Il Cannone - Historical Edition

When Paganini was on the scenes the way of playing the violin was very different from the modern.
One of the several reasons may be detected in the use of the fittings: fingerboard was shorter, bridge were generally lighter and thinner, strings were made of plain gut (a part from the fourth string that was wrapped with metal wound).
From the documents and letters left by Paganini and from some evidency on the Cannone violin, we are sure that he never used the chinrest nor any metal string.
The recent finding of the original fittings used by Niccolò Paganini allow us to better understand many hidden aspects of his playing technique.
This particoular copy of the Cannone reflects Alberto Giordano's ten years experience in managing the violin of Paganini and it is based on the studies undertaken for the recent restoration work.
This violin is made using the ancient cremonese making technique as written by Roger Hargrave and John Dilworth in the book published by P.Biddulph.
Giordano's intention is to reproduce the Cannone as it was more than as it is: in spite of merely reproducing the antiqued image of the violin, he looks more for the real 'engine' of the violin of Paganini: archings and thicknesses are precisely reproduced as well as the nailed-to-the-block neck and more generally all those particoular proportions of the Cannone.
Finally the fittings: Giordano's copy shows extremely precise reproductions of the fingerboard, the bridge and even the gut strings used by Niccolò Paganini.
And this is it.


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The Bow

Together with the Cannone the city of Genova acquired after the death of the Paganini two bows. One of them is particoularly interesting: it bears a label sealed with wax on the wrapping, handwritten by Baron Achille, son of Niccolò Paganini stating that it 'was the only one used by my father throughout his entire carrer'. The bow shows now the evidences of a hard life: broken in several parts, it was repaired by Jean Baptiste Vuillaume who reinforced the cracks with a cotton thread wrapped around the cracks.
Master bowmaker Pierre Guillaume of Bruxelles recently attributed the bow to the workshop of François Nicolas Eury: the reproduction he made, hereby represented complete this project of Paganini Historical set.
Musician will be able to play in the exact condition of the most famuos violin player since ever...