Dialogues around the luthier’s Workbench: reflections on the study of musical instruments as repositories of knowledge and memories

Abstract

In the last few years, actions to study, safeguard and revitalize Portuguese traditional wire-strung guitars multiplied all over the country. The ‘viola toeira’ (one of those guitars) captured the interest of luthiers and musicians, paving the way for revivals. This paper is an outcome of a case study based on the cooperation between an ethnomusicologist, a musician, and a luthier, in the context of his workshop. Fieldwork combined the analysis, restoration and subsequent performance of a ‘viola toeira’ built ca. 1890. Following authors such as Qureshi (2000), Bates (2012), Dawe (2012) and Rancier (2014), we envisioned this instrument as a fertile repository of knowledge and memories. Previous research revealed that the making of this instrument went into decline by the beginning of the 20th century, suspending a lineage of luthiers dating back (at least) to the mid-19th century, thus causing a break in the technical training necessary for its manufacture. This study sought to have a practical reach: we looked at the old ‘viola’ as an archive of helpful knowledge both [1] for luthiers, by analyzing its organological features, identifying the raw materials and discussing its acoustic properties and impacts on its sound and [2] for musicians, through digging this viola's memories, looking for and interpreting the marks of use engraved by its player(s), aiming to increase knowledge about performing techniques. This hands-on approach highlighted that luthiers, musicians, and researchers can be differently interpellated by the same instrument, making room for [1] new historical findings and interpretations and [2] the discovery of the ‘viola toeira’ musical potential, opening a space for new artistic approaches. We sustain that this collaborative and interdisciplinary approach can contribute to the sustainability of Portuguese wire-strung guitars construction and performance, in the 21st century. The study gave rise to a visual ethnography that we intend to share.