The Bowmakers
- Description
- Reviews
- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
THE BOWMAKERS is a new, feature-length documentary that explores the world of the bow and the extraordinary masters who make them.
The bow is the Cinderella of the orchestra—the overworked and overshadowed ally to its more glamorous partners. Few people, even among lovers of classical music, think of the bow as an instrument in its own right, but players of stringed instruments see them differently. To musicians, the bow is as essential to expressing the soul of the music as the violin or cello.
The film follows the journey of the “silent servant” of the music world—from the workshops of the virtuosos of the trade, to the birthplace of the bow in France, and to Brazil, home to the imperiled tree from which the world’s finest bows are made.
THE BOWMAKERS is an artful exploration of one of the most esoteric corners of the music world—as unknown to the public as it is essential to professional musicians.
“Watch these masters at work, and there’s no mistaking the intensity of the relationship between bowmaker and bow.” – Chicago Tribune
“This documentary has plenty of beautiful music that will mentally transport viewers back to the theatre.” - BTS Celebs
“THE BOWMAKERS is a remarkable film. The premise is to trace the development of the bow as made by the few remaining masters of the art. The result is the viewer being smitten with the extraordinary beauty and mystery of music itself.” —Stephen Tobolowsky
"Anyone who loves music, who loves art, who loves craft will appreciate this lovely, illuminating film" - Nicholas Kazan, Screenwriter
"It's really hard for people - even myself - to grasp the fact that the bow is an instrument in itself." - Charles Espey, master bowmaker
Citation
Main credits
Serrill, Ward (film director)
Serrill, Ward (screenwriter)
Friedman, Rocky (film producer)
Other credits
Cinematography, Ward Serrill; editing, Eric Frith; music, Jason Staczek.
Distributor subjects
Music,Crafting,Keywords
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(snow crunching)
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(twinkling)
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(dog barking)
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(soft music)
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(insects trilling)
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(upbeat string music)
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- Really, what I am going after,
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what I'm using is
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genius trees.
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For that reason, the wood is
like everything in my bows.
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(dramatic string music)
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The fine player has a level
of control over the bow
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that's just like an Olympic
gymnast of the hand.
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(dramatic string music continues)
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- You know, the violin gets all the press.
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Although we all know that
the bow is more important.
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- The bow is kind of like a phone call.
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It's the phone call between
you and your instrument.
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(upbeat string music)
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- If it hadn't been broken,
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this bow would be worth
about 130, $150,000.
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(upbeat string music)
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- The bow is like your steering mechanism.
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(soft string music)
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It's like if you had this
great car, and you could just,
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it's got all this power and everything,
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if the steering's
sloppy, it's a sucky car.
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(upbeat string music)
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- This bow makes a great short note.
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- The bow is breath, it's
how we literally breathe.
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(soft string music)
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- The instrument is like the stage,
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and here comes the ballerina
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and it's performing all
these jumps, and you know,
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and these intricate steps.
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(upbeat string music)
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- This is what I call a sideways bow.
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(upbeat string music)
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- Spiccato.
- Spiccato.
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(upbeat string music)
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- Or a martele.
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(upbeat string music)
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- There's also a stroke called ricochet
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where you actually bounce the
bow in a certain direction.
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(upbeat string music)
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- Well, you hold the
bow in your right hand
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because it's the sword hand.
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And it's supposed to
be for fencing, really,
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even with the sound.
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(air whipping)
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And then from this, you turn into this.
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And so you're kinda
fencing with your viola.
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- With great players,
this is half their deal.
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(soft string music)
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But it never takes main stage.
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- It's really hard for people,
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even myself to grasp the fact that the bow
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is an instrument in itself.
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- This is kind of like the silent servant
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that's super key to the whole element.
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(chuckling)
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(soft string music)
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- What I think that the
common person doesn't know is,
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you know, they see this and
they go, it's just a stick.
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Well, it is a stick, but,
what people don't know is
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this is hollow to about here.
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This piece goes in here and it's threaded,
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and this is an octagon that
turns into a circular shape.
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And the frog is silver lined
with this little brass eyelet
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that's put just exactly in the right place
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so that it glides back and
forth, tightens the hair,
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and there's a nice, perfect bend in it.
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There's no glue holding the
hairs in, it's all pressure fit.
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There's 30 feet of silver wire right here.
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And then this is lizard leather.
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And the end of this up here is hollow.
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So this is hollow as well, and
there's a knot and a wedge.
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I think that the bowmakers are crazy
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because of the amount of
skill, and focus, and patience.
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And, I don't think that I'm quite cut out
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for that type of focus and participation
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in bringing this wonderful
traditional form forward.
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I think I'll just stick
to to my weird guitars.
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(upbeat string music)
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- Now you could say that the
bow is a functional item,
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and that as such,
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it doesn't matter whether
it's beautiful or ugly.
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But, in my opinion,
that's not true at all.
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Something is beautiful, you
want to bring it into yourself.
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(soft music)
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And so, the bow really has to be beautiful
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in order to draw the player into using it
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the best they possibly can.
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(soft string music)
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Bowmaking is dependent on musicians.
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That's why we're here,
we're serving musicians
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with the tool that they need.
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The crux of it is, we actually really need
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the conservative, the traditional
sense of classical music
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to keep this trade alive.
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And, at the same time, it's
got to move with the times.
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And so, that's why a lot
of interesting ensems
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are looking out beyond the
normal field of classical music,
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and looking for other inspiration.
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Like Brooklyn Rider.
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They're really exploring potentials
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in the classical music genre.
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(soft string music)
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- I love the fact that this
thing I'm holding in my hand
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literally is from all parts of the world.
