Viola da Gamba Society of America

DHV: 1669 Tourin ID: Size: Treble ? Place Made: Maker: D Munich Sebastian Mayr Date: 1728 Label Text: Sebastian Mayr, Lauten und Geigenmacher, München 1728 Body Shape: Viol Current Location: NL Amsterdam No. of Strings: -4 Collection: Rijksmuseum Sound Holes: Flame Catalog Number: BK-NM-11430-8 Head: Scroll Private Owner: Previous Owner: [purchased in 1899] Measurements: Body Length: 39 String Length: Rib Depth: 5.6 Upper Width: 19.4 Middle Width: 13.1 Bottom Width: 23.4 Information Source: Museum’s website; museum to TGM, 1/16 Literature: Photographs: On museum’s website (FB+S, head F+S [color]) Recordings: Auctions: Comments: Viola conversion, but still with flat and folded back. Website: “soprano viol”.

DHV: 751 Tourin ID: ROBB 3 Size: Treble Place Made: Maker: F Date: 1650 C Label Text: [None] Body Shape: Viol Current Location: B Ghent No. of Strings: 6 Collection: Private Collection Sound Holes: C Catalog Number: Head: Female Private Owner: Yes Previous Owner: Murray Robb, Fergus, Ontario; Marco Pallis Measurements: Body Length: 35.7 String Length: 34.7 Rib Depth: 5.2 Upper Width: 17 Middle Width: 12 Bottom Width: 21.5 Information Source: Robb to Tourin 11/76, 3/77; Robb to G. Lyman 1/64 Literature: Photographs: [Unpublished, from owner: F+S (color)] Recordings: Auctions: Comments: Arched back. Restored by A. Dolmetsch, French head (Hellwig: La Fille) added then. French origin according to G. Hellwig; c. 1650 according to M. Pallis. TGM: upper-bout ribs curve in before corners, unlike most French trebles except Gaviniès.

DHV: 1220 Tourin ID: Size: Bass Place Made: Maker: F Niort Auguste Tolbecque ? Date: 1899 C Label Text: [Sanctus Seraphin, Venice, 1712 ?] Body Shape: Festoon Current Location: F Paris No. of Strings: 6+12 Collection: Musée de la musique Sound Holes: F Catalog Number: E.1669.1 Head: Angel Private Owner: Previous Owner: Paul Chevalier; Mme I. de Beaufond, -1904 Measurements: Body Length: String Length: Rib Depth: Upper Width: Middle Width: Bottom Width: Information Source: Museum’s website; Gétreau 1996, pp. 294, 692 Literature: Photographs: On museum’s website (FB+S, head side; front 7/8, head [color]) Recordings: Auctions: Comments: 12 sympathetic strings; all 18 pegs in one pegbox. Pointed lower corners, one deep dimple each side in upper bouts; F-holes have fish-tails instead of lower eyes; rosette. Website: by Giorgio Seraphino Santo, Venice, 1712; head is typical of S. Serafin; “viola bastarda”. Repaired by Nicolas Lupot (remains of his label inside). Associated bow is E.1669.2. TGM: reattribution to Tolbecque: body shape almost identical to two basses by him (1898, 1899), based on Domenichino’s painting of St. Cecilia in the Louvre.

DHV: 622 Tourin ID: MUN 1 Size: Tenor Place Made: Maker: Date: Label Text: P. De Mouchi / à Lyon, 1633 en rue de flandre [probably false, per Varsányi] Body Shape: Festoon Current Location: D Munich No. of Strings: 6 Collection: Bayerisches Nationalmuseum Sound Holes: C Catalog Number: Mu-54 [formerly 121] Head: Female Private Owner: Previous Owner: Measurements: Body Length: 55.2 String Length: 58.6 Rib Depth: 11.5? Upper Width: 28 Middle Width: Bottom Width: 32.3 Information Source: A. Varsányi to TGM, 1/13; Museum to PT 3/79; PT visit 9/78; Lütgendorff Literature: Lütgendorff 1922, 2:99; Bierdimpfl 1883, p. 45 Photographs: [Unpublished, from museum 1/17: FB+S, head FB+S, soundhole, rosette, bottom rib (color); from A. Otterstedt 4/19: F, F body only, upper body 3/4, C holes, head 3/4] Recordings: Haselhorst 1966 (Dowland) Auctions: Comments: Bierdimpfl 1883: “älteste französische Form, der Körper sehr reich ausgeschnitten”; 6 pegs, but only 4 notches in the nut; rosette; body length 56 cm. Museum’s 1979 letter to Tourin said it had been on loan to the Munich Stadtmuseum since 1922 and was still there; e-mail from A. Varsányi (at Stadtmuseum) to TGM 1/13 says “1999 an BNM zurückgegeben!”; also “wohl falscher Zettel”. Tenor size and festoon outline both suggest likewise, as no other viols from France have that size or shape. Dendrochronology test done by M. Beuting supposedly found 18th-C. date for youngest year-ring; report requested but not received, and not available at museum. S. Wartena (curator at BNM) 1/19: back has open worm galleries, suggesting the reuse of old wood; “an English specialist” [= S. Mackey) felt that “very much of the instrument dates from the 19th C”. Mackey to TGM: seen only briefly; pairing of pegs in pegbox “strongly suggests it being a later concoction.”

