Revival of viola pomposa in Italian opera in the beginning of the 20th century.

As promised in the podcast, here is the link to the viola pomposa by Giuseppe Ornati, probably the one used for the Francesca da Rimini.

It is noticeable that on the accompanying PDF document, it is not clear if the author is Giuseppe Ornati or Leandro Bisiach, and the vibrating length mentioned is 69 cm, exactly like a cello.

In the printed catalogue we see two different instruments (same body shape and same measures), one made by Bisiach and the other commissioned by Bisiach to Ornati, but made by Ornati.

Here is the video of one of the originals controviolino in Florence, played by the cellist Antonio Mosca. (No, I have no idea why there are those two pegs. They not seem to be there on the Museum’s catalogue pages)

Edit: Thanks to the prompt of our close followers Lewis Jones and Klaus I researched further and add this correction: this is not a De Zorzi original but one made on his model with the added two resonance strings. More details in the comments!

I’m sick today, no energies to go in the workshop, so I indulged a bit in a study of my small cello character, copying some expressions of incredulity, frustration and desperation from another study of my character Gladys the Beast.

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Updates from our workshop

Here we are! We had ten intense days in the workshop, in which Alessandro proceeded with the back of his normal-sized cello, and Daniela made the ribs and settled the necks on them. We also enjoyed the landscape and the company of our two dogs, Arturo and Oliver. Even if working hard, we didn’t renounce our hour of walk with them every day! We need that walk also to clear our minds, breathe fresh air and keep slightly fit!