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Like, the Pernambuco is
from Brazil, of course,
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and the frog is made of ebony, which grows
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- Africa and India.
- In Africa or India,
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- and the horse hair is from, you know,
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Mongolian or Canadian horses.
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- That shell could be like, Japanese,
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you know, abalone.
- Oh, there's two types
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of mother of pearl.
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I think the eye is Japanese.
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And the slide is (mumbling)
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which is in the English channel.
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- [Nicholas] I think it's amazing.
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- But all of this comes
together, you know,
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in this one thing that I hold in my hand,
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and literally from all
corners of the globe,
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and to make music.
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(upbeat string music)
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- You haven't seen the case of bows.
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- Let's see the case of, I
don't think I've ever seen
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the case of bows.
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- I have a case
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of bows, yeah.
- Can we see it?
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- Yeah, I'd bring it out.
- Bring it out.
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- I wanna see it, yeah, bring it out.
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(soft string music)
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- [Man] There it is.
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- [Man] Oh yeah.
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- Charles Espey was the first person
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that I actually commissioned a bow from.
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I feel like Charles has an incredible idea
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of how the bow feels in
the air or on the string.
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I've got
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Charles Espey number two.
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This is Charles Espey number three,
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which is a really flexible, beautiful bow.
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My most recent Charles Espey,
it's number four for me.
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What I was playing last night
is also a pretty recent bow.
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This is by Noel Burke, Irish bowmaker.
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He worked, I think,
with Charles for a time.
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So I was happy about that.
- And his brother
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is a well-noted Celtic fiddler, right?
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- Kevin Burke, yeah.
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- That was probably the first
time I really paid attention
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to what a bow can do.
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'Cause the first time I
played on an Espey bow
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I realized I had never played
on a bow like this before.
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(upbeat violin music)
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I was really surprised it was that evident
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that this is really special.
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It seemed to track on its own.
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You didn't have to guide
it, it knew where to go.
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- He's probably the most
influential bowmaker
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of his generation, yeah.
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- What I really like to
listen to is string quartet,
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and I think it's the ultimate,
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in musicality, to play in a quartet.
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(upbeat string music)
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Anybody who plays in a quartet,
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I'll just bend over
backwards to make 'em a bow.
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- I think what did it for
me was I was in New York
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and the violist, Toby Appel,
who teaches at Julliard,
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let me try an Espey bow,
viola bow that he has.
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And the sound that it
got out of my instrument.
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I had never heard my instrument
sound like that before.
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I was at Nick Cords' place,
from the Brooklyn Rider,
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he has four Charles Espey viola bows.
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He put me into a room in his house
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and I just stayed there for
an hour trying each bow.
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My favorite bow of Nick's,
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the luminous one, I told Charles.
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- When I looked up the bow
I discovered that the stick
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was numbers 625.
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And I thought, geez,
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I think I still have one of those sticks.
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And I was looking through,
looking for 625, went through.
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And finally, I found it.
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- Turns out it was the only piece of wood
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left of that batch, that's the same bow
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that I loved from Nick's.
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- I looked at the stick
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and I'd written her name on the stick.
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So I thought that was
serendipitous, to say the least.
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- So my favorite bow of Nick's
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happened to be the same
exact batch of wood
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as the one he was setting aside for me
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before I even told him for sure
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that I wanted to commission a bow.
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(dramatic string music)
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(thudding)
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- Picking the stick is the
single most nerve wracking part
17:19.310 --> 17:20.313
of making a bow.
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I can feel it, and I can sense
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the amplitude of the wave, basically,
17:28.330 --> 17:31.030
that's going through it, and
how fast it's resonating.
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And that gives me a lot of information.
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Like this is quite a resonant
stick with a wider amplitude.
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It's not super tight, it'd
probably have a warm sound,
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I would think.
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(thudding reverberating)
17:53.350 --> 17:56.223
So this is definitely a candidate.
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Come on up.
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Come on up.
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(chuckling)
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From my experience,
18:14.280 --> 18:18.000
the best bowmakers are
the most sensitive people.
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And what I bring to it is my sensitivity
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that I can impart into the bow
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and become a link in that chain.
18:28.550 --> 18:33.105
And then hand it off to these
players that are so sensitive.
18:33.105 --> 18:36.105
(soft string music)
18:48.960 --> 18:53.240
As a young man I fished in
Alaska, I was a salmon fishermen,
18:53.240 --> 18:55.710
but I started to feel like it was time
18:55.710 --> 18:57.120
to pursue something else.
18:57.120 --> 18:59.090
I was just looking for what it would be.
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I just wanted to work with my hands.
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And within a year of setting out on this
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I wound up meeting Charles Espey.
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I thought about it for a few months
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'cause I knew that he
would not take it lightly.
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And then finally asked him,
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and he sort of did,
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(chuckling)
19:18.020 --> 19:20.007
the zen master thing on me.
19:20.007 --> 19:22.697
"Oh, I'm really busy, I don't know."
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"Check back with me."
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So, after a couple months of that
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he agreed to let me
come in and get started.
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So I spent a year and a half with him.
19:37.690 --> 19:40.643
And here we are 16 years later.
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Yeah, the training was extremely arduous.
19:53.950 --> 19:54.783
(exhaling)
19:54.783 --> 19:57.340
Charles approaches his training
with the same diligence
19:57.340 --> 19:59.750
he does his own making.
19:59.750 --> 20:03.750
So, I can't overstate
20:04.816 --> 20:07.670
(sniffling)
20:07.670 --> 20:10.289
the significance of it, you know.
