil
and successor of William. Many instruments stamped 'Calow Nottingham'
Although any of the three Calows
could in theory have executed the work on this instrument - on balance
- because of the use of a name brand and the extremely fine condition
of the instrument - one must favour the work as being down to Francis
William and estimate the instrument to be between 1910-20 when the
use of bakelite was much more common.
- Re: Complication of date estimate - It is
known that many instruments emanating from the workshops of Gand
& Bernadel were completed in both unvarnished and varnished
state and stored - unset-up. Some were set-up at a later date
- others were sold on to other shops or traders abroad.
- Because this instrument is fitted with
a Calow neck graft and we know that Calow died in 1925 - we can
safely assume that the instrument has spent most of it is life in
England. Could the instrument perhaps been made to order by one
of the Calows?
- What is the average age of a bass requiring
a neck graft - 10yrs, 20yrs, 50yrs or more? What if a new instrument
had been fitted with a long (E-flat or E) neck and a player couldn't
get use it - he may only agree to purchase or use the instrument
on condition that the neck be changed. Hmm.
- Re: Establishing a date by means of the
tuners. Bakelite was invented in about 1905 but an early celluloid
had already been in use since 1868.
- Which workers were employed by Gand &
Bernadel? Who succeeded Gand & Bernadel?
The model of this instrument looks
every bit as if it were a violin - only on a much larger scale.
The outline is near perfect in it is symmetry. The highly figured
timber used for the two-piece back, ribs and scroll shows a flaming
that runs almost horizontally. The spruce table shows a wonderful
straight grain that narrows from a medium width at the edges to
fine at the table centre. Purfilling is - as one would expect -
precise. Varnish - a golden red-brown oil over a yellow ground -
with a slight craquelure to it is surface is nothing short of spectacular.
Understated - the model is good,
the arching is good, the thicknesses are good and by golly the sound
is good too. Projection and purity of sound with distinct tonal
qualities are definitely what this instrument are about.
With an instrument of this quality
- it will only be a matter of time before we see another example
and be able to pinpoint the exact maker. If you're an orchestral
player, a jazz player, a soloist, a collector or an investor seeking
a master-bass then look no further than this fine French instrument.
Width at the upper bout 19.85in
(50.6cm)
Width at the centre bout 14.85in (37.8cm)
Width at the lower bout 25.85in (65.8cm)
LOB 44.35in (112.5cm)
St length 41.65in (105.6cm)
|
