Previous post: My First Violin Lesson..(II: Aloha)
An adrenaline rush started kicking after I hung up the phone. It was my instructor filling me in on the changes in the plan. We’ll be heading to a violin shop for an introductory about he violin and its family. The exciting news was that I’ll be meeting one of the Luthiers who have studied in Academia Cremonensis! The same violin and bow making school that Antonio Stradivari had started along with other luthiers! He was visiting the country for couple of days, and my instructor happened to be in the same group arranging for his stay.
Marco. A tall thin man in his late sixties with a very welcoming eyes and a warm aura.
As we all walked into the shop she did a quick introduction, then briefed him about my newbie journey in this exquisite world. Standing still, a jaw dropping scene took away my breathe! Now that was a real scene capable of heart stealing! I know now what’s my second favorite place after old libraries.
I had one of the most beautiful tours in my life in that small shop. Marco was explaining all the different stages of making a violin. Starting from assembling the rib and preparing the top and the back of the violin body. Moving to making the f holes and scrolls and necks. Then ended it beautifully with the rich varnishing! What a process! It was more complex and delicate than I’ve ever thought.
As Marco has said, the feeling I had while watching the fine process of constructing the violin and how the interior is prepared delicately will make me fathom my feelings towards each bow strike; therefore, perform later on with sense and sensibility. As if constructing the violin’s many pieces constructs my feelings towards it.
And to my delightful surprise, the violin we witnessed its last stage of varnishing was the one Marco selected to be my gift! And what a gift it was!
It was my first time meeting a Cremonensis graduate, entering a luthier shop, watching the whole process of making a violin, and most importantly meeting my new baby, my beloved gem!
A new door was opened for me to start a real relationship with the love of my life..
Framed Glimpses 