I’d like to welcome you to my collection. My expertise, instruments as well as my network are at your disposal for one-off or permanent exhibitions, musical events or any other fascinating project.
New article about to be published in the next issue of "Early Music":
Wim Raymaekers:
Bridge shapes of the violin and other bowed instruments, 1400–1900. The origin and evolution of their design.
Abstract
As one goes back in time the number of extant bowed instruments decreases gradually, and this is particularly true for loose parts such as bridges, pegs and tailpieces. The current article traces the development of bridges of instruments of the violin family, based on a study of extant instruments and around 800 iconographic sources. This study reveals the origins of the various elements of bridges found on modern instruments of the violin family, and reconstructs the different stages of their evolution. Many elements of the modern violin bridge were already present, sometimes hidden, in bowed instrument bridges of the 16th century. The extensive appendices and many line drawings offer today’s researchers, makers and restorers the possibility of providing historically informed bridges that are less fantasized than those hitherto often encountered on restorations or reconstructions of old instruments.
Keywords: violin; cello; viol; viola; iconography; organology; instrument making; bridge; reconstruction
As one goes back in time the number of extant bowed instruments decreases gradually, and this is particularly true for loose parts such as bridges, pegs and tailpieces. The current article traces the development of bridges of instruments of the violin family, based on a study of extant instruments and around 800 iconographic sources. This study reveals the origins of the various elements of bridges found on modern instruments of the violin family, and reconstructs the different stages of their evolution. Many elements of the modern violin bridge were already present, sometimes hidden, in bowed instrument bridges of the 16th century. The extensive appendices and many line drawings offer today’s researchers, makers and restorers the possibility of providing historically informed bridges that are less fantasized than those hitherto often encountered on restorations or reconstructions of old instruments.
Keywords: violin; cello; viol; viola; iconography; organology; instrument making; bridge; reconstruction
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Guitars and other fretted instruments 1920-1970:
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Since 2004 I've been collecting guitars, banjos, mandolins, ukuleles as well as a host of related items. Each one has its own significance, and all together they tell a story: what lay behind the popularity that evolved over half a century or more, and how did instrument makers respond to the growing demand for cheaper, louder and better gear?
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Especially recommended to those Europeans who wish to know more about American-made guitars
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The history of western lute-like
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Most instruments in museums are merely exhibited and cannot be played or held. During my time as an instrument restorer in the Vleeshuis Museum in Antwerp, and later as an organology teacher at the Ghent Conservatory, the idea thus evolved of making my growing collection accessible to students and other enthusiasts, with a view to them being able to handle and play copies and even originals.
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Especially recommended to people tired of looking at musical instruments behind glass