THE ORPHEON FOUNDATION

MUSEUM OF HISTORICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

In the service of a living tradition:


A future for our past,
a past for our future



Venerable Ambassadors From a Distant Past

Orpheon wishes to open your eyes and ears to the marvellous world of string instruments of the Renaissance, the Baroque and the Classical Periods. May we have the pleasure of your company for a stroll through our galleries...?

The collection now contains over 170 instruments (viola da gamba, viola d'amore, violin, viola, violoncello, violone, baryton) and historical bows dating mostly from 1560 to 1780, all restored to their original playing conditions and placed at the disposal of members of the Orpheon Orchestra, Orpheon Consort, and professional musicians and university students all over Europe for concerts, recordings, contests and study purposes. Its owner, Prof. José Vázquez of the University for Music and the Performing Arts Vienna holds that it is the living acoustical heritage - the sounds that these instruments produce for those living today - that interests us, and not their mere decorative flair as objets trouvés from aristocratic residences of our distant past. We wish to hear what these instruments have to say and we wish to learn from them about the manner of performance of their musical heritage from the Renaissance, the Baroque and the Classical Periods.

Defining our mission:

 It is a singularly beautiful and unique - perhaps even miraculous - process, which this collection wishes to preserve for mankind. 

Our Past
The violin maker of former times invested all of his knowledge, his skill, but also all of his love to produce an object of consummate beauty whose sole purpose, however, is to produce an incomparably beautiful musical sound. The composer of his time was doubtless inspired precisely by the marvelous sounds issuing from these finely crafted instruments to create compositional masterpieces of profound emotional expression.

Our Present:
The professional musician and the student of today, if given the opportunity to work with such a fine instrument, acquire a knowlege about the aesthetics of the period in light of which the poetic masterpieces of those composers should be interpreted. This musician, now acquainted with the instrument and its music, is thus in a position to present to the public of our day those exquisite compositions, performed on the very same instrument that a fine craftman had created on his workbench three, even four hundred years ago! The instrument maker, the composer have long perished, but their legacy lives on, enriching our lives today as they enriched the lives of many along the way and will continue to enrich the lives of many in generations yet to come. Absolutely astounding!

Our Mission for the Future:
Upholding this tradition, unbroken since the violin left the atelier of its birth, is the mission which Orpheon has chosen to assume. The reception and the impact of these exhibitions prove that the general public fully understands and appreciates the significance of this message.

We hope that you, too, will welcome these venerable ambassadors from a distant past . Lend them your ears, for they will move your soul and change your life.


EU-PROJECT 2007: EXHIBITION & CONCERTS


I. The Collection

Gallery

Violins Family
Viola da gamba Family
Viola d'amore

Baryton
Keyboard Instruments
Wind Instruments
Original Bows

The Museum Project
On the viola da gamba


III. The Current projects

Where is the collection now?
Our Courses, Seminars

EU-PROJECT 2007

Help us find instruments?
Links

Search for Instruments

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Contact us

updated 20.11.2007