Violin made in Mirecourt, 1903
This violin has now sold.
About Mirecourt violins
Mirecourt is situated in the Vosges area of north-eastern France and is considered to be the birthplace of French luthiery. The town became a centre for luthiers as early as the end of the sixteenth century, growing rapidly as craftsmen from other areas came to join its workshops.
Later, trade expanded to such an extent that by the twentieth century around 80,000 instruments a year were produced in the Mirecourt workshops. Instruments from this period generally display excellent craftsmanship and tone wood of good quality: this violin is a good example of both.
About the violin
This violin was made in Mirecourt in 1903. It was labelled to be sold in Paris as a `Violon d´artiste´, one of the higher grades of French workshop violins.
The violin has a two piece back of book-matched maple and a two piece front of fine-grained spruce. The wood is of good quality, as is typical of Mirecourt instruments of the period. The varnish is amber in colour, laid over a lighter golden ground.
This violin was made in a workshop, meaning that it was made by a number of highly-trained luthiers who each had their own responsibilities within the making process. This practice allowed the workshop to standardise quality whilst making a great many instruments.
Instruments from the Mirecourt workshops at this time are almost always modelled after Stradivari: this violin is more unusual in that it is modelled after Amati. I particularly the Mirecourt Amati instruments as they often have a slightly rounder sound than their Strad-inspired cousins. The violin has a length of back of 360 mm.
How does it sound?
The violin is even across all the strings and has an easy responsiveness that makes it very satisfying to play. It would make an excellent upgrade from a contemporary violin as it offers the sophistication of tone and variety of colour required to explore more challenging violin repertoire.
Condition
The violin is in excellent condition with no cracks.