Musical Instrument
Building Courses
at Marholmen , Sweden
Unique in the World
By Kenneth Sparr
©
Stockholm , Sweden
2009-12-01
This article in Swedish
Report
on Making a Clavichord after NM 264.785 in Musikmuseet at the
Instrument-building Course at Marholmen, July 26 - August 12, 1999
Johan Gabriel Högwall -
fortepianomakare i Göteborg
Kenneth Sparr´s Page
In 1980 I participated for the first time
in the musical instrument building courses at Marholmen. The courses had
started already the year before, in 1979, and on many occasions I've been told
about the ordered chaos that prevailed during the first summer. It was a daring
project initiated by HansErik Svensson and Arne Lindberg, which in 1996 for the
18th time could be fulfilled successfully. When you count the instruments that
have been built more than 50 clavichords, 74 lutes, 11 guitars and three
citterns; you have all reason to get impressed. We are many people who should
be grateful for the pioneering work of HansErik and Arne to revive the old traditions
of crafts concerning the building of musical instruments and particularly with
respect to the clavichord and the lute. The courses at Marholmen are without
doubt unique in the world concerning both the length of experience, the result
and the quality of the work. They certainly deserve a much greater attention
than they have had up to now.
The author playing his Martin Hoffmann-theorbo in 1997 (photo Anders Lindfors).
Freedom and food
I can well recall my first summer at
Marholmen. I had ordered a clavichord kit from the
The First Instrument
During the first couple of years the
instrument builders were working in the lecture room of the main building as
the new house still was not built. Delicious scents came from the kitchen and
the food was always nearby. The beautiful, but no so well adapted lecture room
was really thronged with builders. I was placed in the middle surrounded by
other keen pupils, older and younger, women and men. The crowding grew as the
pupils dispersed their things, tools and instrument parts, but this situation
was manageable due to the nice company. It was a diversified collection of
instruments, which the pupils worked on. There were me, Johan Denke, Anders
Eriksson and Martin Haag with clavichords, Lars-Gunnar Bergmo with a portative,
Birsen Battal, Mats Guilletmot, Ulrika Holmer, Ingemar Nilsson, Rickard
Stålbrand, Nikolai Suursööt and Peter Thelenius with lutes, Marie Selander with
epinette des Vosges, Bengt Matern with harpsichord and János Mártony with
fiddle. I was a beginner and I had not much experience in woodworking and particularly
not in lutherie.
The parts which will become a lute.
At this point I did not realise the importance these courses would have in my life, but I certainly was quite enthusiastic already from the first day. The fact that the instrument was finished during the course was of course an important factor. However this clavichord did not function so well as a musical instrument, but the leaders of the course are not to blame. The clavichord kit had several drawbacks. My son Gustav, then three years old, often stood beside me when I was working, and held on to my ear lobe. It was not easy then to concentrate on the work.
Gustav at the left and Arne Lindberg at the right with the clavichord in the middle.
Gustav
did not really think it was so funny when his father built instruments instead
of playing with him. After that summer my son associated "Marholmen"
with "summer holidays" and during several years he did not want to go
on "summer holiday". No, the combination of musical instrument
building and small children is not uncomplicated. My daughter Sanna on the
other hand amused herself with HansErik's daughter Åsa and they even, to their
joy and horror, succeeded to catch a few small perches, which they immediately
showed us with a terrified pride.
The World Around Disappeared
But Marholmen to me is just not building
musical instruments even if this is the most important part. Already the first
year I appreciated the other features of Marholmen: the abundant, particularly
delicious and nearly culinary catering, the simple, but beautiful and cosy
rooms, the close and friendly contact between staff and pupils, the freedom and
openness, the lovely nature with bathing and sauna at our very doors, the nice
excursions on sea and on land. During the first years there was a problem with
fresh water and I can still remember the taste of the slightly salted water you
brushed your teeth with, if you had the time for these trifles. The nature was
rather wild around the school and the big conference centre nearby was not yet
built. However, the geographical area you moved in was normally very small:
between the workshop/dining-room, the hostel and the bathing-place. Those who
didn't bathe only moved between two points. Another experience was that the
pupils soon show very little interest in the events of the world. You don't
look at TV, you don't read newspapers and Marholmen itself constitutes the world.