20:10.289 --> 20:11.255
(soft string music)
20:11.255 --> 20:14.005
(rain pattering)
20:24.710 --> 20:27.710
Every day I hear his voice
20:29.210 --> 20:32.360
in my head while I'm
performing a certain part
20:32.360 --> 20:36.371
of making the bow, I just
hear his voice all the time.
20:36.371 --> 20:40.870
(soft string music continues)
20:40.870 --> 20:44.229
He would sit down at the
bench with his glasses,
20:44.229 --> 20:45.062
(inhaling)
20:45.062 --> 20:47.707
take a deep breath, and
then look at me and say,
20:47.707 --> 20:49.200
"There's seven things
that you need to know
20:49.200 --> 20:50.850
about fitting a Poirson."
20:50.850 --> 20:55.150
And then I would just
write notes frantically
20:55.150 --> 20:57.590
while he gave me all this information
20:57.590 --> 21:01.093
about what seemingly was
a small part of the bow.
21:02.020 --> 21:05.260
And then an hour later I
would just be exhausted
21:05.260 --> 21:07.563
just from trying to take all that in.
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I remember when I was just getting started
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and he looks over at me,
and I'm working away.
21:14.610 --> 21:17.580
I still, I know nothing.
21:17.580 --> 21:19.810
And he said, "You know, when I train you
21:19.810 --> 21:20.970
I do it with the intention
21:20.970 --> 21:25.177
of you being among the best in the world."
21:26.192 --> 21:28.525
(chuckling)
21:32.350 --> 21:34.333
You know, what do you say to that?
21:38.850 --> 21:42.370
I feel so honored to be
part of the tradition
21:42.370 --> 21:45.762
as a maker, and then also
the tradition of the music.
21:45.762 --> 21:48.929
(upbeat string music)
22:13.040 --> 22:14.310
- [Man] Is that the right note?
22:14.310 --> 22:15.143
- Maybe not.
22:16.180 --> 22:17.235
- [Man] Hold on.
22:17.235 --> 22:18.926
- [Woman] The two sharps
doesn't sound right.
22:18.926 --> 22:20.593
- Did someone have a C sharp there?
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Do you guys want to run
through any of the other stuff
22:24.670 --> 22:26.420
in the last 15 minutes, or?
22:26.420 --> 22:27.975
- [Woman] Why not, we
have a little bit of time.
22:27.975 --> 22:29.620
- Yeah, do you want to do the
one, while you're tuned down
22:29.620 --> 22:31.507
we should do "The World Spins."
22:32.666 --> 22:35.166
(all talking)
22:37.998 --> 22:39.636
Yeah.
22:39.636 --> 22:40.469
You wanna try it?
22:40.469 --> 22:41.302
- Yeah.
- Sure.
22:41.302 --> 22:42.195
- Great.
- Yeah.
22:42.195 --> 22:45.195
("The World Spins")
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- And maybe hit a high C, someone.
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Yeah, yeah, yeah.
25:02.131 --> 25:04.714
(high C notes)
25:06.010 --> 25:07.243
That's nice, guys.
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- Yeah, this is the bow.
25:15.680 --> 25:16.983
This is Milena's bow.
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To make a stick using the French method
25:24.360 --> 25:28.960
you basically take a bow like this
25:30.007 --> 25:35.007
and plane it down until it's
in this kind of tapered shape,
25:35.860 --> 25:36.910
except it's straight.
25:36.910 --> 25:39.270
And then, what you do is you just heat
25:41.160 --> 25:45.280
small amounts at a time in the hot plate,
25:45.280 --> 25:48.080
and then bend 'em over the bench.
25:48.080 --> 25:52.610
When you play a bow on the string,
25:52.610 --> 25:57.547
it's going through this
incredible evolution of forces.
25:58.910 --> 26:01.770
Like when you're starting up at the frog,
26:01.770 --> 26:04.863
which is the little
fitting up at this end,
26:05.970 --> 26:07.683
you have the whole weight of the bow.
26:07.683 --> 26:09.450
And you also have the fact
26:09.450 --> 26:12.811
that the bow is much larger in diameter.
26:12.811 --> 26:14.647
And then as you go down,
26:14.647 --> 26:16.040
(soft string music)
26:16.040 --> 26:18.670
the bow gets more and more slender
26:18.670 --> 26:23.060
and the overall weight of
the bow is lower and lower.
26:23.060 --> 26:26.820
Well, it's really difficult
to have even contact
26:26.820 --> 26:29.210
from one end of the bow to the other.
26:29.210 --> 26:34.210
It's the curve that allows
you to have that even context
26:34.290 --> 26:38.067
so that when you're
playing up at the head,
26:38.067 --> 26:40.850
the hair is grasping the strings
26:40.850 --> 26:43.310
just as well as it did down here.
26:43.310 --> 26:46.516
And that's why the curve is so important.
26:46.516 --> 26:49.683
(upbeat string music)
26:51.010 --> 26:54.953
Picture yourself in 14th century Europe.
26:56.650 --> 27:00.033
The aristocracy wanted beautiful clothing,
27:01.320 --> 27:06.320
but the dyes necessary to
dye fabric bright colors
27:07.010 --> 27:10.183
were very rare and hard to come by.
27:11.110 --> 27:14.130
Basically, the aristocracy
are the only people
27:14.130 --> 27:16.463
who could wear colored clothing.
27:18.637 --> 27:19.470
(dramatic music)
27:19.470 --> 27:21.640
- [Narrator] The story of the modern bow
27:21.640 --> 27:24.750
began in the medieval
fashion courts of Europe
27:26.530 --> 27:28.080
where the nobility hungered
27:28.080 --> 27:31.513
for lavish scarlet and crimson robes.
