Cello Awards

Last November, I was pleased to finish a cello in time to participate in the 23rd International Violin making competition held by the Violin Society of America (VSA) in Cleveland.

Among the 68 cellos presented, my instrument was awarded a Double Certificate of Merit :

-a Certificate of Merit for Tone by judges and cellists Dane Johansen, Jeffrey Solow and Brian Thornton.

-a Certificate of Merit for Workmanship by judges and violin makers Ulrike Dederer, Antoine Nédélec and Raymond Schryer.

It was a great achievement and honour to be rewarded for my work in this way. For a violin maker it is significant and meaningful to receive such distinction at this international level and to see the results of years dedicated work acknowledged and encouraged.

This event is also an excellent opportunity to acquire a representative overview of global contemporary instruments which were, in my opinion, quite remarkable in quality.  It also gives to participants the opportunity to discuss their individual work with the judges. Thank you and congratulations to everyone who took part in it!

I also wanted to personally thank Paul Marleyn, Rachel Mercer, and Raphael Weinroth-Browne for their time and useful feedback while adjusting the cello.

This 2018 Dequincey Cello has a body made of Canadian poplar and spruce. The maple neck and pear wood scroll are sourced in Europe.

Copyrights © 2019-2021 Charline Dequincey. All rights reserved.

Making a cello

Very nice cello, with a handsome varnish. The sound is well balanced with a deep and strong C string, which can be difficult to find in a cello. I also like the width and projection of the A string sound.”

Paul Marleyn, Professor of Cello at the University of Ottawa

www.paulmarleyn.com

Poplar Cello all copyrights Ch. Dequincey

A musical instrument such as a violin, viola or cello is the result of an accumulation of decisions from its conception (and wood choice) to its set up including the design of its outline, proportions, arching shapes, distribution of thickness, sound hole placement/shapes, neck measurements, etc. Despite certain standardizations created by the historical evolution of the instrument, we are still left with a relatively large range of choices.

Before starting an instrument, it is quite important for me to define clearly what I want to achieve in terms of sound, comfort of playing and style. This helps me to determine what model of instrument I’ll be working from. I then decide how much freedom I’m going to take with the entire design: if I’ll base it on a particular instrument or maker, or if I’ll just work from a general feeling of a violinmaking school/period and create my own outlines.

I personally fancy the dark and deep quality of the lower register in quartet instruments, so when I got access to a source of poplar big enough to built cellos, I thought it would be perfect since poplar has a reputation for creating a darker sound in violas and cellos. While I was researching more about it, it also seemed to be associated with quieter instruments. I thought this would make an interesting challenge: to try to get both projection and depth in the lower range of a cello.

With this goal in mind, I picked a model with proportions that would serve this purpose, while also ensuring that the body measurements remain in a standard range that would be comfortable for a cellist to handle. Of course, the overall look is also quite important to me and was taken into consideration. From this starting point, all subsequent decisions were based on previous experience making cellos, observations I gathered working on older instruments as a restorer and influences from publications on related topics. One source of inspiration that was particularly helpful was Frank Ravatin’s talk entitled ‘’Cello making, models and measurements’’ given in November 2004 and published in the Vol. XX, No3 of the fall 2006 VSA journal.

One might never know, but some unexpected exceptions to what we thought was the rule might bring us to revise all our conceptions, and such it is the exciting learning curve of a violin maker’s journey. I’m generally quite curious before playing an instrument for the first time, and especially when trying a new model! Did the elements come together as expected? I was quite pleased with the results of this last instrument.

As a limited cello player, I felt very lucky to get feedback from professional cellists performing in Ottawa.  I would like to thank them all warmly for it. As a maker working for and with musicians, it is essential for me to stay in touch with their needs and variety of tastes. Therefore, after benefiting from their experience, I was able to make some final adjustments on what turned out to be a very fine instrument!

Poplar Cello 2014 © Ch. Dequincey c

Copyrights © 2016-2021 Charline Dequincey. All rights reserved.

Forum des luthiers / Maker’s Forum

Je suis heureuse d’annoncer que je participerai au Forum des fabricants organisé par la maison Wilder & Davis à Montréal le samedi 6 décembre. Ce sera une bonne occasion de revoir des collègues et de présenter au public montréalais un violon 7/8ième et un alto de ma facture.

Au programme également, un concert du « Quatuor d’occasion », un récital en duo composé d’Andrew  Wan et Jonathan Crow, suivit d’une démonstration de sonorité avec Frédéric Lambert.

Passez nous voir!

—————————-

I am pleased to announce that I will be participating in the Maker’s Forum organised by Wilder & Davis‘s workshop in Montreal this coming Saturday the 6th of December. The Forum will be a good opportunity to catch up with colleagues and present a 7/8th violin and a viola I made to Montreal’s public.

There will also be a concert given by the “Quatuor d’occasion”, a recital featuring the duo Andrew Wan and Jonathan Crow, followed by a sound demonstration with Frédéric Lambert.

Come visit us!

 

 

Forum des fabricants Montreal 2014