The pupils also become closely connected to each other as you live together
(work, talk, eat, bathe and take a sauna) all day and night with the exception
of a few hours of sleep. There was plenty of fun and we tried to outdo each
other with odd jumps from the high-board and who could get the most heat in the
sauna and put up with it. A memorable occasion in 1985 was when ca 15 naked men
tried to sink a small rowing boat by just standing in it. However, we didn't
manage to sink it in spite of numerous trials. There have been a lot of
music-making from Birsen Battal's playing on a saw, the simple plucking on a
lute or playing on a clavichord to musical peak performances in the villa.
A Playable Lute
Since then and during the following 17
years I have been to many of the courses and the results have been several
finished instruments but also restorations and repairs. We are a few persons
who have been diligent participants during many courses. The remembrances from
all summers run into each other, I must confess. During a few summers I was
only visiting the course, but immediately I became envious of those who were
building instruments. In 1984 I built my first "real" instrument a
ten-course lute after Hans Frei, active during the 16th century. We could now
work in the new building, more appropriate but less beautiful. I have always
worked keenly and relatively fast (and sometimes a bit carelessly). The lute
was playable at the end of the course and I was very proud. It was the first
musical instrument I had built nearly from scratch. However, I have to admit
that it was the merits of Arne Lindberg that made the building process work so
well.
The soundboard bars are planed
In the building of a lute there are some
critical moments which can be very stressful for the pupils, but particularly
for the teacher who is more aware of all the labour, sweat and almost tears
which will be needed to correct any mistakes. The only moment you can't get
done is the finishing of the instrument (French polishing etc.). Some of this
could be done at home during the winter, but it is always a good excuse for
returning to Marholmen the following summer, if only for a few days. So I did
in 1985.
Smell the Wood
What a feeling it is the first day of the
course to stand before the little pile of wooden parts which eventually
together with much and joyful labour will become a finished musical instrument!
To feel, to contemplate and to smell on the wood, to choose timber for the back
of the lute all this creates a delight which is difficult to describe in words.
Many of the newcomers perhaps don't realise the amount and the length of the
preparations Arne and HansErik have gone through in the winter and the spring.
They have spent many hours and days at the band saw, the planer and planning
for the next course, surely a both tiresome and tedious work, which still
demands concentration and accurateness. Arne's and HansErik's preparations
before and work during the course are quite crucial for the results that the
pupils obtain. The participants get opportunities to develop many aspects of
the human nature, which is another feature of the course. It is not only a
matter of the work of the hands but equally important are the intellectual
processes. One is impressed by the ingenuity and creativity which many students
show during the favourable conditions that are offered by the Marholmen
courses. Those who are interested in human behaviour in different situations
have an abundance of object for observation as you hardly can hide your true
personality during the process of building, it's a mixed blessing really!
A Pile of Wood and a Booklet of
Instructions
The construction process of course varies
according to the type of instrument. During the years Arne and HansErik have
developed a self-instructive written material which describes the construction
process step by step. It sounds comfortable and simple enough: a pile of wood
and a manual. Well, it is just to start the process! But, it is an almost
impossible task to describe the construction process minutely in words and
images. The manual also has to be completely intelligible and clear. Unforeseen
surprises occur all the time and inevitably you will make bigger or lesser
mistakes or other deviations in the construction process. The comprehension of
written instructions varies from person to person and it is strange to see how
many different interpretation people can find of the same text. The written
manual is however a good aid and means that Arne's and HansErik's knowledge can
be used in a more efficient way. For the beginner it is always difficult to
decide where, when and how the important moments occur and you may easily waste
a lot of energy on sanding and sanding parts of the instruments that never will
be visible or where you instead could have used a cutting tool. There is always
a tendency that the beginner without due cause complicates matters which after
all are quite simple and on the other hand simplifies moments where
consideration and concentration are required.
