A 16th century double bass is showcasing its sonorous and growling tones in its most prominent role yet in Australia.
It was made more than 430 years ago by the man considered to be the father of the double bass, Gasparo da Salo.
The shape and technique of crafting the instrument he invented in Northern Italy is used to this day.
For the belly of this oversized bass, da Salo sourced the oldest, biggest and finest piece of wood he could get his hands on in the 1580s.
“They go to sleep. They close up if they're not played enough so in the past two years it's been a voyage of discovery to see what the instrument can do.”
“It adds another dimension to the orchestra. It lifts the whole sound of the orchestra, just like a sub-woofer would in your best stereo system,” says the ACO’s Principal Double Bass player Max Bibeau.
Stroking the richly stained, gnarled looking front of the bass, Mr Bibeau tells SBS how tree-ring analysis (dendrochronology) has established that parts of the wood used date back to the 13th century.
“The oldest ring is from 1266, and we assume that they didn't cut the tree and use the absolute first ring to the last ring on it so it would've been a 300 year old tree minimum. So it was growing in the middle ages,” he says.
Last year, Mr Bibeau made a pilgrimage to a monastery in northern Italy to find out more about the history of his curvy companion he has nicknamed Sophia.
"So far we've traced it back to 1869 being in the Abbey. Potentially it was there for another 300 years. To have survived that long someone must've loved it, to protect it," he says.
Mr Bibeau's 'Sophia' is currently starring in the ACO's Mostly Mendelssohn series featuring Giovanni Bottesini's Gran Duo Concertante for Double Bass and Violin.
Standing next to this impressive instrument while it's being played is literally a moving experience, with vibrations able to be felt through the floorboards.
There is a magical quality surrounding the aging process of ancient, string instruments like this one. The more they're played and the older they get, the more beautiful they sound.
Mr Bibeau says it’s been a remarkle journey getting to know his instrument.
“They go to sleep. They close up if they're not played enough so in the past two years it's been a voyage of discovery to see what the instrument can do,” he says.
The bass lets out a dark, grumbling groan as Bibeau runs his bow over the lower registers.
The rare sound of a 16th century giant rousing from its slumber.
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