Violin Octet New Voices for the 21st Century Volume 2, Number 5 Fall 2006 Hutchins Consort Brings Down the House at 2006 GAL Convention “We have followed Carleen’s work from the beginning be- cause there are fiddle makers among us, many of whom have been Catgut Acoustical Society members,” Olsen continues. “Carleen spoke at our 1979 and 1992 conventions. We glimpsed an octet at the National Music Museum when our convention was there in 1992, but there were no competent players to demonstrate them. So the octet has remained rather legendary to us. Here was our chance to hear them played well.” In the issue of the GAL quar- terly magazine, American Lu- therie, published just before the convention, Olsen featured an extensive interview of Carleen The Hutchins Consort at Lagerquist Hall. L-R: Gascia Ouzounian, Igor Tchetchko, Ethan Bust- Hutchins conducted by Alan eed, Carolyn Aquallo, Omar Firestone, Emily Dufour, Frederick Charlton, and Joe McNalley. Carruth. A sidebar tracing the histories of the Catgut Acousti- What was Tim Olsen, the Olsen admits that his organi- ship sprang up between the two cal Society and the New Violin founder of an organization of zation, the Guild of American men. Olsen had the idea to fea- Family Association, written by 3500 guitar makers, thinking Luthiers, is comprised mainly ture Spear’s violin octet at his Robert Spear, was also pub- when he invited a group of eight of plucked instrument makers, 2006 convention, but the Albert lished. A two-page centerfold of violinists to perform at his 2006 and that he has long wanted to Consort was unable to accept the full octet completed cover- convention? Admittedly, this attain a better balance. During the invitation. Spear suggested age in the magazine, making it was not your ordinary group the months leading up to Octet the Hutchins Consort instead. a memorable edition. of violinists, and, admittedly, 2005, the first international con- Olsen contacted Joe McNal- they were not playing on your vention of the New Violin Fam- ley and was delighted to learn “The concert was a payoff for ordinary group of violins! “What ily Association, Olsen worked that the consort was available, decades of references to these was I thinking?” muses Olsen closely with NVFA newsletter especially because it performed ideas in American Lutherie mag- with a smile. “I was thinking that editor Robert Spear on adver- on eight original instruments by azine,” says Olsen. “And aside it was a great opportunity!” tising and publicity, and a friend- Hutchins and her colleagues. from being a most interesting NewsJournal of the New Violin Family Association 2 New Violin Family Association NewsJournal Carleen Hutchins in the fall of 2005. McNalley says that one of the big reasons for acquiring another set was so he could de- velop more players. “We’ve got some new talent now, including Nathan Schmidt, a Juilliard and Eastman trained violinist and composer, who is working with the mezzo. Chris Otto, also from Eastman, is a fine new treble player and com- project in terms of physics and returned to play an encore, ing was mutual. Don Bradley, poser. Emily Dufour is playing music, an octet is a woodwork- “Ozark Swamp Gas,” by the who was in the audience for the cello-like instruments. Mark ing tour-de-force, an impressive consort’s bass player and com- the performance, said afterward Dresser, who old timers may achievement by any measure.” poser-in-residence, Frederick that any time a group of violin- remember played the big bass Charlton. Olsen said, “I think ists gets a standing ovation for the ASA conference in San If there were any remaining that the standing ovation meant from over 300 guitar makers, it’s Diego in 1982 or 1983, recently concerns about the mixture of a lot of things: respect for Car- a real accomplishment. joined our ranks, giving us an the octet violin world with the leen and the NVFA, honoring impressive one-two-three bass guitar world, they were quickly the sheer lutherie achievement Todd Rose, a guitar maker from section. Mark and I are plan- dispelled by McNalley’s low-key of one person building a com- Ithaca, New York, noted that the ning a duo record for the bass and light-hearted approach and plete octet (even aside from the sound of the octet was unlike instruments. We plan to add all the informal nature of the per- problem of designing the new anything he’d ever heard be- the new players to our website formance. In a nod to his audi- family), the skill and intensity fore, so much so that he made shortly. ence, McNalley used a Fender of the musicians, the success it a reference for other things electric guitar, played by his of the arrangements in demon- he heard