BENDING OVER FRONTWARD
- The making of a bent-top viola da gamba -
A photographic peek inside the workshop of
Simone Zopf
(Vienna and Hallstatt, Austria)
Pieter Breughel: Bass viola da gamba
This depiction of a bass viola da gamba from around 1600 shows clearly that the top was not constructed from one single plank or two planks of wood, as is usual in traditional violin-making, but instead, from (probably) seven or eight strips of wood joined together.
* * * * *
Woods used in viol making
Varnish in preparation
Bending the five strips of wood for the top
Joining the five strips of wood of the top
(this is very similar to the technique used for the construction of lutes)
The bent belly, as seen from above
The bent top, inside view
Three bent tops
Floral design for the peg box and scroll
The finished decoration on the scroll
Bridges and bridge cutting tools
Inlay on the back of the viol
End of the fingerboard
Instrument-making School Hallstatt
Setting up a new copy of the Michael Albanus viola da gamba built in the school.
Simone Zopf und José Vázquez
with two recent copies of the Michael Albanus viola da gamba
The original is in the foreground!
updated 16.10.2007