27:32.960 --> 27:36.480
To satisfy the nobles insatiable taste
27:36.480 --> 27:40.840
Italian dye makers used
a rare tree from Asia
27:40.840 --> 27:43.172
to create a blood red color called
27:43.172 --> 27:44.550
(speaking in foreign language)
27:44.550 --> 27:47.223
meaning amber or life color.
27:48.333 --> 27:49.440
(dramatic string music)
27:49.440 --> 27:53.440
In 1500, Pedro Cabral,
sailing from Portugal
27:53.440 --> 27:55.130
on his way to India
27:55.130 --> 27:59.180
stumbled onto the coast
of an unknown land.
27:59.180 --> 28:03.163
He spotted trees that reminded
him of the treasured dye.
28:05.670 --> 28:08.200
The native Tupis used these trees
28:08.200 --> 28:11.253
to make strong and flexible hunting bows.
28:13.359 --> 28:14.391
(birds squawking)
28:14.391 --> 28:18.140
(dramatic string music continues)
28:18.140 --> 28:21.470
Cabral cut a swift deal,
exchanging clothes, beads,
28:21.470 --> 28:23.613
and machetes for muscle.
28:29.250 --> 28:32.670
And soon a ship loaded
with parrots, monkeys,
28:32.670 --> 28:36.143
and logs from the
mysterious tree headed home.
28:37.210 --> 28:39.230
It caused an uproar.
28:39.230 --> 28:42.063
Dyes from the wood proved extraordinary.
28:43.040 --> 28:46.200
Soon ships from many countries
headed to the new land
28:46.200 --> 28:50.763
for the now named, Pau-Brasil
or furnace redwood.
28:52.180 --> 28:54.830
Centuries of exploitation had begun
28:54.830 --> 28:59.353
of a tree and a country
named after the tree, Brazil.
29:00.770 --> 29:03.730
But it would take a couple 100 more years,
29:03.730 --> 29:06.430
and an illiterate fishermen in France
29:06.430 --> 29:10.743
to use Pau-Brasil to turn
the music world on its ear.
29:15.650 --> 29:19.140
- Now I play the bow by
a man from Port Townsend.
29:19.140 --> 29:21.920
And he's also, in my opinion,
29:21.920 --> 29:26.920
one of the great American
makers of the, Paul Siefried.
29:26.962 --> 29:29.962
(soft string music)
29:35.210 --> 29:37.770
- My friends were always musicians.
29:37.770 --> 29:39.420
They'd get a new violin, or a new bow,
29:39.420 --> 29:40.313
or something like that.
29:40.313 --> 29:42.690
And I'd look at it, and
I'd handle it and such.
29:42.690 --> 29:45.490
And I remember the first
time that it dawned on me,
29:45.490 --> 29:47.040
somebody made this.
29:47.040 --> 29:49.730
And it just never occurred
to me, ever occurred to me
29:49.730 --> 29:52.060
that somebody is sitting down individually
29:52.060 --> 29:54.350
and making these things by hand.
29:54.350 --> 29:57.993
And I thought, damn,
that's what I wanna do.
29:59.600 --> 30:02.347
So I started messing
around with bowmaking.
30:03.400 --> 30:06.913
I decided to try and
enter this competition.
30:08.150 --> 30:09.880
And this is the Violin Society of America,
30:09.880 --> 30:11.980
which puts on competition every two years.
30:12.930 --> 30:14.420
I was so panicked.
30:14.420 --> 30:18.350
I made myself physically
sick working on these bows,
30:18.350 --> 30:21.410
that I was so nervous, but,
went to the competition
30:21.410 --> 30:23.870
and I did really, really well.
30:23.870 --> 30:27.670
I got three gold medals,
so I felt a little better.
30:27.670 --> 30:30.930
And then two years later I
decided to enter it again.
30:30.930 --> 30:34.310
And, I repeat performance,
I got three gold medals.
30:34.310 --> 30:37.367
I got a call from the people,
the organizers of this thing,
30:37.367 --> 30:40.150
and they said, "You know, we think that
30:40.150 --> 30:43.357
you're probably not eligible anymore."
30:44.290 --> 30:46.630
Because I'd won six gold medals
30:46.630 --> 30:47.760
in their competitions already,
30:47.760 --> 30:50.560
and they decided that
there was this designation
30:50.560 --> 30:52.800
that they had called Hors Concours,
30:52.800 --> 30:54.630
which basically means, beyond competition.
30:54.630 --> 30:57.580
And they said, "Okay, that's you now,
30:57.580 --> 31:00.000
you're not allowed to enter anymore."
31:00.000 --> 31:02.690
But, we need another judge.
31:02.690 --> 31:07.690
So I started my career
on juries at that point.
31:13.900 --> 31:15.660
- [Cameraman] So where
are we on our way to?
31:15.660 --> 31:17.950
- We're gonna go visit Master Siefried
31:19.130 --> 31:20.953
in his luxurious storage unit.
31:22.530 --> 31:24.300
Where all of the magical
things are stored,
31:24.300 --> 31:25.996
including himself.
31:25.996 --> 31:29.079
(soft string music)
31:53.380 --> 31:56.333
He should be up, it's only 4:30.
31:57.980 --> 31:59.953
And I think this is it here.
32:03.280 --> 32:06.163
And there he is, look at
him, he's got his water.
32:13.280 --> 32:14.594
How's it going, Paul?
32:14.594 --> 32:15.497
- [Paul] Hey, how was Oregon?
32:15.497 --> 32:16.959
- It was wonderful.
32:16.959 --> 32:17.792
- [Paul] You just get back
32:17.792 --> 32:19.363
today?
- Yeah, today.
32:19.363 --> 32:20.363
- Very slow trip.
32:21.430 --> 32:22.263
Here we are.
