A Barak Norman “grand viola”. Could it be a small cello?
Plus, a new violoncello da spalla bow coming in, a brand new Violoncello da Spalla case available for sale, and one of our instruments enjoying their top class career.
Warning: this is a very dense newsletter with a variety of different topics: feel free to scroll, but come back because each topic would require a separate newsletter, so special they are! Let’s dive in straight!
Our London trip ended with a great day in Oxford, where we visited Ben Hebbert, violin expert and dealer. He was super kind and super generous, giving us so many inputs and sharing so much knowledge!
He showed us and discussed with us instruments by the Amatis and by Stradivari, and then we literally slipped into Trinity College Chapel to see some outstanding wood carvings by Gibbons.
Just outside, we had a fantastic pie (I had the steak and Stilton cheese), the best I had ever tasted!
The purpose of our visit was to see his Barak Norman “tenor viola” live, or whatever it was. He is unsure what it was meant for at the time of its making, around 1720. Its measures are very similar to those of Hoffmann’s Violoncello da Spalla. Ben can’t be 100% sure, but let’s say that at 95%, this is the instrument that belonged to Henry Hill and that he used for the first London performance of Harold in Italy, conducted by Berlioz himself. I quote here from an article on Ben Hebbert’s blog, which I highly recommend you to read in full, so fascinating is the story of this instrument and how detailed is the background’s description.
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Given this background some significant questions arise about the instruments that Berlioz had in mind through the 1830s and 1840s including what he really intended for Harold in Italy. Paganini had already established the principle of a ‘gran viola’ before Harold in Italy was written, and an interest in a distinctive acoustic carried on throughout that period of the nineteenth century. Berlioz was not a particular connoisseur of old instruments in the way that Paganini was, and his interest – leading to his Traite d’instruments was almost purely that of a technologist. Hence, when he wrote Evenings in the Orchestra, describing “Mr Hill, … an Englishman, one of the first viola-players in Europe, owning an incomparable instrument” it is likely to be commentary on it’s design rather than it’s rarified connoisseurly value: Berlioz has no reputation for making judgements about one Stradivari over another Guarneri, but the use of the word ‘incomparable’ sits comfortably within his zeal for technological innovation and novelty, as for example, he described the Saxophone when it was first exposed as an invention in the Journal des Débats in 1842 “… of such rare quality that, to my knowledge, there is not a bass instrument in use nowadays that could be compared to the saxophone”… whose “character is absolutely new, and does not resemble any of the timbres heard up till now in our orchestras…”.
It was Henry Hill who gave the first London performance of Harold in Italy under Berlioz’s Baton on 7 February 1848 at the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane. Family folklore cited by the Hill brothers in their monologue on Stradivari claims that he performed on the Paganini viola, as Urhan had at the Paris premiere, though this is countered by Berlioz’s fascination with the incomparable nature of his own instrument. But we know from the recollections of H.R. Haweis, who was also in attendance at the premiere, that his memorable instrument was a Barak Norman, as he wrote in Old Violins and Violin Lore (1898):
Henry distinguished himself as an admirable quartet player, and well do I remember the splendid tone of his Barak Norman tenor at Willis’s Rooms far back as I think 1848, when Sainton, Piatti and Cooper – one of the best, as it was almost the earliest string quartet cast in London … Berlioz always spoke of Henry Hill in terms of the highest praise; he even went so far as to say that he considered him one of the first performers in Europe… It is seldom that a tenor player ever comes in for direct commendation. He acts as a sort of go-between to violoncello and violin’.
(Full article here.)
As this superb instrument was undergoing a restoration, we couldn’t hear her voice, but in exchange for this misfortune, we could see it inside!
I took no pics, but the instrument is well documented.
When asked how is the sound of the Barak Norman, compared to our instruments, he answered that even though difficult to compare, because it is tuned as a viola, one octave above, and with modern strings, the BN is actually “incomparable” as strength of sound and projection. He thinks this was achieved through the double fold of the back, making it so stiff. The central part of the back is carved, not flat.
I tried to find a playing position with it (it was without the top, so I couldn’t really “hold” it), but to me the fold on the shoulder feels more slippery than having a solid angle to set over or below my collar bone. Would it work well with a strap aid? It obviously reminded me of my short encounter with the 1825 Arcangioli Violoncello da Spalla of the Leipzig Grassi Museum.
This Barak Norman instrument is outstanding. It has and always had four strings, but this doesn’t diminish our interest in it, as the upper fold makes it easy to play in the upper position. What it was made for and how it was tuned will probably remain a mystery. But we believe it could play very well tuned as a cello and would probably have nothing to envy the big-sized one.
Should anyone be interested in ordering a copy of it, that is certainly possible; Ben said he would be happy to allow me to study it further and make a copy. If you think you could be interested, drop us a line!
Following from Ben’s article and the early 19th century experiments to find a big viola voice, we can’t help but think about that enormous Galeazzi viola we saw and played in Cremona last December. That instrument, which comes directly from the Italian traditional music environment, is still available. If interested, get in touch!
News from da Spalla world
Violoncello da Spalla case for sale, ready to ship! Brand new from the factory! At A-case space this gorgeous Violoncello da Spalla case is ready to be shipped. Their cases are well-protecting, super light, and compact, and they are designed using our standard instruments as a reference. If you’re interested, get in touch directly with Kate at this email for price and more pics: acasespace@gmail.com
Updates from our workshop
There’s a lot going on here. Alessandro’s viola (made after the Ashmolean Gasparo in the pic above) has played her first notes; we’re very pleased with it! Daniela is preparing the necks of the two spallas to be glued to the ribs: new “How it’s made” newsletter is coming soon!
Breaking news! I am waiting for a new bow! My old friend Patrizio Germone, who is not only a super-talented baroque violinist but also a fantastic bow maker, made me a bow for the Violoncello da Spalla! Unfortunately, the courier lost it, so the delivery was delayed by a week. Now it’s on its way again! We can’t wait for it, and we hope it will be the beginning of a fruitful collaboration!
Featured video of the week
In this issue, we want to share two short videos about our customer Wenhan Jiang. Formerly principal viola at the BBC Ulster Orchestra, he owns a Violoncello da Spalla Made by Daniela in 2023. Recently, he took the position of second principal viola at the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. This is a short cut-out from a longer interview:
This past week, Wenhan brought our Violoncello da Spalla to Murcia, Spain, for a two-day masterclass at the conservatory. This was followed by a talk on the Violoncello da Spalla and a concert. The short videos below feature excerpts from the Bach suite and the Vivaldi concerto.