DHV: 1721 Tourin ID: Size: Treble ? Place Made: Maker: D Date: 1700 C Label Text: Body Shape: Viol Current Location: CDN Toronto No. of Strings: 5 Collection: Private Collection Sound Holes: Flame Catalog Number: Head: Open scroll Private Owner: Yes Previous Owner: Susanne Bosshard, Winterthur, -2019 Measurements: Body Length: 38.5 String Length: 39 Rib Depth: 5.8 Upper Width: 19.3 Middle Width: 12.8 Bottom Width: 23.5 Information Source: Owner to TGM, 3/21 & 4-5/22 Literature: Photographs: [Unpublished, from owner 3/21: front, FB+S body only, soundhole detail (color)] Recordings: Auctions: Comments: 1-piece back of burl maple with no purfling but a central 6-pointed star scratched into the wood; table has black edging, soundholes have circles 2/3 down on inside edges; neck is modern; 3 pegs treble, 2 bass side. Dimensions from F. Beaulieu to owner.

DHV: 1376 Tourin ID: Size: Treble ? Place Made: Maker: D Munich Rudolph Höss Date: 1723 ? Label Text: Rudolph Höß / Ihro Churfürstlichen / Durchl. Hof- Lauten- und Geigenma- / cher in München, Anno 1723 [printed except date] Body Shape: Viol Current Location: D Halle No. of Strings: 5 Collection: Händel-Haus Sound Holes: Flame Catalog Number: 214 Head: Lion Private Owner: Previous Owner: Measurements: Body Length: 39.5 String Length: 36 Rib Depth: 5 Upper Width: 19 Middle Width: 12.6 Bottom Width: 23.5 Information Source: Sasse 1972, pp. 96-97 Literature: Heyde 1983, p. 90; Sasse 1972, p. 97 Photographs: Sasse 1972, p. 96 (FB+S) Recordings: Auctions: Comments: 2-piece table and back, the latter with a narrow black strip down the centerline. Diamond-pattern table ornament, half hidden by current fingerboard. Soundholes have bottom eyes (only). Ribs are shallow but corners are unpointed and edges do not overhang. Neck angled back. 2 pegs treble, 3 bass side. Sasse 1972: Diskant-Viola da Gamba; Heyde 1983: originally a viola d’amore, later a viola, then (in early 20th C.) a treble viol. TGM: date questionable, because Höss probably died c. 1710; label text also unique in including “Ihro Churfürstlichen Durchl.”

DHV: 1638 Tourin ID: Size: Quinton Place Made: Maker: F Mirecourt Jean Colin Date: 17.. Label Text: Body Shape: Violin Current Location: F Lorry les Metz No. of Strings: 5 Collection: Private Collection Sound Holes: F Catalog Number: Head: Private Owner: Yes Previous Owner: Measurements: Body Length: String Length: Rib Depth: Upper Width: Middle Width: Bottom Width: Information Source: Herzog 2003, QT-40 Literature: Herzog 2003, QT-40 Photographs: Recordings: Auctions: Comments: Arched back, pointed corners, sloping shoulders, overhanging edges. (Ownership assumed from location; Herzog says only Collection: Private.) (Colin active 1744-88.)

