violone

In 2007, the Musical Instrument Fund commissioned Jaap Bolink to build this violone. Funding was provided by the Dijkverzwaring Foundation. Hans Roelofsen had submitted a request for a violone, which he had been searching for in vain for years. Bolink and Roelofsen worked closely together and concluded that combining two characteristics of the violones Roelofsen had played during his search would result in the perfect instrument. In Leipzig, he played a 1662 Thielke; in Toronto, an Italian instrument.

The combination of characteristics from these two instruments—one with a curved back, the other with a flat back and a violin shape—ultimately formed the basis for the violone that Bolink built. It thus became an eclectic instrument, as Roelofsen called it, “with the same depth as a double bass, but with a richer tone and a higher register that is easier to play due to the fifth string above the four that overlap the bass.”

Hans Roelofsen was the long-time player of the Hilversum instrument; Rudolf Senn and Frank Dolman have borrowed the violone on a project basis.