Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Hamma Hannachi
Published on 2024-03-24 09:37:37
Stradivarius, a name of a flower, an insect, a prehistoric creature? You’re wrong; it’s the legendary name of the most expensive violins in the world. Stradivarius simply comes from its brilliant inventor Antonio Stradivari, the Italian luthier from Cremona (Lombardy), born a little over three centuries ago, who gave the most perfect shape to the cello, the viola, and charted a unique destiny for the violin. Stradivarius embodies perfection, excellence. His secret? Pieces of spruce, maple, and ebony wood, well balanced, pigments and layers of varnish, skillfully composed, molds, … and human genius (mathematical calculations, etc). All of this produced heavenly sounds… and generated significant prices.
In the musical world, the name has become a legend, and the prices of the instruments (aided by speculation) have reached stratospheric heights. The luthier made a thousand copies of violins, cellos, violas, and a few guitars, of which six hundred models remain currently cataloged in the world. Undoubtedly, the musicians who play these unaffordable instruments are the best virtuosos of their time (Menuhin, Perlman, Stern, etc.), they are not commonplace on the streets or in popular show scenes. The name Stradivarius has become immortal, commercial brands have taken hold of it, a record company, trumpets, champagne, a clothing brand that features the treble clef.
If I mention this violin name in this mood, it’s because I’m shocked, saddened by the inevitable and rapid disappearance of the luthier profession in Tunisia. Visiting a town in eastern Turkey (Gaziantep) nearly six months ago, I discovered, not surprisingly, a whole street dedicated to this profession closely linked to that of musicians; in Istanbul, there is a neighborhood reserved for luthiers, in Marrakech, in Aleppo (before the holy revolution) and in other Arab cities, luthiers who are a showcase of the musical world honor the city; they have their quarters, streets, a name, their clients, the enthusiasts, etc. What remains of this profession in our country? There are not more than ten artisans (being generous). There was a time when a family represented this profession, the Jemaïel, Abdelaziz and his son Hédi; today, the art of luthiery is barely surviving (until when?), passing away without the oversight (craftsmanship, tourism, culture) taking notice.
A few artisans survive (Maher Cherif, Belasfar, etc.) and luthiers from the Office of Handicrafts who make instruments, mainly intended for tourists, notes musician-luthier Riadh Fehri, who informs us that there are seven or eight luthiers for the entire country. A sad reality!
A question worth asking: how do the hundreds of singers and luthiers evolve or manage to find, order, and choose their instrument?
Read the original article(French) on La Presse Tunisie