at the convention. He “The consort was in the record- nephew, the rising young jazz strating the unique voice of the noted that the unified nature of ing studio in August. We record- guitarist, Tom McNalley, to play octet, and the success of the the voices between the octet in- ed concertos by Corelli, Torelli the continuo part in a piece by octet in extending the voice of struments was only half of the and Zavateri. We also recorded Antonio Vivaldi, explaining that it the violin across the entire mu- story; the other half was the uni- The Sweelinck Hodie, Grieg’s was a continuation of past prac- sical range.” fied nature of the voice of each Holberg Suite, Charlton’s ar- tices when such a part might individual instrument. Rose ad- rangement of Summertime and have been played by a lute. Mc- dressed a common misconcep- his Ozark Swamp Gas, which Nalley then mentioned that his tion about the Octet, usually put we played as our GAL encore other bass, which he uses in his forth by individuals who have piece. Piazolla’s Libertango traditional orchestra work, was not heard one, that an ensem- rounded off the effort. We start- several hundred years old, and ble whose voices blended so ed mixdown the second week of that the conventional instru- perfectly would have a bland or September. ments used by the other play- drably uniform quality. “I did not ers in his consort in the course find this to be the case with the “We have a fundraiser Novem- of their normal work were also New Violin Octet at all,” Rose ber 12 that will feature Chris quite old. His witty observation says. “I’d say it emerged as Otto playing the Goldfinch con- that the oldest instrument on the “authoritative. It was extremely certo, and our season opens stage at that moment happened powerful, to say the least.” Nov 17 at the Neuorsciences to be the Fender electric guitar Institute, with guest soloist Allan brought a roar of approval from Tim Olsen, founder, Guild of More on the Consort. Vogel playing the Vaughan Wil- his audience. American Luthiers. Consort founder and contra- liams Oboe Concerto. There will bassist Joe McNalley recently be another performance of the The crowd in Lagerquist Recital McNalley told us, “The conven- brought us up to date on con- same program Nov 19 at the Ir- Hall was friendly and recep- tion was terrific fun, and we had sort activities following the GAL vine Barclay. We are vigorously tive, and the consort received a very good tour overall. The performance. As many of our working on new press materials, a standing ovation at the end GAL was great group of people regular readers know, the group demo discs, and brochures.” of their performance. The group to play for.” Apparently, the feel- acquired a second octet from ♫ New Violin Family Association NewsJournal 3 Basic Violin-Making Acoustics Carleen Hutchins begins this nance is caused by air vibrating series of articles with an historical within the body, while the other What’s a Mode?? retrospective of the most fundamen- is caused by powerful move- tal concepts of violin acoustics for the ments in the wood. In conven- For our purposes, we make beginning violin maker. tional violas, both these reso- our definition not as though nances are placed considerably there were a number of higher than the tuning of the two physicists standing behind unstopped middle strings. us, but rather as if there were Main Air and Main Wood Modes a number of students stand- We eventually found that Jas- ing in front of us: In 1957 the composer, Henry Two Main Resonances. cha Heifetz’ beautiful Stradivar- I talked the concept over with Brant, rang my doorbell and ius violin had these two strong A mode is the normal John C. Schelleng and Saun- said he was looking for a vio- resonances directly on the two state or condition of an ders, who were not very enthusi- lin maker willing to try an idea unstopped middle strings, so object subjected to a astic about the idea. For a start, that he had. He wanted me to that when he tuned his violin to specific condition or set we agreed that a study of some develop and construct seven the orchestra before a concert, of conditions. violin family instruments that of the loudness tests Saunders the sounds from the two open could carry the sound and play- had made of famous violins and middle strings filled the whole Your team is losing late in ing qualities of the violin, its full violas might give us some clues. hall. With this encouragement, the game, and the sports- caster announces that the entire team is in “catch-up mode.” That describes a specific situation that influ- ences how the entire team in all its parts will normally respond, and it’s pretty easy to understand.