Clavichords and Grobert Guitars before a try out concert.
I believe that building a musical instrument of your own, particularly if it's a true copy of an old instrument, give you some ideas how experienced artisan may work. My admiration has grown steadily for the skill, intelligence and the aesthetical knowledge of the old artisans who under more primitive circumstances could create and make so beautiful and appropriate objects. This knowledge may as a matter of fact also be used in many other contexts of life. The construction and building of musical instruments furthermore will give you fundamental and important skills in general cabinet-making, finishing, the use and care of hand tools and other devices. The clavichord builders also will learn about fundamental chromatology, to mix pigments, test different colour combinations etc. The professional musician should never underestimate the value of learning how his instrument is constructed and how it operates.
The Guitar of Paganini
For a couple of years I had tried to persuade Arne Lindberg to include a copy of an older guitar type in the program of the course. The reason was entirely selfish: I was very keen on building this kind of instrument. However, later it was obvious that other people also was interested in building a guitar of this kind. I was quite aware of why Arne hesitated a bit: a new type of instrument means a lot of preparatory work for the teachers. However, my nagging was successful in the end: Mats Guilletmot and I became guinea pigs and built the first two guitars in 1987 after a drawing of the famous guitar by Grobert, an instrument formerly owned by both Paganini and Berlioz.
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Mats however, bathed and jumped too much
with the result of a broken arm and he could not finish his guitar. He was in a
terrible pain and we all felt pity for him. Well, this a typical of Marholmen:
the few physical injuries which have occurred during the years seldom or never
have any connection with the construction of instruments itself in spite of
that there many opportunities to cut, saw and plane yourself and others.
The stringing of a clavichord needs a nimble hand.
One summer at Marholmen I devoted to
repair a few old guitars . This was a useful experience and addition to my
knowledge of old musical instruments. I think it was this summer that Javier
Hernandez came directly from
An Ordeal for Married Life
I had sold my first clavichord and in the
course of time I had with some envy looked upon those who were building
clavichords. It looked easy enough compared with building a lute: make a box
and then fill it with small wooden parts, strings, wrest and hitch pins, you
name it! In 1992 I got the opportunity together with my wife to build a clavichord
after an original by Philip Jacob Specken under the constantly inspiring,
challenging and competent guidance by HansErik Svensson. What could have been
an ordeal for our married life instead became a pleasing co-operation even if
my wife's enthusiasm for building musical instruments lies far behind mine. She
showed however both an excellent taste and skill when it came to paint the
clavichord. It was an entirely different experience to build a clavichord
compared with building a lute. It was less complicated in some respects and
with more room for sound improvements with the finished instrument.
In the music museum in
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This guitar is the only of this type to
have been built, which is a pity as it always is interesting to compare similar
instruments. Surely, there are more beautiful baroque guitars to copy, but I
take offence when my wife calls it "a paddle"!
A finished replica of a Swedish clavichord by Specken, built by the
author.
When you have built your clavichord you
need something to put it on and the instrument then also can form a whole. In
1994 I built a leg stand and again I showed my ignorance in believing that this
would be an easy task finished within a week or so. It of course took longer
time than that and my esteem for good craftsmanship increased at the same time.
A few more pictures of the finished Specken clavichord:
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The Masterpiece
In 1995 it was time for the
"masterpiece" of the lute building: the 13 course baroque lute after
Martin Hoffmann. Only one had been built before and both Arne and I were
anxious to hear the sound of it. I had made some preparations at home. There
were some decorative ornaments on the peg boxes of the original instrument,
which I wanted to copy both for the appearance, but it also was a challenge and
an opportunity to gain some more experience and knowledge. It took its time,
but went reasonably well. The problems appeared when all things should be
fitted to the instrument. Wood is a living material and it decides itself how
it will form and you have to suit yourself to that.
