by Massimiliano Dragoni

The smell of shellac, alcohol, wood, a radio that is always on, two small work tables and a unique artistic and craft experience: this is Maestro Vincenzo Cipriani. In Santa Maria degli Angeli, a traditional violin maker's workshop finds its place in a society that quickly changes, a laboratory stopped in the centuries and managed by the tenacity of an excellent character.

From musician to violin maker Born in Rome, raised in Assisi, son of the commander of the city police in the 1950s, Vincenzo has always loved music, first as a chorister, then, albeit briefly, as a clarinetist in the town band, for then get to his passion, the classical guitar: from rock to author's music, up to the Menestrelli of Assisi, who for years he himself led, to mandolin, mandola and guitar. The life of Vincenzo, is an album of very important photos of the city of Assisi, and he runs it lucidly in his own hands, when he tells all the details of an artistic existence. When Vincenzo and his wife Anna, a beloved teacher in the city, moved to Reggio Emilia for work reasons, at the beginning of the seventies, the passion for the guitar became irrepressible, so much so that it was studied in the most classic way and pushed him to first attempt: the construction of the number one. Vincenzo loves to tell this particular moment, when the workshop was the living room of the apartment in which they lived at the time. Technical expert of timber and technical design, for the various working occasions he experienced, he succeeded in composing masterfully the guitar that still makes his eyes shine. His classical guitars are now played all over the world by great soloists. The return Back to Assisi, with two children, building a house, returning to life and marking the local time, Vincenzo continued to experiment in a small workshop. Meanwhile, the classical guitar has become his profession: hundreds of students in the last forty years have taken the first steps with him and in many cases have turned him into work.

 

From the frescoes to the instruments Curiosity, the active experience in the Calendimaggio of Assisi, of which he was a fundamental interpreter, the love for frescoes and history, led him suddenly to the turning point of his life as a luthier: the reconstruction of medieval instruments and Renaissance. Cipriani's practice is always empirical, attempts on attempts, experience on experience, sometimes encyclopedic on woods and their veins, on the hill, on seasoning. Vincenzo's gestures are actually part of an ancient art and a rituality that ties him to nature from which he takes the raw material: seeing him feel a fir board is an unforgettable experience, as well as digging wooden blocks and making them musical objects unique. Starting from a fresco, studying it, creating a reliable proportion, correcting the painter - who did not always intend to represent the instrument as such but as a symbol - understand the style of the performer who will use it: these are some of the qualities and virtues of the Magister Cipriani. Watch Giotto, Lorenzetti, Cimabue, Matteo da Gualdo and many other artists who have given to posterity - click on the "play" button to listen to the audio - the beauty of figurative art, the world as a lawn to color with its flowers is the fundamental experience of Vincenzo's approach: our luthier, bases his observation on the proportions between the face and hands of the represented musicians and often speaks of how a face is about twenty centimeters and on this side to reconstruct the instrument represented in a manner proportional and therefore able to play ..

Vincenzo The kindness of this "laboratory man" is valued by everyone, as is his avant-garde internet communication skills. Being available is the reason why many people approach Vincenzo for advice, to experiment with their tools, to learn: he teaches, in his style, dedicates time and attention, gets curious and strongly binds his own being to inputs that come from the outside. It teaches, yes, as usual, with doubt, observation, friendship and a lot of respect. A person to know, with whom to talk and above all to listen to for the incredible adventures of a unique pioneer in ancient Italian music. Thanks to Vincenzo, today, it is possible to listen to musical repertoires preserved in the historical archives and in the libraries of our cities, resonate in a living way and closer to the era in which they were written: it is certainly a second father for all the musicians who met him .