Page 58 - The Strad (February 2020)
P. 58
FIGURE 6 ,' 93<2!8& 3( 3££-$,32Z9 ¤ l£'đm !2& ¤¥ l8-+,;m #!99 =-3£9 ,!=' ;,' Y#'2;f9;!='Z
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SOUNDBOARD
As previously mentioned, the surviving original soundboards on
Collichon’s bass viols are all made with the English technique of
using bent staves. is method was developed at the start of the
17th century and used by many English makers, including Henry
Smith, Henry Jaye and Richard Meares. Collichon’s soundboards
are remarkably similar to those of Meares: the use of ve staves and,
in particular, the linen reinforcement on the interior are identical
on viols by both makers ( gure 6). It is arguable that Collichon
may have seen a disassembled English viol and simply mimicked
the resultant conguration on the interior. But on close inspection
it can be seen that the processes involved in the initial application
of the linen and subsequent cutting of the soundholes are followed
in both cases. is is not an obvious case of copying but a learned
set of chronological processes that create the striking similarities
visible on these soundboards. e use of the angled strips of linen
FIGURE 7 Y !-2;'& ,'!8;Z above and below the soundholes in both cases is not coincidental,
&'$38!ধ329 !66'!8 32 but the result of direct contact of some sort.
;,' (832;9 3( ;,' ¤¥¤
6!8&'99<9 l8-+,;m !2&
¤ #!99 l£3>'8 8-+,;mW BASS-BAR
,' #!99 3( ¤ l#'£3>m
,!9 6!-2;'& !2& +-£&'& e bass-bars in Collichon’s instruments are tted at what
£-2'9 -2 £-'< 3( 6<8*-2+ appears to be a crazy angle across the inside of the front but are,
in fact, simply placed equidistant from the extreme edges of the
soundboard in the upper and lower bouts. Where original bars
are retained, they are planed at along the length with a simple
rounded top edge. ere is a narrowing of the bar towards each
end, with the thickest point in the middle. e bar in the 1683
viol (shown above right) is slab-cut with the growth rings
parallel to the table, the ends secured with linen patches. It is
tted over the linen reinforcement on the soundboard joint. TOP LEFT AND TOP MIDDLE PHOTOS JOHN TOPHAM. ALL OTHER PHOTOS SEHEM MACKEY
THE TECHNIQUE OF USING DECORATION
WOODEN CLEATS TO Externally, Collichon tended towards restraint in decoration.
In about half of his existing instruments there is just a single
REINFORCE THE BREAK MAY solid black line about 5mm from the edge, with no decoration
on the back in some cases. On three instruments – the 1691
BE UNIQUE TO COLLICHON bass and the 1686 and 1690 pardessus – there is a painted
central heart-shaped ornament which may have origins in the
cult of the sacred heart of Jesus, increasingly popular at the
56 THE STRAD
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