113

Stradivari's ‘Gibson’ viola

One of the best preserved examplesof

Stradivari's viola craftsmanship.

Roger Hargrave describes the instrument's characteristics.

Exactly how many instruments of the Stradivarifamily have survived to the present day is difficult toassess. The Hill Brothers in 1902 (Antonio Stradivari.His Life and Work) sensibly listed only those instru-ments which they knew personally to exist. Doringin his book How many Strads? was hampered byWorld War 2, which restricted information from Eu-rope, as he was putting this work together in theUnited States.

To date it seems likely, despite a few obvious er-rors, that Herbert K. Goodkind's Iconography ofStradivari, published in 1972, comes closest to themark. Goodkind attributes 725 surviving instrumentsto the Stradivari family. It becomes immediatelyclear, however, from all of the worthwhile sources,that only a very few Stradivari violas have survived.Hills list 10 examples, Doring 11, and Goodkind a veryoptimistic 18.

114

That Stradivari made more violas than have sur-vived seems certain from the writings of earlier bi-ographers, but they can never have been a major partof his production. The first known example, the'Mahler', was constructed in 1672. It most definitelybelonged to the Amati tradition and, though similarin length to the majority of violaswhich followed, it was much wider.By the time Stradivari's next sur-viving violas appeared in 1690, themodelling had changed consid-erably. There were two new de-signs, the templates of which arestill preserved in the Stradivarimuseum. (The outline of the mould is re-produced here. It can be seen that it fitsquite well on the outline of the Gibson, inspite of the date of October 1690 which iswritten on the mould.) These templates aremarked in Stradivari's own hand with theletters C.V. (contralto viola) and T.V. (tenorviola). With the exception of the largertenor viola, of which only two areknown to have survived,Stradivari's viola designsremained relatively uni-form until the end, so thatthe design of his lastknown viola, the 'Gibson'c.1734, closely resemblesthose contraltos built inthe 1690s. This was inmarked contrast to his violin designs, which changeddramatically and several times over the same period.

Although the design of the violas was to remainthe same, stylistically they changed considerably. Inthis respect the 'Gibson' is quite obviously a laterwork and it displays many of the features which onewould expect to find on almost any late violin. Incommon with practically all of Stradivari's late in-struments, it is difficult to distinguish the work of thesons from that of Antonio himself. Although thereare definite signs of an old man's hand having been atwork, it should be remembered that by the 1730s notonly was Antonio very old, but Francesco andOmobono were also getting on in years.

There is something about a late Stradivari, how-ever, that says more about the man and his work thanthe finest pieces from his golden period can. It is notjust simple craftsmanship that is required to build aninstrument which, despite the presence of a shakyhand, is as full of vigour and vitality, both tonally and

visually, as the 'Gibson'.

The original label of the 'Gibson' is missing and thedate 1734 is the date to which the Hill brothers as-cribed the viola in 1902. In spite of the Hill's opinion,a colour plate of the viola appears in FridolinHamma's Meisterwerke italienischer Geigenbaukunst

where it is dated 1728. Thisdate, which also appears inother catalogues, seems to bethe result of a false label. In re-cent years, however, there hasbeen no reason to challengethe date set by the Hills andthere can be no doubt that the'Gibson' is the last of the sur-viving violas by the Stradivarifamily. A comprehensive his-tory of the 'Gibson' may befound in Doring's How manyStrads? and it is also men-tioned in an excellent chapterabout Stradivari's violas in theHill book.

In keeping with the other in-struments featured in this se-ries of posters, the `Gibson' isin an excellent state of preser-vation. This is unusual enoughfor any classical Italian work,but for a viola it is almostmiraculous. For this reason I

was prepared to accept the fact that the photographshad to be taken with the bridge in place and thatsome important measurements could not be taken.

A modified Reinert caliper was used to take the ap-proximate thickness of the belly, reaching as far aswas practicable. These measurements are reproducedhere. It was not possible to take all of the necessaryinside measurements from the viola, since the in-strument has not been opened for several years. Ihave therefore included Stradivari's thicknessing sys-tem according to Sacconi, taken from I segreti diStradivari. It can be seen that the actual thickness-ing of the belly bears some similarity to Sacconi's di-agram, the area around the f holes in particular beingslightly thicker than the rest of the plate. Neverthe-less, Stradivari varied his thicknessing according tothe quality of the wood and in this respect all suchmeasurements can be used only as a guide. Further-more, it should be noted that the measurementsgiven by Sacconi include extra wood around the

115

edges to allow for the later working of the purflingchannel. For a more complete picture Sacconi's bookshould be consulted.

