Gagliano

I'm working on a Plowden del Gesu. It is the first violin with a low arch that I've tried. It's coming along good. I am also fixing up the purfling on the Gagliano viola I drew up. I really like the shape of it. I like the shape of the Gagliano cello and violin too. I've been working on Guadagnini viola, and the purfling is way off from even around the top of the back. I have no idea how that happened. I found out that the slab back should have been set up heart side up. That just seems weird to me, but I've read it from several sources lately.

Besides that: I just don't like the big chunky look of the beast. It is close to being hideous.

So I was trying to make up a viola shape that was a mix of the older, slimmer Guadagnini violins and cellos, and morph them into a viola, like I did the Gagliano. It just wasn't working. I had a dream that night of throwing all the papers in the trash. So that's what I did. I'm going to stick with what I like and make a family of instruments that I drew up from the photos of the Gagliano cello and violin. They only showed the backs so I used photos of other Gaglianos to get the f holes designed.

The shape of the violin is very much like the early Guadagnini violins. The holes aren't cool oval ones, but then the corners don't poke out like sore thumbs either. Even the arching seems to have the fullness of the Guadagnini. He made high arched, and low arched violins, so there is room to play around. The viola has a 19 mm or so arch. I picked that because it looks like a Grancino viola of about the same size (420 mm), so it isn't unduly high.

I thought of getting the poster for the Gaglino violin, and cello. The cello is by Allisandro? and not Nicolo. Did they work in the same style? Maybe I can just come up with my own. Right now I'm happy with the outlines, and can get back to work. I will redraw the cello, the wone I have is a little messy, and have it blown up double size to make a pattern. Then I can make a mold and start on a cello too.