About Me

French until the age of 19, but now more and more Italian.
Father of three children, indefatigable researcher.
Artist, teacher of violin making and Tai Chi Chuan.

I was born in the south of France in 1959, into a family of three generations of carpenters.

I studied mathematics, physics, chemistry and technical drawing, taking the Baccalaureat in 1977.

A natural feel for woodworking and a strong passion for music led me, in 1978, to enter the International Violin Making School of Cremona.

In 1982 I was granted the diploma of Master Luthier under the guidance of Maestro Francesco Bissolotti.

In 1986 I began my career in Parma as a professional luthier, simultaneously pursuing my studies and research in the quest to perfect my knowledge.

Since 2014 I have been teaching at the International School of Violin Making Renato Scrollavezza.

My Method

Whilst searching for the secret of Stradivari,
I found my own.

Sound is simply the physical compression and expansion of air. I imagine music to be an invisible sculpture made of air, characterised by a mélange of three components: shape, volume and colour. For me, this air is pivotal in the creation of the sound and therefore it makes perfect sense to use this as my starting point.

The model defines the volume of air that vibrates when the instrument is played. It is for precisely this reason that, when I draw a new model, I search from within the laws of harmony for a guide to determine the proportions to give the instrument.

When using the same model for many instruments, but working with materials which, by nature, always react in different ways, my method permits me to adapt the mechanical exigency of each piece of wood without ever altering the air mass.

I have developed my own rationale, drawing on the hypotheses of the reflection of sound inside the sound box as advanced by Euro Peluzzi, integrated with the classic Cremonese method, as explained in the work of Simone F. Sacconi, handed down to me by the teachings of Francesco Bissolotti.

The work of authors such as Emile Leipp on acoustics, André Roussel on mechanical functioning and Carleen M. Hutchins on tuning the plates, inspired me to complete my own personal method.

The facility with which all of these topics perfectly integrate with each other convinced me of the superiority of the ancient Cremonese method.

I like to say that this methodical process, together with regular sound tests actually carried out during the construction, allows me to sculpt the sound as I sculpt the wood.

Simple tools, hands, ears, sensitivity and intuition form the foundation of the method, and when it is possible to work together with the musician, his ideal of sound can be brought into being and painstakingly crafted.

My Instruments

Federico De Mori

Federico De Mori (from the surname ‘Mori’ of my wife) is my Italian spirit. The instruments that I sign with this name represent the expression of my art in the classical style of Cremona, and are made according to the old traditional methods of this school.

Why a ‘stage name’? I spent many years training myself to assume the gestures and the techniques of an Italian violin maker of the sixteenth century, driven by the conviction that the methods and knowledge of this era were tantamount to crafting instruments of the highest quality. After so much time spent pretending to be an Italian in the Middle Ages, I ended up even wanting to have the name...

Violin, 2000

Violin, 2002

Frédéric Noharet

I sign with my given name the instruments that I build by following my own personal instincts, while respecting the pillars of the ancient Cremonese method. Antonio Stradivari himself has shown us the way, experimenting and decisively moving away from the established methods and recognised features of the work of Nicolo Amati, his Master, and already the best violin maker of his time.

Having found a consistent and reliable way to produce high quality instruments has also shown me how much creativity and imagination we lose when we focus on the few models that have been copied for the past two centuries.

Therefore, alongside the traditional violin making of FEDERICO DE MORI, I also offer a more modern approach that is dynamic and, dare I say it, innovative (see Ivan, the Crazy Violin).

Violin Emile, 1993

Violin, 2011

Violino, 2016

Ivan, the Crazy Violin

People often choose their instruments as they do their fashions:

When buying ‘off the peg’, one can try many instruments in the hope of one day meeting that of their dreams, only then to have to settle for less.

Conversely, while working on a piece that is ‘made to measure’, the result almost always ends up being a copy of a famous ancient instrument.

So why not plan the construction of an instrument like an architect designs a house, discussing directly with the future owner and reaching agreement over personal preferences and desires?

The possibility of designing ‘for the catwalk’, the playground of new, daring and eccentric proposals, was revealed to me upon meeting the violinist-actor, Pietro Mossa, and through the subsequent birth of IVAN, his crazy violin.

Workshop

Wood and music;
the wild darkness of the woods
and refinement of the spirit in art.

Since 1992 my cave, as I like to call it, has been located in one of the oldest buildings in the Oltretorrente quarter of Parma. In this popular neighbourhood, typical of the city and remembered in history for the episode of the barricades that prevented the entry of the fascists, the macchiette, typical folk, somewhat anarchic and eccentric in character could, until recently, still be seen wandering the streets of the neighbourhood, conjuring memories of a now extinct past. Oltretorrente still retains its popular character today thanks to the large presence of university students and numerous ethnic groups.

The Palazzo Platensteiner, once the seat of the Comune di Parma, forms the corner between Via Nino Bixio, and Borgo Guasti di Santa Cecilia, opposite the now deconsecrated church of Santa Cecilia.

Walking through the courtyard with its architecture typical of the cloisters, or varnishing an instrument by the window overlooking the church, I recall and ask for inspiration from Saint Cecelia herself, the patron saint of musicians and luthiers...