32:39.210 --> 32:40.976
- [James] Here they are.
32:40.976 --> 32:43.213
These are the amazing old books.
32:46.770 --> 32:48.640
- There's a whole bunch of sticks in it.
32:48.640 --> 32:51.913
We started, I'll never finish 'em.
32:54.160 --> 32:56.250
When I got out of the hospital
32:56.250 --> 32:58.420
my landlady showed up the very next day
32:58.420 --> 32:59.630
and said, "It's time for you to go,
32:59.630 --> 33:01.070
you got one month to get out."
33:01.070 --> 33:03.800
I was still in a wheelchair at the time.
33:03.800 --> 33:05.540
I said, I'm not gonna make
it, there's no way I can.
33:05.540 --> 33:08.410
It took me 10 years to
build into this place.
33:08.410 --> 33:10.520
There's no way I can do it.
33:10.520 --> 33:12.480
And so, I resigned myself, all right,
33:12.480 --> 33:13.730
I'm gonna be staying down here.
33:13.730 --> 33:15.150
It's gonna be really hard.
33:15.150 --> 33:17.140
But I realized I had to.
33:17.140 --> 33:20.400
- He broke his ankle and
both bones in his leg
33:20.400 --> 33:22.590
and the doctor ordered him
33:22.590 --> 33:25.453
to stay off of his feet for five months.
33:26.500 --> 33:29.420
- I kinda dropped outta
sight when I had my injury
33:29.420 --> 33:31.200
and I was in the hospital for so long.
33:31.200 --> 33:33.560
And now my phone is
disconnected, and, you know,
33:33.560 --> 33:35.250
things like that, so.
33:35.250 --> 33:36.510
It's kinda chaotic right now.
33:36.510 --> 33:40.300
- So everything suddenly
was compounding on him
33:40.300 --> 33:43.980
to make a sudden sort of career changes
33:43.980 --> 33:45.990
where you have to put your shop in a box
33:45.990 --> 33:48.266
and say that you're out of business.
33:48.266 --> 33:51.599
(dramatic string music)
33:54.010 --> 33:57.010
- This is a major pot
growing operation here,
33:57.010 --> 33:59.010
and down the street there's another one.
34:00.370 --> 34:01.883
Since I'm there in the dark,
34:03.330 --> 34:05.200
I don't know what time
it is in the mornings.
34:05.200 --> 34:07.570
I used to sleep right in
front of a big window.
34:07.570 --> 34:11.040
And so, I would wake with the sunrise.
34:11.040 --> 34:13.490
There are times that I've woken up
34:13.490 --> 34:16.390
as late as 10:30, 11 o'clock, crazy,
34:16.390 --> 34:18.730
I just don't even know who that happens.
34:18.730 --> 34:21.620
I get up and I'll go online.
34:21.620 --> 34:24.020
I do my little search for
housing every morning.
34:24.910 --> 34:29.470
After I come into town, I'll
go back, look online again,
34:29.470 --> 34:31.200
take my little nap in the afternoon.
34:31.200 --> 34:34.880
And then I go out in the
evening around six, 6:30 or so,
34:34.880 --> 34:37.332
and try and find food.
34:37.332 --> 34:41.499
(dramatic string music continues)
34:42.510 --> 34:46.300
- He's an incredible craftsman,
and he's really fast.
34:46.300 --> 34:50.346
And he's regarded as one
of the best in the world.
34:50.346 --> 34:51.200
(somber music)
34:51.200 --> 34:53.780
Paul would get these jobs
sent to him from Los Angeles,
34:53.780 --> 34:56.683
New York, Paris, repairs 200 years old.
34:57.970 --> 35:02.323
I've actually have held some
that were worth like $300,000.
35:07.430 --> 35:10.060
- I put it in all these brick pathways,
35:10.060 --> 35:13.123
and they were all inspired
by that tree right there.
35:46.094 --> 35:47.620
- [Cameraman] I mean, do
you miss living here at all?
35:47.620 --> 35:50.713
- Oh, absolutely. Absolutely.
35:57.690 --> 35:59.290
Quite a difference from my shed.
36:01.056 --> 36:04.389
(dramatic string music)
36:10.766 --> 36:14.683
(speaking in foreign language)
36:43.320 --> 36:44.750
- This is for Milena.
36:47.159 --> 36:51.600
I'm making little aesthetic adjustments
36:51.600 --> 36:56.573
to the playability in the stick
constantly with her in mind.
37:00.630 --> 37:03.380
So when she gets the
bow, when it's finished,
37:03.380 --> 37:08.210
and she'll try it for a week
and put it through its paces,
37:08.210 --> 37:11.623
and see how it goes from there.
37:19.070 --> 37:20.670
- I was his first student, yeah.
37:21.510 --> 37:24.593
I was good, but he was very tough.
37:25.450 --> 37:27.470
If you got it wrong,
37:27.470 --> 37:28.313
he would,
37:30.750 --> 37:33.240
he just made sure you'd
got it right, yeah.
37:33.240 --> 37:34.940
Getting it wrong wasn't an option.
37:35.780 --> 37:39.503
He, more than anything instilled
a respect for the trade.
37:44.130 --> 37:46.640
This is what we call a foret.
37:46.640 --> 37:49.090
These were made for bowmakers in New York
37:49.090 --> 37:52.020
who were back in the 19th century.
37:52.020 --> 37:53.150
It's a very simple drill,
37:53.150 --> 37:56.053
and that's what we use
for all the drilling.
37:57.020 --> 38:01.713
Basically, nothing's
changed since 1850 or so.
38:03.310 --> 38:06.890
One of those makers could
sit down and just go to work
38:06.890 --> 38:09.573
and not even think twice.
