Musical instruments
Rocks, shells, and makeshift wind or string instruments carved out of wood accompanied mankind as it evolved until new forms of expression and communication were discovered.
If the soundtrack of our times is an electric guitar riff, a piano tune, or a drum roll, that of the past was the magic of the Pan pipes, brasses, violins, organs or Jew’s harps.
What all these instruments have in common – whether they are made with simple materials or with precious ones – is the masterwork of their craftsmanship, their practical use, and their beauty. These include clarinets carved from ebony, boxwood or apple wood through the use of a pedal lathe with the help of a copier to puncture the wooden reed. Then there are metal saxophones modelled from cast iron or plaster casts on whose bells the craftsperson etches his or her own “workshop mark” and embellishes it with floral decorations. Meanwhile, the ghironda, the hurdy-gurdy typical of the Val Chisone and the Occitan tradition, combines the creativity of the string-instrument maker and the technical skills of the wood worker. The most important Italian ghironda maker can be found at Piasco in the Cuneo area. Here Guido Ronchail upholds the string-instrument-making tradition of the past as he transforms their sound boxes into little woodwork masterpieces. He puts in inlay in walnut root and cherry, carves handcrafted handles, and polishes it all with pure beeswax. It makes you wonder just how much time it takes for just one instrument. Well, there are at least 250 work hours.
There is an important Piedmont tradition of lute-makers. The handicraft lute-maker of Arquata Scrivia (in Alessandria Province) produces instruments prized all over the world. Traditional organ making in Brondino-Vegezzi Bossi di Centallo (Cuneo) dates back to the 1500s. There is the acoustic magic of the fortepiano of the Debiaggi workshop in Quarona Sesia (Vercelli).
Romeo Aichino has been recognized as a master accordion maker and appreciated for his choice of woods and his nail-work on the skin of his instruments. In Castelnuovo Scrivia (Alessandria) the Patricola brothers make oboes and clarinets. There are 38 companies that are recognized as of “Handicraft Excellence” in Piedmont Region. This large number makes us feel that, at least for now, rock and electronic music have not yet driven the musical craftspeople into extinction.
