JACINT PINTO

ALL PHOTOS JORDI PINTO

Lutherie

A close look at the work of great and unusual makers

Violas have always been in constant evolution since the earliest times. There has always been a demand for a viola small enough to be played without extra effort, but big enough to have a powerful sound. How to solve the puzzle? Ramón Parramon (1880–1955) thought the modern viola sound was closer to that of violins than cellos, so he took inspiration from the 1690 ‘Medici, Tuscan’ Stradivari tenor viola to create a full-sounding viola with its own personality.

Two important musicians endorsed this new instrument: Pablo Casals openly backed the tenor viola, as can be seen in some of The Strad ’s advertisements of the 1930s; and Bernardino Gálvez Bellido – the cello soloist of the Pau Casals Orchestra – played it in many concerts around Spain and even in France.

Four luthiers worked at the Casa Parramon workshop during those years. One of them, my great-uncle Jacint Pinto, made some of these Parramon tenor violas. The one shown here was a personal gift and tribute from Parramon to Casals, and is housed at the Pau Casals Museum at el Vendrell, about 40 miles south of Barcelona.

INSTRUMENT A range of different, though not incompatible, features converge in this instrument, enhancing its distinctive character. On the one hand, tenor violas are exactly like any other instrument made by the luthiers who worked at Casa Parramon: they have their own style regarding design, arching, f-holes, neck and scroll, even the wood. At the same time, however, they reveal a marked French style, like those made in France during the first third of the 20th century. Jacint Pinto, head of the workshop, had learnt the trade in both Paris and Mirecourt.

MATERIALS The top is made of two pieces of spruce of a straight uniform grain. The back, ribs and scroll are made of fine flamed maple.

ENDPIN/PLAYING TECHNIQUE Although it is tuned like a viola, it is played with cello technique thanks to its long endpin, a combination of a wood stick and an iron spike, with the help of a screwed fastener that allows the musician to determine its length.

VARNISH The varnish, as is usual on many Parramon instruments, is orange–red over a yellow–gold ground.

LABEL The label is a double one; the classic one of all Parramon instruments is glued over a larger piece of paper where a dedication from Ramón Parramon to Pau Casals is handwritten and signed. There is a general number for all Parramon instruments (this one is number 149) and also a specific number for the tenor violas: this is number 14.

SOUND Owing to its size and proportion, closer to a 1/8-size cello, the sound is much fuller, rounder and more powerful than any standard viola. It can be perfectly played together with piano, in trios and quartets or even in orchestras.

Thanks and acknowledgments to the Pau Casals Museum and Foundation www.thestrad.com

All measurements taken with a tape measure

Bernardino Gálvez Bellido playing the tenor viola