Get Your History On!

On a recent trip to New Haven, CT, I was most fortunate to have the opportunity to visit the Yale University Collection of Musical Instruments. Located at 15 Hillhouse Avenue, it is definitely a must see stop on any walking tour of Yale. Admission is free and trust me, if you have any kind of appreciation for ancient instruments, particularly strings, you will be blown away by what there is to see.

I was particularly surprised by the apparent excellent condition of the many pieces within the collection given their age and the full lives they have most likely experienced. Upon review of the Collection's website, they verify that many of these instruments are, in fact, in playing condition.

Armed only with a cell phone camera (and not a very good one at that), an unfortunately tight time schedule and no note paper, I took what pictures I could and tried to commit pertinent information to memory the best I could (silly me). Given more time, I would happily have stayed longer than my non-musical friends could have stood.

The bass viol pictured above was one of the highlights of my visit. If you think you've seen old fiddles, you haven't seen anything yet. This viol was made by G.B. Ciciliano in Venice, Italy ca. 1550.

The museum is also home to a genuine Stradivarius, built by Stradivari when he was 92 (What will you be doing when you're that old?). Unfortunately, it was not on display for security reasons. Don't worry, however, as there are many beautiful violins on display by master luthiers of similar skill with nearly as notable names.

It felt like such a privilege to see the works of makers such as Gagliano, Testore, Rogeri, and Stainer. I was a kid in a candy store - even if I couldn't touch them. I snapped off pictures of my favorites as fast as my horribly slow cell camera would allow. Unfortunately, my memory couldn't keep up with whose violin was whose with any type of reliable precision, so I am going to say that I think the lovely violin pictured to the immediate right is the Rogeri from ca. 1690. You'll have to go visit to see if I'm right or not. lol.

There were no shortage of musical curiosities as well. The instrument pictured below is called a Mayuri and is an Indian instrument. According to the description inside the display case the neck was placed against the player's shoulder so that the feet of the peacock could rest on the floor. Age was not known, but this piece like all the others we saw was beautifully conserved and preserved.

So, the next time you're in Connecticut take the time to stop and see this incredible collection. You'll be glad you did. It really opened my eyes to much of the history of stringed instruments that I was truly unaware of. It certainly increased my appreciation of my own violins, even it they are of more "humble" origins.