CESARE CANDI

Lutherie

Cesare Candi was born in Bologna in 1869. On the death of his father in 1884, the 15-year-old Candi began an apprenticeship in the workshop of luthier Raffaele Fiorini. Four years later he left Bologna for Genoa, to join his brother Oreste who had found employment in a workshop making mandolins and guitars. The Candis started their own business in 1892, focusing on plucked instruments to begin with. Cesare also trained as a violin maker with Enrico Rocca and Eugenio Praga, opening his own workshop towards the end of the century. His instruments won awards at exhibitions in Milan (1906), Bologna (1907) and Cremona (1937) and he was highly acclaimed for his decorated instruments. After Rocca’s death in 1915, Candi took over his role as curator of Paganani’s ‘Il Cannone’ Guarneri ‘del Gesù’, still housed in Genoa’s town hall. Candi’s apprentices included Paolo De Barbieri and Giuseppe Lecchi. He died in Genoa on 29 September 1947.

INSTRUMENT

The double bass shown here is a 7/8-size instrument. It is unlabelled but was probably made in Genoa around 1920. Despite being a century old, the bass is in excellent, near-pristine condition. It is owned by the Dutch Musical Instruments Foundation and played by a member of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

MATERIALS

The two-piece front is made from medium-grain spruce. The arched back, also of two pieces, is made of nicely figured sycamore, the figure slightly fading towards the edges. The head and ribs are made from similar pieces of sycamore.

FRONT AND BACK

The arching of the top gradually rises from the edges to a fairly medium height. There is a relatively long flat area that continues to the widest parts of the top, beyond which it gently slopes down towards the edges. The thickness of the edge at the bouts is 6mm, rising to c.6.5mm at the C-bouts and corners.

The back arching is also of medium height, with the highest point at the middle of the C-bouts. It gently slopes in one smooth arch towards both the edges at the bottom-block, while the bend in the back is positioned roughly at the plate’s widest point. The bend is not sharp, but merely curves around the ribs.

F-HOLES

The f-holes are fairly long, with the balance towards the lower wings. The upper eyes have a somewhat petite diameter while the lower eyes are much bigger.

The corners of both back and belly are relatively long, and all original. The ‘white’ strip of purfling may be poplar and the ‘black’ of stained sycamore.

HEAD

The head is made of a similar piece of sycamore, with still the original neck. A fairly long pegbox winds into a circular volute, ending with an extra half-turn at the ‘comma’. The volute and fluting are relatively deep. The chamfers are of slightly smaller dimensions, with no traces of blackening as is often seen on Cremonese instruments.

VARNISH

The oil varnish is a wonderful rich orange colour, laid over a golden ground.

ALL PHOTOS CATHY LEVESQUE

• MAKER CESARE CANDI

• NATIONALITY ITALIAN

• BORN 1869

• DIED 1947

• INSTRUMENT DOUBLE BASS

• DATE c.1920

All measurements taken with a tape measure