38:09.573 --> 38:11.083
The tools are the same,
38:12.474 --> 38:13.874
if the exhumed are the same.
38:18.320 --> 38:23.320
This is gonna be a bow that
is really early in conception
38:23.900 --> 38:26.793
when it comes to the stylistic elements.
38:27.930 --> 38:30.610
The frog isn't gonna have eyes on it.
38:30.610 --> 38:33.780
There isn't gonna be a
silver line between the eyes,
38:33.780 --> 38:36.473
between the frog and the stick.
38:37.587 --> 38:39.940
And that's pretty much the way of the bows
38:39.940 --> 38:42.560
of Francois Tourte.
38:42.560 --> 38:44.800
Where those are bows he was making
38:46.010 --> 38:50.253
say, in around 1800 and 1810.
38:51.092 --> 38:54.092
(soft string music)
38:56.786 --> 38:59.330
(audience applauding)
38:59.330 --> 39:01.890
- [Narrator] Early in the 18th century,
39:01.890 --> 39:05.630
a fellow named Stradivari
perfected a violin.
39:05.630 --> 39:10.630
And by 1770 Italian violins
were all the vogue in Paris.
39:11.300 --> 39:15.910
One of the superstars of the
time was Giovanni Viotti,
39:15.910 --> 39:19.040
who was filling concert
halls as never before.
39:19.040 --> 39:22.840
Though reviews were rave,
Viotti was dissatisfied.
39:22.840 --> 39:24.600
He knew his Stradivarius
39:24.600 --> 39:27.150
had more voice and power within it,
39:27.150 --> 39:28.803
but he couldn't draw it out.
39:31.210 --> 39:34.553
If only he could find a bowmaker.
39:37.360 --> 39:38.193
(soft string music)
39:38.193 --> 39:41.340
Francois Tourte was a lifelong illiterate,
39:41.340 --> 39:44.410
an avid fishermen, and a clockmaker.
39:44.410 --> 39:47.870
He had just begun working
in his father's bow shop.
39:47.870 --> 39:52.423
One day, nearly 300 years
after Pedro Cabral's voyage,
39:52.423 --> 39:55.671
Tourte wandered into an
area in central Paris
39:55.671 --> 40:00.670
where 169 acres of Pau-Brasil
to be made into dye
40:00.670 --> 40:02.063
were piled high.
40:02.063 --> 40:05.896
(soft string music continues)
40:08.256 --> 40:09.756
"Hmm," he thought,
40:10.597 --> 40:12.867
"I wonder what else
this wood is good for?"
40:13.782 --> 40:17.115
(dramatic string music)
40:36.589 --> 40:40.506
(speaking in foreign language)
40:50.800 --> 40:53.530
- When I was a lot younger
40:54.640 --> 40:58.140
I had this feeling like I
was destined to be an artist.
40:58.140 --> 40:58.973
I really
41:02.080 --> 41:04.610
wanted that, for some reason.
41:04.610 --> 41:06.910
But for me, it was lacking something.
41:06.910 --> 41:11.910
And then when I discovered
bowmaking, it fit the keyhole.
41:13.890 --> 41:17.790
That I could be making
something that was beautiful
41:19.730 --> 41:23.797
that could actually be used by people.
41:24.665 --> 41:26.963
(soft string music)
41:26.963 --> 41:31.145
A bow is in the hands
of a professional player
41:31.145 --> 41:33.680
for four to five, or more hours
41:33.680 --> 41:36.790
every single day for decades.
41:36.790 --> 41:40.020
That's like, incredible,
41:40.020 --> 41:42.460
the relationship they have with 'em.
41:44.250 --> 41:48.220
- [Narrator] One day Viotti
wandered into Tourte's shop,
41:48.220 --> 41:53.050
not realizing they were about
to transform classical music.
41:53.050 --> 41:56.573
Tourte worked with Viotti for
months using the new wood.
41:59.300 --> 42:01.923
He did some revolutionary
things to the bow.
42:04.190 --> 42:06.263
He made it concave and longer.
42:07.620 --> 42:10.338
He added a metal ferrule
42:10.338 --> 42:12.840
and he cambered a straight piece of wood
42:12.840 --> 42:15.123
rather than one already curved.
42:16.640 --> 42:19.557
He nervously handed
his creation to Viotti.
42:24.033 --> 42:27.033
(soft violin music)
42:32.259 --> 42:34.466
Who after playing it famously announced,
42:34.466 --> 42:35.700
(dramatic string music)
42:35.700 --> 42:39.407
(speaking in foreign language)
42:39.407 --> 42:42.660
"The violin, it is the bow."
42:43.750 --> 42:47.260
Their collaboration changed
the course of music.
42:47.260 --> 42:49.070
It made the modern orchestra,
42:49.070 --> 42:52.500
with all its nuances
and shadings possible.
42:52.500 --> 42:56.183
And gave a guy named Beethoven some ideas.
43:00.810 --> 43:05.410
- I just found bowmaking
by complete coincidence.
43:05.410 --> 43:09.093
I stepped on my fiddle case
and put a crack in the fiddle.
43:11.320 --> 43:15.140
So, I just noticed this
violin shop had opened up
43:16.140 --> 43:18.130
not too far away.
43:18.130 --> 43:20.040
And I walked in there to see
43:20.040 --> 43:23.325
if they could repair
the crack in my fiddle.
43:23.325 --> 43:27.540
And there was a man named
Robert Shallock in there
43:29.240 --> 43:30.493
making a bow.
43:31.546 --> 43:34.370
I just realized that bowmaking might be
43:35.530 --> 43:40.530
exactly what I wanted because
bows were works of art.
