The 1910s Hellenic lutherie in America
A side by side comparison between the 1911 Anastasios Stathopoulos bouzouki and the 1910s Fotis Vracas bouzouki, reminded me the long lived speculation and debating hypothesis that Anastasios Stathopoulos small body bouzoukia may have been created initially as mandoles and mandocella.
On October 2013 an unexpected email by the physicist and luthier Giannis Koukourigo, prompt me to write the following article :
It is remarkable that the two Greek luthiers form New York appear to construct at the same time two completely different style instruments. If we take in consideration Theodoros Karabas laouto-bouzouka and Panagiotis Tsimis modern bouzoukia, then the above hypothesis becomes even more complicated
From a first look , is instantly obvious that the Anastasios Stathopoulos 1910s bouzouki resembles a Neapolitan mandolin carrying a long neck ( shape and curvature of the body, decoration, steep step of soundboard), where the Fotis Vracas 1910s bouzouki is very similar in dimensions, look, design, fret-markers position (seimiothesia), and sound to the pre war Peraiotiko era bouzoukia.
The talented luthier, author and researcher Petros Moustakas (moustakasinstruments.com) has conducted an intense research and has extracted a theory regarding the fret-markers position on the early 20 century bouzoukia. Accordingly to Petros early bouzoukia follow three provisions. These three provisions facilitate the use of different tunings and tonal bases. Here is the complete article from Petros:
Left: Anastasios Stathopoulos . Right: Fotis Vracas
Left: Anastasios Stathopoulos . Right: Panagiotis Tsimis
On November 2012 after an intense personal research, I conducted my own theory and hypothesis regarding the origin, style and form of the early pre-war bouzoukia
All above three (3) theories are nothing more than theories for now. Maybe in the end the truth lies beneath the traces of all the above theories !
Here a quick sound comparison between Fotis Vracas and Anastasios Stathopoulos bouzoukia . Tuning Do-Sol-Do, string gauges 9-9/12-12/9-9-22
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