Ep 3. Gasparo da Salo Part 3 And his new fancy pants assistant. Violins on the rise!

Stay with our maker as we look at the ups and downs of life and hear from Maxime Bibeau about his instrument and what it is like to share his career with a da Salo.

Maxime Bibeau double bassist in the Australian Chamber Orchestra celebrated for his exceptional talent and profound connection to the historical instrument he plays on made by the famed violin maker Gasparo Da Salo chats to us, in this intimate interview, we gain insights into the unique challenges and joys he encounters while performing on this extraordinary Brescian double bass.

Discover the allure of this instrument, crafted centuries ago in the heart of Brescia, Italy, as we explore its rich tonal character, exquisite craftsmanship, and the historical significance it holds in the world of music. Maxime Bibeau takes us on a sonic voyage, sharing the intricacies of his relationship with this rare double bass and the emotional depth it adds to his performances.

Music you have heard in this episode is by

Unfamiliar faces – All good folks, Budapest – Christian Larssen, Bloom - Roo Walker, Brandenburg Concerto No 4 – Kevin Macleod, Frost waltz- Kevin Macleod, Getting to the bottom of it – Fernweh Goldfish, Telemann Sonata in D maj for viola da gamba – Daniel Yeadon, Crooked old shrew – Fernweh Goldfish

 

Transcript

 

 

Welcome back to the Violin Chronicles and part 3 about the world of Gasparo Da Salo, instrument maker, businessman, and collector of needy nephews and nieces. In the last two episodes, we've seen how Gasparo Da Salo has led a successful career as a violin maker, or a luthier is perhaps a better word, as he didn't just make violins, but a variety of instruments, in Brescia.

After humble beginnings moving to Brescia as a young man, he has made a name for himself, and he seems to have taken his family responsibilities quite seriously.  In this episode, we will continue to look at Gasparo Da Salo’s life, and Maxime Bibeau, double bassist in the Australian Chamber Orchestra, will be talking to us about the wonderful Gasparo Da Salo instrument he plays on, and its story.

Gasparo Da Salo came from humble origins, son of a musician, or instrument maker, who died too early, leaving his family to pick up the pieces and move to the city to try their luck in business.  Entering his workshop now, there is a profusion of activity. His son and assistant are working at benches finishing instruments that will be sent to France.

When there is an overflow of work, he ropes in his other children to help out.  Business continues to flourish. Gasparo Da Salo and Isabella are able to buy their own house and workshop.  Family responsibility was something that weighed strongly on Gasparo's shoulders. When his sister and his in laws died in the recent plague, Gasparo felt he had to take responsibility for his nephews and nieces.

He knew better than anyone what it was like to lose parents.  And with his connections to the other artisans, there was always opportunities to find work and apprenticeships. And help out he would.  One less thing to worry about was Ludovica. He was able to breathe a sigh of relief. It was done. Ouf Now he just had to sort out her dowry. The match with the fur merchant was a good one.  Ludovica had a good grasp of business matters. At the age of 22, she was ready to move out and have a family of her own, but not too far away, still in Brescia.  She knew she could always come and ask her favourite brother for help if she needed to.

There's An interesting story of Gasparo Da Salo’s little sister who was 12 when she started living with them.

So he'd, at this point, when he was in his late twenties, he had two young sons and his 12-year-old sister Ludovica comes and lives with them, and then she grows up and when she's about 22, she gets engaged to a furrier.

What were furriers doing? Was it just collars? Dr Emily Brayshaw is an honorary research fellow at the University of Technology, Sydney School of Design.

Oh no, no, no, it was everything. So you know, we actually have collars definitely, but also gloves, muffs trims on hats. We know that people wore doublets.  And these are a style of jacket that came together at the middle. These are menswear. So it's a snug fitting jacket that's shaped and fitted to the man's body. The doublet gave a fashionable shape and padding to the body. And it also supported the hose, like the pants by providing ties so you could tie your hose to the doublet and it also gave warmth to the doublet but richer men would slash it and show the lining underneath and sometimes we have images of this being fur so you'd have like fur trim poking out you'd have fur collars you know you could wear Fur coats, as much fur as you want to.

And  when we talk about fur also from the era, it's really interesting. Like, they're all different types of fur that was worn. So Brescia, there are portraits