A significant and remarkable 1628 Nicola Amati Copy exhibition violin by the Forum of Canadian Violinmakers, made in Montréal, Canada between 2023-2024.
The tone is bloomingly cheerful, radiant, smooth, with a focused edge that has a projecting and well defined core sound, coupled with a fast and immediate response.
The project included CT scans of the 1628 Nicola Amati violin, which is housed at the National Music Museum in Vermillion SD, were made by Tom Wilder and Guy Harrison. Luthier Raymond Schryer
converted the DICOM files into STL format to allow for 3-D prints and technical drawings.
Rémi Rouleau, director of the École Nationale de Luthérie prepared plans, templates and
coordinated the production of casts of back, top and scroll.
In October 2023 leading up to the exhibition of the Forum des Fabricants at the Montreal
Conservatory, 11 prominent Canadian Violin Makers came together at the Collectif to create a copy of the Witten Rawlings Amati violin on the basis of these templates, drawings and casts using highly selected quality materials.
Recorded making list of this Amati copy:
Rib structure : Isabelle Wilbaux and Fabienne Gauchet
Scroll : Guy Harrison and Isabelle Wilbaux (peg box)
Fingerboard : Garth Lee
Back Arching : Lucas Castera
Top Arching : Fabienne Gauchet
Bass bar : Guillaume Turgeon
Fluting and neck prep : Itzel Avila
Fluting and purfling : Nicolas Legault-Cavallero
Outline : Sibylle Ruppert
Back thickness : Nicolas Legault- Cavallero
Top thickness and f-holes : Isabelle Wilbaux
Edge work : Louis Gord
Neck set and neck shape, varnish consultation, label : Philip Risacher
Varnishing, antiquing and set up : Sibylle Ruppert
Coordination and artistic director : Fabienne Gauchet
The unvarnished violin was exhibited in Montreal at the Forum exhibition in 2023 and later
transferred to the Ruppert Walke workshop, Paisley SW Ontario, where it was finished with the
input of previously participating makers. It was also exhibited at the New Instrument Exhibit at the 2024 Violin Society of America Convention in Indianapolis.