A 13-course baroque lute after Martin Hoffmann is tested in the
workshop.
My finished Martin Hoffmann baroque lute
In the summer 1996 I was, together with
Daniel Noblía, "relegated" to the building called
"Reträtten" (the retreat) where we both worked with the restoration
of two old square pianos. I had rescued an old square piano built by Johan Gabriel Högwall from the 1810s and Daniel worked
with a later instrument by Pehr Rosenwall. This relegation was however very
tolerable and we had a nice co-operation. If you needed more company there were
only of few steps to the other participants of the course.
Musical Orgies in the Villa
However, the main task of musical
instruments in life is not to be built but to played. During several summers we
have had the privilege to have the Finnish organist Mikko Korhonen as a tester
and he has given us many musical "orgies" through his improvisations
on all sorts of clavichords. These highlights have been performed in the best
room of the beautiful villa, where you have been able to lean back in the
uncomfortable, and rather ugly, but impressive sofas inspired by the Rococo.
A collection of lutes and Grobert-guitars from the courses.
In 1996 Mikko Korhonen gave a beautifully
sounding combined organ and clavichord concert in the lovely
Internet Recruits
A thrilling and exciting feature of the
courses has been the international participation of pupils from Germany, Cuba,
Switzerland, Norway, Finland and the USA A whole Finnish colony with above all
Pekka Vapaavuori as a quick builder, always enthusiastic and inspiring has been
present at the courses during many years. One of the participants in 1996, the
70 years old Robert (Bob) Buzzard from New Mexico, USA, had been recruited with
the most recent information technique: through Internet and the e-mail network
that exists between lutenists all over the world. Pleasant breaks in the
building process have been the many people, which have visited the course one,
or a couple of days: relatives and friends to the participants, past participants,
musicians, people from museums etc. On some occasions the visitors have brought
interesting things as for example when Felix Wolff from the Music Museum in
Stockholm came with his string making machine, constructed after an old model
in the French Encyclopaedia and which we all with great enthusiasm got the
opportunity to test.
Recording in the Grödinge church with lutes from Marholmen .
Last but not least it is important to
call attention to the elements of experiments and developments of the courses.
If you participate very occasionally this may not seem obvious, but those of us
who have taken part in many of the courses this is quite evident. Arne and
HansErik strive continuously to develop the methods of working and to search
for an increasing improvement of the qualities of the musical instruments. The
building process becomes a fruitful dialogue between teacher and pupil where
many new ideas crop up all the time. Some of these ideas are worth developing,
others are thrown on to the rubbish-heap. Small changes and adjustments are
made upon earlier experiences, tests are made, one listens to the results, some
changes are adopted others are discarded. This aspect of the courses also make
them unique: nowhere else in the world has it been possible to collect all this
experience and knowledge in a similar way. For my own part these courses have
led to a serious addiction and since many years I find it difficult to imagine
a summer without this course.
The 1998 Course
During the summer course 1998 there were
fewer instruments built than before, which meant a slower pace than usual.
Three lute builders attended the course: Alan Jowett from
The author is making bindings on the guitar. Photograph: Alan Jowett.
Because of the international participants
the language of the course became English and gave us Swedes good training. As
usual some participants from earlier courses came to finish and paint their
instruments. Mikko Korhonen played the clavichords during unforgettable
evenings and Pekka Vapavuori lectured on his experiments with the clavichord,
and illustrated his talk with his own, new CD. A couple of new clavichords were
built of which one was a modification of the Specken model. It became a bigger
instrument, but not as big as the late Swedish clavichords. It will be very
interesting to hear this clavichord when it has matured. Almost all lutes, all
clavichords and the guitar were playable at the end of the course and duets
were played on the lutes and the guitars.