DHV: 727 Tourin ID: PARIS 38 Size: Pardessus Place Made: Maker: F Paris Guillaume Barbey Date: 1742 Label Text: Guillaume Barbey / a Paris 1742 Body Shape: Viol Current Location: F Paris No. of Strings: 6 Collection: Musée de la musique Sound Holes: C Catalog Number: E.979.2.65 Head: Female Private Owner: Previous Owner: Geneviève Thibault, Comtesse de Chambure, -1979 Measurements: Body Length: 32 String Length: Rib Depth: 5.6 Upper Width: 16.3 Middle Width: 12 Bottom Width: 19.5 Information Source: Museum’s website; Gétreau 1996, p. 728; Gétreau 1988, p. 80; Museum to PT 9/79 Literature: Gétreau 1996, p. 728; Gétreau 1988, p. 80 Photographs: On museum’s website (FB+S, head side; front 7/8, head 3/4 [color]); MacCracken 2017, p. 56 (front); Khazine 2004, p. 7 (head, front 3/4) Recordings: Auctions: Comments: Geometric inlay on back. Original case is inv. no. E.979.2.65.2 (see Bran-Ricci 1980, p. 49, and Gétreau 1996, p. 728)

DHV: 852 Tourin ID: TIELK103 Size: Bass Place Made: Maker: D Hamburg Joachim Tielke Date: 1701 C Label Text: JOACHIM TIELKE // in Hamburg, An. 16.. [small format, printed; fake] Body Shape: Viol Current Location: D Halle No. of Strings: 6 Collection: Händel-Haus Sound Holes: C Catalog Number: 222 Head: Lion Private Owner: Previous Owner: Kurt Schuster, Leipzig, -1940/41 Measurements: Body Length: 67.1 String Length: 66.5 Rib Depth: 12.8 Upper Width: 30.4 Middle Width: 22.3 Bottom Width: 37.7 Information Source: Hellwig 2011, pp. 342-43; Saase 1972, pp. 90-91 Literature: Hellwig 2011, pp. 342-43; Heyde 1983, p. 88; Hellwig 1980, p. 271; ; Saase 1972, p. 91 Photographs: Hellwig 2011, pp. 53 (label), 77 (head back), 343 (front, head 3/4 [color]); Heyde 1983, p. 89 (front); Saase 1972, p. 90 (FB+S) Recordings: Auctions: Comments: Hellwig 2011, TieWV 123; Hellwig 1980, no. 103 (not seen by him; info from museum and F. Hellwig). Table with double purfling and non-original bass bar; 2-piece back (arched). Converted from cello before 1938; now with new fingerboard (on original, narrowed neck) and tailpiece, pegs and bridge. Dimensions: 66.5, 30.3/22.4/37.7, 12.6, -; date probably shortly after 1699 due to double purfling and use of C-holes. Repair label: “Repariert von J.B. Fritzsche / Dresden 1804” [handwritten]. Saase 1972: 2-piece table and back; dimensions 67.5, 30.0/21.5/37.0, 12.7, 66.8. Hellwig 2011 adds: repair label can’t be found now; 3-piece table with clear recurve; no purfling on back; neck narrowed for use as cello, but length and angle unchanged. Back widths 29.9/21.6/37.0. Dendrochonology (P. Klein, 1998) gives dates of 1689/1695/1692 for youngest growth rings on table.

DHV: 156 Tourin ID: BRUS 22 Size: Tenor Place Made: Maker: B Liège D Lucx Date: 16.. ? Label Text: D.LVCX [stamped on back, below neck heel] Body Shape: Viol Current Location: B Brussels No. of Strings: 6 Collection: Musée des instruments de musique Sound Holes: C Catalog Number: 1414 Head: Open scroll Private Owner: Previous Owner: M. Massau, [cello prof. at] Verviers Measurements: Body Length: 46 String Length: 51 Rib Depth: 9.3 Upper Width: 22 Middle Width: 15.5 Bottom Width: 26.5 Information Source: Exposition 1969, p. 58; PT visits 6/77 & 9/78 Literature: Exposition 1969, p. 58; Mahillon 1900, 3:44 Photographs: On museum’s website (front [color]) Recordings: Auctions: Comments: Museum’s website: date ca. 1633/1658. Mahillon, noting absence of label, read inscription as D.DUCX but did not list this as maker’s name; suggested date 17th C. (Berlin 2335 is a guitar branded with this same name; Sachs suggests made c. 1700.) Exposition 1969: purfling decoration on fingerboard and (non-original) tailpiece; ribs of walnut? Tourin: carved bass bar directly under bridge foot; completely lined with linen; soundpost and plate appear not original.