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 gambaThis 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 (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
 End of the fingerboard |
 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! |