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Lolov - Bent Plates in Violin Construction
Lolov - Bent Plates in Violin Construction
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ATHANAS LOLOV
Bent
Plates
in
Violin
Construction
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PLATE IV
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2) The f-holes almost always show distortion, the lower wing being
sunk beneath the plane of the plate. This effect is, of course, most
pronouncedon the right side, where the soundpost helps to supportthe
belly, but it does not appearin violins of later erasexcept when induced
by artificialmeans. EdwardHeron-Allen, in his classicwork on violin
construction,recommendedproducingthis effect by means of twisting
the wood with a small stick, a procedure which smacks of superficial
imitation.6
3) The grain of the top often appears to converge slightly at the
extremities of the centerjoint. This phenomenon is largely hidden by
the fingerboardand tailpiece, but is still visible in vertical photographs
of many masterinstruments.7The convergence is most easily observed
in instrumentswith very high arching.As long as the grain at the outer
extremesof the instrumentremainsstraight,the curvingof graintoward
the center could be a sign that the wood was bent upwardin the middle
(see Fig. 1 for a graphicrepresentation).The effect is, to be sure, very
subtle, and easily confused by irregulargrain, but in those instruments
where it is plainly visible it is hard to explain by any other
hypothesis.
Some of the historical evidence also poses questions:
1) Stradivariis reported to have preferredto split his own wood for
tops. This implies that he did not use wood seasoned for many years.
Could he have been moved by any reasonsother than economy? Could
a thick plate dry sufficiently in a short period to be safely employed in
11
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a violin? If he cut relatively thin slabs from green wood and wedged
them immediately, they would dry sufficiently in a single season and
retain their curve without further treatment.
2) It has often been suggested, as by Edward Heron-Allen in the
nineteenth century, that master builders split wood for violin tops,
ratherthan sawing it, to avoid disturbingthe longitudinalfibers.8Yet
how can one avoid disturbingthe fibers when carving begins? If the
grain follows the arch rather than being cut to it, more of the
longitudinal fibers will remainwhole, and the top will be a great deal
strengthened.
The example shown in Pl. IV b was bent by a simple process. The
wood used was two book-matchedslabsof Sitkaspruce,each /16"thick.
They were thoroughly soaked in water, and then clamped together
along three sides. (It is worth noting thatthe soakingin water could have
been skipped if freshly-cut green wood were available.) A pair of
wedges was then driven into the areascorrespondingto the upper and
lower bouts, the tips of the wedges being directed toward the center of
the curve of each bout. There are choices possible here; both the
orientationand the shape of the wedges could be alteredwith possibly
significant results. The wedging easily produced a recognizable
approximationof the flat-topped curve characteristicof Stradivari's
violins.
The wood, being thin, dried quickly,and retainedits new shapewell.
Beforejoining, the bent slabspresentedthe appearanceof havinggrown
apart at the center of their joint (see Plate IV a), a consequence of
bendingwhich necessitatedspot-gluingeach to a plankin orderto plane
thejoint straight.This is a step requiringsome skill and practice,owing
to the curvingof grainintroducedby the bend. Once glued, the grainat
the tail end of the joint can be seen to converge slightly, though
irregularityin the grain has made this effect invisible at the upper
end.
The plate does not lie flat; the edges are warped upwards in the
middle as a consequence of stressesinduced by the bending process.As
with the viol plates described by Kessler, some pressureis requiredto
force it down to meet the ribs. This provides a plausible motive for
tapering the ribs slightly, as less pressurewould then be required to
make the joint. Even with this partialmatch of ribs to belly, however,
some pressureis still required;this pressurecausesa small distortionof
the wings of the sound holes, resembling that which Heron-Allen
imitated by use of a stick.
The amount of distortion in the plate is unpredictable, being
different for each piece of wood. This could explain not only the
12
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shape,dimensions,andfinish,sharetonalqualitieswhichset themfar
above any of the copies. Even age cannotwholly accountfor the
were famouseven when he
difference,sincethe violinsof Stradivari
wasalive.Conversely,Villaume'scopiesarenow closeto two hundred
yearsold, andshowno signsof beginningto soundlike theirmodels.A
basicstructuraldifferencebetweenthe fiber arrangement
of the old
violinsandthatof the new wouldprovidea rationalexplanationof the
phenomenon,though it would deprive us of the romantichope,
cherishedby many,thatStradivari
andhis peerswere simplypossessed
of magicalpowers,an ideawhichcertainlywouldhaveamusedthose
superbcraftsmen.
The authorthanksJeffreyEvansfor hismanysuggestionsduringthe
of this paper.
preparation
NOTES
iDietrich Kessler,'Viol Constructionin 17th-centuryEngland',EarlyMusic
10, No. 3 (July 1982), 340-345.
2 ibid.,
p. 345.
3 For example, it has been suggested that Stradivari'svarnish contained
powdered diamonds,and that the wood for his instrumentswas cured by being
soaked six months in urine.
4See August Riechers, 'The Violin and Its Construction', in Violin
Iconographyof Antonio Stradivari,1644-1737, by Herbert K. Goodkind
(Larchmont,New York: Privately printed, 1972), p. 128.
William Hill, AntonioStradivari,
His Lifeand Work1644-1737 (New York:
5
Dover, 1963), p. 55.
6 EdwardHeron-Allen,
as It WasandIs, 2nd Ed. (New York:
Violin-Making
Carl Fischer, 1885), p. 258, fig. 155.
7 For examples, see Karel
Jalovec, Italian Violin Makers (London: Paul
Hamlyn, 1964), Plates 62, 148, 156, 171, 186, 192, 197, 231, 244, 256, 362, 369.
Also Walter Hamma, Meisteritalienischer
Geigenbaukunst
(Stuttgart: Schuler,
1964), plates 603, 604, 615, 622, 630, 640, 642, 653, 654, 656, 659.
8
Heron-Allen, p. 133.
15
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