I designed and built a small travel friendly theorbo to be used by a client who is playing a lot of the late seventeenth century French repertoire.
I thought this instrument should be different than the early seventeenth century Italian theorbos, even the small ones. So I used construction features that I associate with the iconography of French lute/lutenists of the era or that anticipate lute designs that became popular in the early eighteenth century.
The fretted string length of my instrument is 78 centimeters while the diapasons are 105 cm. With an extra peg for the fretted strings the lute can be strung either 7/7 or 8/6 as well as 7/7. My client's choice of diapason length was so short I could not mount the diapasons in the usual way - on a straight extension. the choices were either an extension with the theorbo head off-set from a straight extension, or one with the extension angled precariously off the end of the fingerboard. I settled on a solution that Joachim Tielke and others started to use at the end of the eighteenth century for out-fitting angélique or baroque lutes.
I thought an archaic rose design would be appropriate so I chose a pattern that is very close to the 1550 era Hans Frei's Warwick lute.
My client has liked several of my Venere model theorbos from the 90s so I used the same cross -sectional arching as the original Venere but with eleven ribs. I also thought that maple, in this case bird's eye, would be the most suitable wood for a lute of that era.
Here is a model of one of my Venere theorbo circa 2004 with the historically correct number of ribs (27) for comparison.
As you know I have been avoiding the use of ebony or other exotic woods when possible. The neck veneer is Claro walnut, Juglans hindsii. from California or Oregon. The board I used has a diagonal curl. I cut thin, narrow strips, and reversed the direction of every other one to achieve the pattern.
The extension is English walnut, Juglans regia, cut on the slab.
The pegs are Castelo boxwood stained black. Smooth operating pegs are essential. Therefore, I prefer to turn my own pegs because I can have control of every step of their creation. I buy the wood as lumber and cut it into manageable boards if necessary. From these I manufacture 1 inch square lengths about 3 feet long which are sticked and stacked for storage. When I begin a new lute I cut the number of peg blanks I need from these lengths and turn them to a rough form. Each peg is indexed to fit back on my lathe. When I need a break from carving the rose I put the pegs back on my lathe and finish turning the form, free hand and by eye using only calipers to check the size of the various components. Inevitably, the heads vary in size but I use this to advantage and fit them in descending order from largest to smallest along the length of the pegbox- a feature often observed in historical lutes.
Guitar Connoisseur is an online magazine that publishes interviews and articles accompanied by high quality photos of guitarists and luthiers. Occasionally, it delves into the world of classical guitar and recently even back to the nineteenth century.
The Spring issue of GC includes this interview by client and staff writer Pat Bianculli.
http://www.guitarconnoisseur.com/
For more than a year I have been working on a copy of the Martinus Kaiser theorbo, E.24 Musée de la musique, Paris. I have built a dozen models of this instrument but this is the first that I have copied all of the aesthetic details.
In April I was nearly finished. I had strung the instrument and was letting it settle before I started the final adjustments when the bridge exploded. I took a photo (see below) and put the lute in its case. I notified the client that there would be a significant delay and offered to return his deposit. He kindly agreed to wait until I replaced the soundboard. I needed some time away from the instrument but now I am anxious to begin work on it again.
This is type of failure is troubling because I am not sure of the reason; perhaps the glue on the treble side of the bridge jelled before I applied the clamps resulting in a loss of strength while the bond on the bass side held firm, or perhaps my support caul was not positioned properly. Whatever the reason, it took a great bite out of the belly.
I have just about finished a model of the 1813 Josef Pagés guitar that is conserved in St Cecilia's, University of Edinburgh. I spent a wonderful day with the original two years ago. You can read my post from that visit at:
http://schreinerlutesandguitars.blogspot.com/2017/10/josef-pages-1813.html
In this photo I have strung the guitar with six single strings from a set for romantic guitar tuned to 432Hz.
There are twelve planetary pegs and the bridge is drilled for six courses. A second nut is grooved for an eleven string (single first) set-up.
The back and ribs of the original Pagés are Lacewood. I was unable to obtain suitable Lacewood boards so I got into my stock of planation grown Cuban Mahogany for the first time. The neck is Spanish Cedar.
The finish on the entire guitar is multiple coats of tung oil sealer. The oil has been drying since early June. Soon I will French polish the back, sides and neck. The top will be left with the oil finish.
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| interior of my Pagés model |
As promised, some time ago, I am making a drawing of this guitar and I will publish it here along with the story of building this model.
I will soon be finished with another Buchenberg.
This one in yew at 93 and 170. A story will follow.
In June Susan and I exhibited at the Boston Early Music Festival. On the table is the Pagés and a Baroque chitarriglia after Matteo Sellas that I borrowed from a client.
We always look forward to renewing friendships from previous years, attending shows, some featuring our friends and talking to an enthusiastic public. This year was as exciting and interesting as all the others.
I wanted to have something special for a back drop so Susan created these wonderful posters of my clients when they visited us to picked up their instruments.
All photos by the author
