This lecture, given with the luthier Olivier Pont, presents a panorama of the bowed instruments appeared in Western Europe since the introduction of the bow in the 11th century. It details their technical specifities, their manufacturing processes, their evolution. It reveals the sources on which the reconstruction of the instruments and their bows is based and reports on the uncertainties and questions that arise from the choice to stay as close as possible to incomplete historical evidence.
Lecture duration 1h30