A MAKER IN THE ROUGH

Tuscany in the 19th century was home to numerous luthiers, some of whom were carpenters who turned their hands to instrument making. Florian Leonhard examines the career of Luigi Cavallini, a lesser-known self-taught maker whose work, while unusual in parts, displays a surprisingly high level of craftsmanship

This 1890 Cavallini viola, which displays unusual f-holes, is described on page 52

ALL PHOTOS FLORIAN LEONHARD

The golden age of violin making in Tuscany spans the whole of the 18th century. All of the region’s most influential luthiers worked during this period, and the start of the industry’s decline can be dated to the death of one of its most significant figures, Giovanni Battista Gabbrielli (1716–71). The work of these makers was concentrated on the dominant city of Florence as well as Siena, Livorno and Pisa, Tuscany’s predominant centres of commerce. But alongside the activity of such crucial instrument makers as Gabbrielli, we find an abundance of minor craftsmen, such as those living in the ancient city of Arezzo, in the Valdichiana area about 50 miles south-east of Florence. This lesser-known Tuscan metropolis has long been a draw for artisans and is still an important centre of artistic heritage, with its Church of San Francesco boasting incredible early Renaissance frescos by Piero Della Francesca. Here, luthiers such as Pietro Ugar (c.1747–1819) and the little-known chitarraio (guitar maker) Jacopo Salvadori lived between the 18th and 19th centuries. Their period of activity was closely followed by that of Lorenzo Arcangioli (1825–74), the only luthier in the city who owned a fabbrica dedicated to constructing musical instruments in the second half of the 19th century.

In this period and context, fabbrica (‘factory’) indicates a place where specific items were manufactured; in this case it refers to the Arcangioli workshop. Arcangioli presented two examples of a violoncello da spalla at the last Tuscan Exhibition of Arts and Manufacturing, held at Florence’s Palazzo Vecchio in 1854. That same year, according to contemporary records, he employed three makers, producing high-quality wooden musical instruments, especially violins. We also know that Luigi Cavallini and two of his brothers moved to Arezzo around 1860, and they may have worked for Arcangioli.

A late 19th-century photo of Monte San Savino, Luigi Cavallini’s birthplace – one of the oldest surviving views of the town

Luigi Cavallini was born in 1828 in Monte San Savino, a historic town within the province of Arezzo. Here he lived until he moved to Arezzo aged around 32. He was a minor luthier yet a skilled one, although few of his instruments are widely known today. He was also the father and first master of the more famous instrument maker Ettore Oreste Maria Cavallini, known primarily by his second name Oreste (1868– 1934). Luigi Cavallini was primarily a falegname; commonly rendered as ‘carpenter’, the term in 19th-century Italy could indicate a wide range of skills that also involved the making and restoration of stringed instruments. He moved to Arezzo when the city began to see the first changes that would affect its social composition. The city had been strongly tied to agriculture and had been marked by significant social immobility. Then, from the middle of the century, changes began to occur through the slow appearance of a middle class.

This violin made in 1770 by Giovanni Battista Gabbrielli is an excellent example of the golden age of Tuscan violin making

Detail from an archive document on the musical instrument factory owned by Lorenzo Arcangioli in Arezzo in the 1850s

Luigi Cavallini and his brothers are listed as ‘falegname’ on this 1862 registry of the economic status of Arezzo’s population

This violin was made in 1852 by Raffaele Desideri and is an excellent example of the production of violin makers in central Italy

In particular, Arezzo saw the flourishing of a lower middle class, through merchants, artisans and employees, which led to the development of a third sector in a society hitherto comprised of nobles and peasants. This period also saw the emergence of a proletariat. However, rather than industrial development, the changing economy was more a matter of manufacturers, small factories and craft workshops, many of which were small and family-run. This is the context in which we have to consider the activity of Cavallini, who probably worked together with his brothers in the workshops of artisans such as Arcangioli until he set up his own.

Coming from a family of carpenters, Cavallini and his brothers probably moved to nearby Arezzo in search of work, owing to their precarious financial situation. In the censuses containing information on the household members and economic status of families for Arezzo from 1862, he is described as a carpenter, and his status was so low that he was defined as impoverished. However, by 1864 his situation already seems to have improved. Still, we must wait until the 1871 census to find him described for the first time as a restorer of musical instruments.

We can assume that, from his arrival in Arezzo, and certainly during the 1870s, Cavallini dedicated himself to the construction Extract from the list of prize winners at the national musical instrument competition held in Arezzo on 20 September 1882. Luigi Cavallini’s name can be seen among the bronze medal winners and restoration of musical instruments. In the second half of the 19th century the musical activity in Arezzo, as in other minor centres, was in the hands of private amateurs who organised academies, concerts and theatrical performances. The most important institution was the Philharmonic Society, founded in 1832, which began to play a fundamental role in Arezzo from 1867, when Cavallini had been in the city for some years. His main customers were very likely his fellow citizens, who managed and benefited from this local music activity. As well as stringed instruments he made diatonic accordions, as is demonstrated by his participation in the 1882 ‘Feste’ – Arezzo’s national agricultural and industrial competitions.