Arne Lindberg and
The two foreign lute builder spent many hours
on packing their instruments for the flight transport. Lutes and flight
transports are a difficult area if you want to arrive with an unbroken
instrument. Much thought and packing creativity was performed! However, both
lutes from Marholmen arrived safely to their final destinations.
From the left Jorge Bertholdo dos
The guitar soon accompanied its builder
to
Pictures of the original instrument and
the copy of it:
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The 1999 course
The 1999
course was quite different from the earlier. HansErik and Arne had been
informed that this should be the last course at Marholmen due to economical
difficulties. However, it is quite obvious that the management of the school
never was really interested in the courses or understood the true value of
these unique events. It is very strange indeed that a world unique activity is
closed with a few lines with a pencil. It does not even get a worthy end and
nobody is there to thank HansErik and Arne for their valuable work with the
courses, which have been going on for the last 20 years. Hopefully there will
be others who can appreciate this unique activity and provide good
opportunities for HansErik and Arne to continue.
Due to the
uncertainty whether the courses will continue or not only few new instruments
were built in 1999: one lute and two clavichord. Several participants from
earlier courses came to finish or adjust their instruments. A seven-course lute
was built by Christian Vanderkerkhove, a Belgian who had found information
about the course on Internet. Here a few pictures of Christian and his lute:
Mikko and Minna Korhonen built a five
octave modified Specken clavichord. I built a small clavichord after an
anonymous instrument in the Music Museum, Stockholm. In fact, the instrument
was built for the museum as a record of the courses at Marholmen and to provide
the museum with a playable copy. The work included a photographic and written
documentation of the whole building process. The museum is planning an
exhibition in the beginning of 2000 where original instruments together with
copies of these instruments and among them the small clavichord. You can find
more information about the exhibition on the homepage of the museum.
The table meeting the builder on the first day.
The material for the clavichord was of
superb quality and it really was a joy (and a great responsibility) to work
with it. The building process was going on well and the clavichord was playable
and even painted during the course. The finished colour was a bit of a
surprise. It turned out to be more blue than we had planned. As a beautiful
Swedish summer sky!
Mikko Korhonen prepared to play the small, newly painted clavichord.
As before Mikko Korhonen offered the
course participants many occasions to listen to his magnificent playing on the
clavichords. He found time and energy to do that although he and his wife Minna
at the same time were building a large clavichord! Almost every evening there
was a small concert, but we also had opportunity to go to Furusund and listen
to the Swedish early music ensemble Mare Balticum as well as a combined lute,
organ and clavichord concert at Länna church.
Kenneth Sparr and Arne Lindberg tuning lutes from Marholmen at the
concert in Länna church.
The 1999 course was very calm and
harmonius. The work was only interrupted a few times when we had visitors,
among them Felix Wolf and John Huber from The Music Museum in Stockholm.
Interestingly enough we had opportunity
this last course at Marholmen to watch and listen to the development of
clavichord build during these two decades. Several vintages of clavichords were
represented which clearly showed the development but also gave evidence
of the good start. The Specken clavichord made by Bengt-Olof Sahlin from the
first course in 1979 was an excellent example.
Three Specken clavichord of different vintages.
Finally I would like to express my
sincere thanks to HansErik and Arne for many, wonderful summers at Marholmen. A
thank should also be directed to Mikko Korhonen for all the musical highlights
he has offered.
Mikko Korhonen, Arne Lindberg and HansErik Svensson.
Read more about the courses
Those interested to get more information about the courses may consult the following articles by the author:
Konsten att bygga luta på 14 dagar [SGLS
18/1985 nr 3 s. 14-26]
Gitarrbygge sommaren 1987 [Gitarr och
Luta 21/1988 nr 1 s. 34-50]
Gitarrbygge på Marholmen 1993 [Gitarr och
Luta 27/1994 nr 1 s. 3-6]
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