The Kessler Collection
Fund raising raffle
Your chance to win this Bass Viol for only £5.
Between the 26th to the 30th of May 2008 a group of international viol
makers made a copy of Dietrich Kessler's Richard Meares bass viol.
View the making of this instrument: www.bois-lutherie.com
Purchase raffle tickets online:
http://www.thestringzone.co.uk/cart.php?target=product&product_id=1569
Hear, see and try the viol on its European tour, check
regularly for dates and places and a chance to buy more tickets:
Viola da Gamba Society Meeting
8th November, London
http://www.vdgs.org.uk
Greenwich International Early Music Festival
14th, 15th & 16th November:
Queen Mary Ante Room
Marc Soubeyran Stand
Maker's Demonstration Recital by Ibi AZIZ
16th November:
http://www.earlymusicfestival.com
The making team:
Pierre Bohr & Sergio Gistri from Italy
Gesina Liedmeier from Holland
Judith Kraft from France
Tilman Muthesius & Henner Harders from Germany
Jane Julier and Marc Soubeyran from the UK
The venue: "le bois de Lutherie" workshop, Fertans, France
All proceeds to "The Kessler Collection" fund
In memory of Dietrich Kessler 1929 - 2006
Dietrich Kessler was an outstanding violin and viol maker and restorer. Throughout a long career he worked closely with musicians, offering them in his inimitably modest way the benefit of his great experience and integrity, whether it was for the smallest adjustment or a major restoration. The viol and its music were always a special interest. During the course of his long working life he collected a few exceptional viols. They were not only precious to him and his wife, Jane Ryan, who frequently played them, but they also provided a source of research which proved ground-breaking.
In all, Dietrich left seven important bass viols. Four of the viols were made by English makers: John Rose c.1595, Henry Jaye 1619, Richard Meares c.1660 and Barak Norman 1693. Two of the remaining viols were made in Paris, one by Michel Collichon 1691 and the other by Claude Pierray 1709. The final viol is a Pardessus that Dietrich made himself and is a fine example of his style and craftsmanship.
As a testament to Dietrich's life's work, craftsmanship and his lifelong desire to inform people about viols, and early instruments in general, a Trust has been set up to preserve this unique collection as a single entity. The Trust, called The Kessler Collection will raise funds to buy the instruments from the estate and house them in a controlled environment within an appropriate institution. The intention is to make the collection available for the general public to admire as well as making it accessible under suitable condition to makers and musicians alike for both historical and performance-based research.