43:40.540 --> 43:42.560
But at the same time,
43:42.560 --> 43:46.140
they were tools that had
to function perfectly.
43:46.140 --> 43:50.840
Ended up moving to France
and becoming a bowmaker.
43:50.840 --> 43:54.007
(upbeat string music)
43:56.758 --> 43:59.341
(bell ringing)
44:10.136 --> 44:14.136
(upbeat string music continues)
44:33.589 --> 44:37.506
(speaking in foreign language)
44:45.128 --> 44:49.128
(upbeat string music continues)
44:51.048 --> 44:53.548
- I can feel by the mess here.
44:55.812 --> 44:58.741
(chimes clinking)
44:58.741 --> 45:03.359
(speaking in foreign language)
45:03.359 --> 45:06.442
Let's see here, us, and the workshop,
45:08.038 --> 45:09.371
watch your head.
45:21.270 --> 45:26.270
I remember during the
'70s when I was a student,
45:26.650 --> 45:31.650
a bowmaker, it was almost no bowmakers.
45:33.400 --> 45:37.550
- Yeah, both World Wars put
a massive dent in bowmaking.
45:37.550 --> 45:40.670
And the Second World
War, it almost died out.
45:40.670 --> 45:43.630
- It was like an endangered species.
45:43.630 --> 45:47.430
It was like you kill the
last passenger pigeon,
45:47.430 --> 45:51.203
and you can't resurrect
the passenger pigeon.
45:52.250 --> 45:53.880
You couldn't have resurrected
45:53.880 --> 45:55.860
the French technique of working.
45:55.860 --> 45:58.330
- And the state got
involved, the French state,
45:58.330 --> 46:00.823
to save the trade, and
they started a school.
46:01.750 --> 46:04.350
There'd been at violin
making school in Mirecourt,
46:04.350 --> 46:06.708
and they added a bowmaking workshop.
46:06.708 --> 46:11.370
And Bernard Ouchard was
employed as the teacher.
46:11.370 --> 46:14.910
Any bowmaker today
working in that tradition,
46:14.910 --> 46:19.600
in the old French tradition,
can trace their apprenticeship
46:19.600 --> 46:23.060
back to Bernard Ouchard,
46:23.060 --> 46:26.580
because we all learned from
graduates of that classroom.
46:26.580 --> 46:29.940
There were 18 students graduated from it.
46:29.940 --> 46:31.970
- Talented young people.
46:31.970 --> 46:34.677
Among them is Stephane Thomachot.
46:36.058 --> 46:38.670
(speaking in foreign language)
46:38.670 --> 46:42.470
- What brought me to
Mirecourt, I was 15-years-old
46:42.470 --> 46:45.840
when I applied to go in the school there.
46:45.840 --> 46:49.610
You know, 42 years later, it's...
46:49.610 --> 46:52.523
I said the providence, you say that?
47:07.300 --> 47:11.100
For me, my favorite bowmaker,
contemporary bowmaker,
47:11.100 --> 47:15.370
is Noel Burke, in Ireland.
47:15.370 --> 47:18.650
His work is, that talk to me.
47:18.650 --> 47:23.510
And it's very far from my style,
but that talk it up to me.
47:23.510 --> 47:28.263
And sometimes, yeah, the
bow of Noel, I say, wow.
47:29.608 --> 47:31.623
It's really beautiful.
47:33.136 --> 47:33.969
(people chatting)
47:33.969 --> 47:36.000
- I spent two years with Stephane.
47:36.000 --> 47:39.410
Working in Stephane's place,
everything was very relaxed,
47:39.410 --> 47:43.060
the radio would be on, we'd
be joking, drinking beer.
47:43.060 --> 47:48.060
And Chuck's place, it was
very quiet and studious,
47:48.200 --> 47:50.750
there's serious stuff going on.
47:50.750 --> 47:52.683
That stuck with me, I think.
47:53.620 --> 47:57.260
I still drink beer and have
the radio on in the workshop.
47:57.260 --> 47:59.533
But that approach that this is,
48:00.840 --> 48:05.350
it's important to do this
right, I got from Chuck.
48:05.350 --> 48:07.740
So there's a lot taken from Chuck,
48:07.740 --> 48:12.445
and a lot added in there
from Stephane Thomachot.
48:12.445 --> 48:15.320
They're the two most
important bowmakers around.
48:15.320 --> 48:20.320
- Let me see, there is
interesting pictures.
48:23.360 --> 48:25.133
Ah, I have a picture of Chuck.
48:26.370 --> 48:29.253
That was in a cafe in Paris.
48:32.410 --> 48:33.380
And another one.
48:33.380 --> 48:35.930
Ah, I have many of Chuck.
48:35.930 --> 48:36.763
This one.
48:39.710 --> 48:41.860
This tool was made by Chuck.
48:41.860 --> 48:45.620
He gave me that 30 years ago.
48:45.620 --> 48:47.463
And I still using it.
48:49.020 --> 48:52.823
This is good opportunity to
dedicate this bow to Chuck.
48:53.930 --> 48:56.439
(speaking in foreign language)
48:56.439 --> 48:59.439
(soft string music)
49:09.670 --> 49:11.204
You look at the bow and say,
49:11.204 --> 49:12.037
(gasping)
49:12.037 --> 49:16.023
and you feel with a good painter, or,
49:18.180 --> 49:19.943
a chapter of Dostoevsky, or...
49:26.810 --> 49:29.368
It's an emotion just like that.
49:29.368 --> 49:33.201
(soft string music continues)
49:44.473 --> 49:48.390
(speaking in foreign language)
50:08.020 --> 50:11.510
When his mother say no for
something he comes to me
50:11.510 --> 50:14.287
and say the, "Mommy, she say, "Yes."
