A Tale of Two Violins
Discover how an eighteenth-century violin from the Vleeshuis Music Museum collection inspired a contemporary maker to create a new instrument.
Forgotten violin makers
Does the name Amatus Amandus Stiennon ring a bell? Unlike Stradivari, whose name is famous around the world, most historical violin makers have faded into obscurity. This is also true of many makers who worked in what is now Belgium.
An historical instrument
Amatus Amandus Stiennon is one of these forgotten violin makers, and his work merits renewed attention.
The Vleeshuis Music Museum preserves a violin made by Stiennon: a rare surviving testament to his craftsmanship.
Painted lid of a virginal (1580/1650) by AnonymousMuziekmuseum Vleeshuis
Amatus Amandus Stiennon
Born in Antwerp on 27 August 1755, Stiennon grew up surrounded by music: both his father and his godfather were musicians. Shortly after 1785, Stiennon began working as a musician at Antwerp's St George’s Church.
Census records from his lifetime identify Stiennon as a musician rather than an instrument maker. Yet musicians at the time often made their own instruments. Stiennon probably made dozens of violins during his lifetime, but only two are known to survive today.
Violin (1792/1792) by Amandus Amatus StiennonMuziekmuseum Vleeshuis
Craftsmanship
The violin preserved in the collection of the Vleeshuis Music Museum demonstrates Stiennon’s mastery of his craft. Its carefully carved scroll, elegant f-holes and well-controlled arching reveal an experienced hand.
Every detail of the violin demonstrates that Stiennon was not merely a musician who occasionally turned his hand to instrument making, but a skilled craftsman with a thorough understanding of the violin maker’s art.
Maarten De Keukeleire in his workshop (2024/2024) by Frederik BeyensMuziekmuseum Vleeshuis
Inspired by the past
To bring Stiennon’s work to renewed attention among the wider public, musicians and present-day violin makers, the Vleeshuis Music Museum invited contemporary violin maker Maarten De Keukeleire to create a new instrument inspired by Stiennon’s violin.
A new instrument
Maarten carefully studied the original instrument and used what he learned as the basis for a contemporary interpretation of Stiennon’s work. The resulting violin forms a tangible link between past and present.
Listen as Maarten describes the process of making his new violin.
Violin (2024/2024) by Maarten De KeukeleireMuziekmuseum Vleeshuis
Unlike the original, the new violin still has a flawless coat of varnish. Over time, handling and playing will leave scratches, dents and other traces of use: tangible signs of a living instrument.
Violin (2024/2024) by Maarten De KeukeleireMuziekmuseum Vleeshuis
Violin backs are usually made from maple, often with a distinctive flamed pattern, while the tops are generally made from spruce. Slow-grown mountain spruce develops the density and even grain prized by violin makers.
A new composition
The museum commissioned composer Frederik Neyrinck (left) to write a new work for the new violin, inspired by eighteenth-century dance music from Antwerp. Violinist Linde Verjans (centre) was invited to perform the resulting piece, entitled St. Lucas Suite.
Listen to Linde Verjans perform Frederik Neyrinck’s St. Lucas Suite on the violin made by Maarten De Keukeleire.
Violin (2024/2024) by Maarten De KeukeleireMuziekmuseum Vleeshuis
More than two centuries separate the violins made by Amatus Amandus Stiennon and Maarten De Keukeleire, yet the new instrument carries the story of the old into the present. Through craftsmanship and music, Stiennon’s almost-forgotten voice can resonate anew.
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