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Portrait
Arnaud Giral is a French luthier working from his own workshop in Bristol. He makes violins, violas, cellos and viols, mostly as historically informed copies of instruments from the early seventeenth to the early nineteenth century.
His approach is unusual. He works to whatever setup and stringing best suits the instrument he is copying, in the belief that a violin is only fully realised when its dimensions and its stringing are considered as one thing rather than separately. He achieves the sound he is after through experimentation and lateral thinking rather than by following a template, and works from G. B. Guadagnini among others. Every instrument leaves with his certificate.
His instruments are played by period-instrument specialists and modern players across the United Kingdom.
Arnaud brings a genuinely individual approach to every instrument and the craftsmanship speaks for itself. The result is a tone that is not conventional, which is exactly the point. The baroque violin we had was precise and balanced in every register with a powerful resonance throughout. For anyone in early music who has struggled to find a contemporary instrument that does not feel like a compromise, he is the first maker we would send them to.
Elsewhere
Compare instruments against each other, and against an antique, in a blind test with studio audio. No labels until you have chosen.
What models does Arnaud Giral work from?
G. B. Guadagnini, and models from the early 17th to early 19th century.
Where are Arnaud Giral instruments made?
In Bristol, the United Kingdom.
