Nicolo Amati, the third generation of the illustrious Amati instrument makers, must have begun to assume a leadership role in the family workshop by the early 1620s. His rise was interrupted by the plague epidemic of 1629-1630, the worst mortality crisis of the early modern period in Italy, which took the lives of as much as 30 to 35% of the population in Northern Italy.1 Read more…
Gallery of Instruments
On these pages you will find articles we’ve written highlighting some of the noteworthy and/or unusual instruments that Darnton & Hersh Fine Violins has handled, along with photographs of the instruments.
Additional articles we’ve authored have been published in the Cozio Archives of the Tarisio website (registering for a free Tarisio login may be required to view these):
- How the US-Born Alfred Lanini Helped to Bring Milanese Making to California After His Early Studies in Italy with Riccardo Antoniazzi and Celeste Farotti
- Monteverdi to Goffriller: The Advent of Baroque Music in Venice, 1613–1742
- The Bows of Nikolai Kittel
- Late Period Stradivari Cellos, Part 1: The “Bein, Fruh”
- Late Period Stradivari Cellos, Part 2: The “Vaslin Composite”
- The Mantegazza Family: An overview of one of the earliest violin workshops to specialize in repairing as well as making new instruments
- Santo Serafin Cello, Venice, 1740: Featuring extravagant materials and meticulous workmanship, this cello is a typically fine example of Serafin’s mature work
- Alessandro Mezzadri: The enduring influence of Alessandro Mezzadri on the Ferrara school of violin making
A Large Form Stradivari Cello The "Bonnet," 1693
Prior to 1701 the Stradivari workshop built cellos of large dimensions, in keeping with standards that had been established and sustained in Cremona by the Amati family for three generations. Only a few of the large form Amati cellos have survived unaltered. Of the 25 pre-1702 Stradivari cellos known today, only the “Medici” (1690) now residing in the Instituto Cherubini of Florence, the “Castelbarco” (1697), housed at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C., and the “Servais” (1701) at the Smithsonian remain intact with their original dimensions. Read more…
Brothers Amati Violin Cremona, c.1624
To fully appreciate the exquisite instrument shown here, it is instructive to go back to the dawn of the Amati violin-building tradition, believed to be sometime around 15251 although a more precise date has so far remained elusive. Prior to the counter-reformations of the Council of Trent implemented from 15632, church records did not routinely include births, deaths and marriages, making it difficult to verify the dates of key historical events. From legal documents in the Cremona archives we know that Andrea Amati (c. 1505-15773), the patriarch of the Amati instrument-building dynasty, leased a large residence with a workshop and prominent storefront in Cremona in 1538–39.4 From this we infer that the Amati atelier was already well established and thriving by 1538. Read more…
The Bows of F.N. Voirin
François-Nicolas Voirin (1833-1885) was perhaps the most important French bow maker of the second half of the 19th century. After an apprenticeship in his hometown of Mirecourt with Jean Simon (a relative of the more famous Pierre Simon), Voirin moved to Paris in 1855 to join the workshop of his cousin, J.B. Vuillaume. Read more…
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