With a fibre optical instrument, normally used formedical purposes, it was possible to examine the in-side work of the Gibson, in minute detail. The fourcorner blocks and the endpin block are original andhave not been cut back as often occurs. (The blocksizes may be gauged from the mould.) The markingout for the positioning of the f hole nicks (as de-scribed in the `Ex Maria Muir Mackenzie' STRAD,poster December 1985), can be clearly seen. The pres-ence of such markings proves that the belly has notbeen reworked. There are one or two minor cracks,no patches on either of the plates, and a very fewsmall studs, of considerable age, protect the centrejoint. The linings are sturdy, measuring 8.75 mm inthe C bouts. They are of the same white wood as theblocks. This may be willow or poplar, as described bySacconi, but it strongly resembles lime in appear-ance. The C bout linings are certain to have been letinto the corner blocks in the normal Stradivari man-ner. The rib thicknessing was measured in the C boutsthrough the f hole and was found to be approxi-mately 1 mm, which corresponds with Sacconi's sug-gestion of 1 mm or slightly less.

Generally, the inside work is very clean with onlya trace of the gouge where the blocks were cut back;few, if any, scraper marks are visible anywhere on theplates. There is now no label, genuine or otherwise,in the viola (anyone interested in Stradivari's labelsshould consult the Hill book on Stradivari).

The Hill brothers had some rather uncomplimen-tary things to say about Stradivari's viola heads: `. . .With the introductions of the smaller sized viola(C.V.) it was necessary to diminish proportionatelythe head; and strangely in contrast with that finesense of symmetry, which Stradivari so frequentlydisplayed, we here see a comparative failure thescroll being too large for the box which it overhangs,and the whole being stunted and ill proportioned . ... The viola head of Stradivari is formed like those oftile violoncello, and is distinguished from that of theviolin by the cheeks protruding instead of being flushwhere the neck emerges from the head . . . it is un-suitable for the viola because it inconveniences theplayer's left hand'.

These comments do not apply in the case of the'Gibson', whose head is cut without shoulders, in theviolin style. As a result it is more in harmony withthe body of the instrument than any of the five other

Stradivari violas I have seen. It also avoids the usualproblems which shoulders present to the player. Thehead has all the appearance of an enlarged violinhead, but the turns somehow run truer. (Many violinheads have a tendency towards the oval in the turnsof the scroll itself). It is also cleaner and generallylighter looking than most late violin heads, despitesome obvious `late' features, such as the squarenessof the chin and the Guadagnini type pinholes aroundthe eyes. The volutes are relatively shallow and flat incut, increasing in depth only on the last turn into theeye. The volutes are completely free of tool marksbut, as we would expect from a Stradivari head, tracesof the gouge may be seen upon the vertical surfacesof the scroll. The fluting is relatively clean with onlythe suggestion of scraper marks down the black ofthe pegbox. The fluting is deeper than normal at thechin, whereas over the front of the head it is perhapsslightly shallower. The chamfers, strong but not toowide, finish the head perfectly, and traces of the blackpaintwork, which formally picked them out, are stillvery much in evidence. The head wood is of ex-tremely fine growth, cut exactly on the quarter. Theflame, which is of medium width, is shallow. Overallthis is an outstanding and very beautiful head.

In common with the shoulderless pegbox, the out-line of the body is also friendly to the player, with thewellrounded upper bouts allowing easy access to thehigher positions. Generally, the body is bolder look-ing, with a much stronger edgework than the earlierviolas. This, together with the lighter cut of the head,gives the 'Gibson' a stylistic balance which is, in myopinion, unique among Stradivari's violas.