Arezzo’s Viale Cavallotti alla Barriera V. Emanuele

Piazza Principe Amedeo

Top and above Details of the 1871 census where Luigi Cavallini is described as a restorer of musical instruments

ALL PHOTOS FLORIAN LEONHARD

The event also included a national musical instrument competition. Around 90 artisans took part in five categories, including stringed instruments. Among the participants there were several prominent Italian luthiers, including Valentino De Zorzi from Pistoia, who won a silver medal for his mandolins and bowed instruments. Cavallini also participated in the event and was awarded a bronze medal for an organetto, a mano (a small diatonic accordion) and unspecified bowed instruments. We know that in those years his son Oreste was already working with him; in fact, on the label of one of Luigi’s 1887 violins (see page 52), we find the following printed inscription: Luigi Cavallini & Figlio: Premiata fabbrica d’istrumenti a corda (‘Luigi Cavallini & Son: Award-winning stringed instrument factory’). However, we do not know the precise location of Luigi’s workshop in Arezzo. We know for certain that in the year of the census in which he is described as an instrument restorer (1871), Luigi lived in Via dei Pali, the same area of Arezzo shown on the birth certificate of his son Oreste, born on 1 January 1868. Perhaps Luigi’s workshop was in this area of Arezzo, or Via delle Derelitte, indicated as his home in other documents, including his death certificate of 1901.

CAVA LLINI’S MAIN CUSTOMERS WERE LIKELY HIS FELLOW CITIZENS, WHO MANAGED AND BENEFITED FROM LOCAL MUSIC ACTIVITY

Label of an 1887 violin made by Luigi Cavallini in Arezzo

All measurements taken with a tape measure

Label and scroll of the 1890 Cavallini viola

ALL PHOTOS FLORIAN LEONHARD

The situation is different for Oreste, who had his own recognised, and certainly prolonged, period of activity in Arezzo. Indeed, he was mentioned in two city guides before he moved to Florence. In the first, written by Alessandro del Vita in 1923, in the section dedicated to applied art and craftsmanship, we find a specific section devoted to the Cavallini workshop.

Oreste is described as a skilled master craftsman specialising in repairing antique violins, with an extensive national and international clientele. In the section dedicated to musical instruments, the 1925 illustrated guide by Ubaldo Pasqui and Ugo Viviani mentions the workshops of four craftsmen: Ermenegildo Casi; the Peccianti-Landi company; Luigi Conti and that of Oreste Cavallini in Via Pescaia.

AN 1890 CAVALLINI VIOLA

The viola shown on page 48 dates from 1890, when the makers of Tuscany no longer adhered to a school. Rather, as in the eastern part of central Italy, individual makers were influenced by the examples they had seen. Consequently, this viola is an excellent example of minor Tuscan lutherie. It is of surprisingly high craftsmanship for a maker without formal training, displaying precisely inlaid purfling and clean mitres with consistent chamfer and edgework covered in a pleasantly coloured varnish and ground.

What is immediately noticeable about this instrument is the relatively soft edgework. With its more loosely formed corners, this viola doesn’t strictly adhere to the earlier principles of Renaissance makers, where radii in the bouts result in more precisely drawn corners. Also, the channelling is quite peculiar: the lowest point is situated far inside the purfling, and the highest point crests the rounded-off edge at such a flat angle that it results in this smoother-looking edgework. The purfling also has quite wide fluting, where the highest point of the edge is the outer ‘black’ of the purfling. These are of clearly irregular thicknesses, which can happen during the process of shooting them through a plane.

The instrument bears no location pins. The choice of wood is relatively simple in that it includes abnormalities such as knots in the back and extra solid and wide grain on the table.

On the corner of this Cavallini viola, the channel is soft and flowing

A similar quality can be seen on the corner of this 1827 Arcangioli violin

WITH ITS MORE LOOSELY FORMED CORNERS, THIS VIOLA DOES NOT STRICTLY ADHERE TO THE EARLIER PRINCIPLES OF RENAISSANCE MAKERS

The autodidactic maker saw himself less bound by rules, as expressed by the very different f-holes seen here. Perhaps the artisanal atmosphere in Arezzo proved to be a secondary inspiration for this particular creative flair.

The confident carving of the scroll further illuminates the ability of the maker to execute his own individual artistic vision directly, resulting in a volute that is very evenly carved, gradually unfurling from the eye to the pegbox. It features a strong and deliberate chamfer with the volute being gouged in a hollowed-out manner – in contrast to, for example, the straighter traditional Cremonese style. This has resulted in a very sharp edge between the chamfer and the channelling of the innermost spiral. This viola has an original label and the clean internal work, showing no toothplane marks, is all made from pine.

Interestingly, despite Cavallini’s background in carpentry, without direct connection to violin making, the ground and varnish he applied resemble that of the Florentine makers in the first half of the 19th century, such as Piattellini and Arcangioli.

We can see comparisons between the purfling, edgework, corners and varnish. The varnish quality, in particular, is quite probably a thinly applied oil-based varnish of a hard and very transparent quality. One can see the corner work, where the channel is not too pronounced but rather soft and flowing, which is seen on late Piattellini, Cavallini and Arcangioli models.

We do not know how Luigi Cavallini became involved in violin making; perhaps it was simply because the Cavallini brothers worked for Lorenzo Arcangioli in their first years in Arezzo. In any case, taking Cavallini as an example, we can reflect on the fact that many Italian luthiers of the second half of the 19th century were mainly carpenters who were also able to dedicate themselves to the restoration and construction of instruments. Nevertheless, much remains to be discovered about the minor Italian violin makers of the second half of the 19th century. I hope that sharing this unpublished information about Luigi Cavallini allows us to understand the context in which his instruments were made.

Florian Leonhard’s latest book The Makers of Tuscany is now available for preorder: bit.ly/3ISw2YI