As may be derived from the drawings the archingof the belly rises steeply under the fingerboard andtailpiece, becoming relatively flat along the top. Thescooping of the purfling channel is marked but notdeep. Likewise the fluting of the soundhole wings isshallow, especially when compared to the other vio-las. The back arching has a somewhat deeper chan-nelling than the belly especially in the corner areas.Perhaps because of the slabcut back the cross arch-ings are slightly distorted. This should be taken intoaccount when these arching. drawings are beingused. Overall both archings are full and very power-ful in appearance, a feature probably accentuated bythe strong edgework and corners. On the back, theedgework is softer than one would normally expect,but this is almost certainly the result of the slab cutwood; like the head the back wood is of extremelyfine growth, but the beautiful velvety flame is morepronounced. With the exception of the typical knife

116

cut chamfer on the underside of the edgework, thereare no other tool marks to be seen on the outside ofthe body.

The purfling is uneven in thickness and the blacksare not quite so intense as would be normal forStradivari. There are no waverings in the flow of theline of the purfling, but the strings, as may be seenfrom the photographs, are quite roughly finished.The belly inlay appears to have been filled with blackmastic in the top and bottom bouts, where the chan-nel was perhaps cut a little too wide.

Once again I have reconstructed the left f hole,wobbles and all. It should be used in conjunction withthe photographs and measurements. Although thesoundholes deviate somewhat from the classicalStradivari form, the knifework is confident and cleanand, as would be expected on any fine Cremonese in-strument, the longitudinal runs of the f sand the topand bottom circles are cut almost at right angles tothe surface of the plate. The set of the left hole ismore vertical than that of the right and its bottomcircle is set slightly lower. The circles themselveswere obviously cut with the same cutters as wereused for the violin holes, since they are of a similardiameter. Any distortion to these circles is due to thejoining of these circles to the main body of the hole.

The wood for this two piece belly is cut on thequarter. Curiously, however, the two sides do notmatch each other exactly. They are similar in ap-pearance and they are almost certainly from thesame log, but they were not cut from the samewedge. Generally the belly wood is of uneven growth,while the reed lines seem to be particularly hard andstrong.

The ribs have a narrow soft flame which runs ver-tically all around the instrument. They were obvi-ously not taken from either the back or the headblock, whose flames are much wider. The bottom ribsare cut on the quarter, whereas the C ribs and the topribs change towards the slab: The top rib was almostcertainly one piece before the neck was changed, butthe bottom seems always to have been made fromtwo pieces. There are traces of black line on the endof the rib corner, however this is unusual for Stradi-vari, and it may be a later addition.

The varnish is a strong orange colour, over a lightgolden yellow ground, which is slightly darker on thehead and the belly. It is rich, warm and stronglydichroic, especially on the slab cut back. There is nosign of any craquelee: As usual the area underneath

ANTONIO STRADIVARI 1734THE 'GIBSON' VIOLA

Measurements Back BellyLength (over arch) 411.5 412.5 mmUpper bouts 185 186 mmMiddle bouts 127.5 130 mmLower bouts 240.5 239 mmStop length taken from the left side of the neck to nick 221 mmApproximate thickness of the edges,taken from the back only:Corners 4.75 to 5 mmCentre bouts 4.8 to 5 mmUpper and lower bouts 4.75 mmButton thickness 4.5 to 5 mmOverhang of the edge from the rib outline:approximately 2.5 to 3 mm at the centrebouts, and 2.25 to 2.5 mm around the topand bottom bouts.

Rib heights Left RightNeck root 35.5 35.5 mmUpper corner 35.75 36.75 mmLower corner 36.5 37 mmEndpin 36.5 36.5 mmPurfling: the distance from the edge is 5.1mm approximately. The total width variesfrom 1 to 1.5 mm. The width of the whitesis approximately 0.75 mm.The outline is accurate to 1 mm over thelength. The thicknessing measurementsof the belly are viewed from the outsideof the plates. The head and f-hole drawingsare only facsimiles on which to mountthe measurements. All measurements arein mm.

the fingerboard has not been varnished.

THE STRAD wishes to thank the owner of the 'Gib-son', Habisreutinger of Gersau, for his kind permision to reproduce this article, and as usual Geigen-bau Machold of Bremen, West Germany, for their helpin its production. At the moment the 'Gibson', whichwas said by Doring to be `long famous for its acousticproperties', is on loan to Yossi Gutmann.

117

118

119