50:14.287 --> 50:16.057
"Yeah, yeah, she say, "Yes."
50:16.057 --> 50:17.106
But...
50:17.106 --> 50:19.024
(chuckling)
50:19.024 --> 50:22.857
(soft string music continues)
50:27.890 --> 50:31.740
The first basement is very important
50:31.740 --> 50:34.370
because this is for the wine.
50:34.370 --> 50:36.623
And, now, be careful.
50:39.390 --> 50:44.100
Don't slip, in here, the window,
50:44.100 --> 50:46.010
this is from the 10th century.
50:46.010 --> 50:50.720
The first people are living in a cave,
50:50.720 --> 50:51.903
dig in the rock.
50:56.343 --> 50:59.510
So this is from the 13th century here.
51:02.340 --> 51:05.459
This is from the 19th
century, a cello case.
51:05.459 --> 51:09.292
(soft string music continues)
51:18.370 --> 51:22.480
On every bow I try to improve my work,
51:22.480 --> 51:24.693
just like when I was 16.
51:25.920 --> 51:30.330
And I am always astound that still,
51:30.330 --> 51:33.630
that today, I can find new tricks.
51:33.630 --> 51:37.403
And I say, why I didn't start
to do that 40 years ago?
51:39.340 --> 51:44.270
There is a big bunch now of
young, really good bowmakers.
51:44.270 --> 51:47.470
But I don't always understand them.
51:47.470 --> 51:50.720
I mean, understand this time.
51:50.720 --> 51:54.000
But the bows are very well made.
51:54.000 --> 51:55.093
I don't understand.
51:56.330 --> 52:00.210
Maybe it's the beginning
of the end for me.
52:00.210 --> 52:04.963
I start to be an older, how
do we say that in English?
52:06.280 --> 52:08.025
And old cheese? No.
52:08.025 --> 52:10.957
(chuckling)
52:10.957 --> 52:12.131
An old fart.
52:12.131 --> 52:13.659
(chuckling)
52:13.659 --> 52:14.492
(people chatting)
52:14.492 --> 52:17.659
(upbeat string music)
52:30.073 --> 52:33.703
(speaking in foreign language)
52:33.703 --> 52:37.536
(soft string music continues)
52:50.005 --> 52:54.115
(speaking in foreign language)
52:54.115 --> 52:56.120
When Josephine was young in the school,
52:56.120 --> 52:59.683
I say that you have to
work well in the school.
53:00.680 --> 53:02.773
'Cause if you don't work in the school,
53:04.120 --> 53:05.757
you will be a bowmaker.
53:05.757 --> 53:07.730
(chuckling)
53:07.730 --> 53:10.910
Or, even the worst, a violin maker.
53:10.910 --> 53:12.183
So you have to work.
53:13.843 --> 53:18.843
Josephine works well, but
she became a bowmaker.
53:26.819 --> 53:30.736
(speaking in foreign language)
53:35.050 --> 53:37.070
And Josie, think she's probably like me.
53:37.070 --> 53:40.170
She has difficult with the authority,
53:40.170 --> 53:42.760
in general, of the boss.
53:42.760 --> 53:44.693
She wants to be her own boss.
53:46.860 --> 53:50.330
- I thought since the
beginning I know that I don't,
53:50.330 --> 53:53.740
I didn't see my life
53:57.808 --> 54:01.310
in a company and work so much for what?
54:02.240 --> 54:03.653
For, I don't know,
54:04.800 --> 54:07.871
but to make money?
54:07.871 --> 54:10.871
(soft string music)
54:15.385 --> 54:19.302
(speaking in foreign language)
55:10.647 --> 55:14.300
- And after that she
stayed in front of me for,
55:14.300 --> 55:17.469
I think, almost two years
or something like that.
55:17.469 --> 55:21.302
(soft string music continues)
55:26.081 --> 55:29.510
(people chatting)
55:29.510 --> 55:33.427
(speaking in foreign language)
55:44.434 --> 55:48.351
(speaking in foreign language)
55:55.888 --> 55:59.221
(dramatic string music)
56:24.125 --> 56:28.042
(speaking in foreign language)
56:31.484 --> 56:35.651
(dramatic string music continues)
56:39.695 --> 56:43.612
(speaking in foreign language)
56:56.462 --> 56:59.295
(people chatting)
57:02.622 --> 57:06.539
(speaking in foreign language)
57:55.000 --> 57:58.350
- We plan to put whiskey
58:00.377 --> 58:04.963
in a Stradivari to make it very, very.
58:05.913 --> 58:06.746
- Special brew.
58:06.746 --> 58:08.450
- We are special brew, yeah.
58:08.450 --> 58:13.097
Maybe we have the unique
whiskey in the world.
58:13.097 --> 58:15.167
(chuckling)
58:15.167 --> 58:19.084
(speaking in foreign language)
59:22.810 --> 59:25.560
(birds chirping)
59:31.100 --> 59:31.933
- Bows,
59:33.230 --> 59:36.530
and violins as well, but, especially bows,
59:36.530 --> 59:41.530
are the last of hundreds or
maybe thousands of trades
59:42.580 --> 59:46.910
where something was made by an individual,
59:46.910 --> 59:49.543
it had to be beautiful,
it had to be functional.
59:52.250 --> 59:55.080
Prior to the Industrial Revolution,
59:55.080 --> 01:00:00.080
the spoon you ate from was
made by the silversmith.
01:00:01.320 --> 01:00:05.870
The bowl you ate from
was made by the potter.
01:00:05.870 --> 01:00:10.870
The clothes you wore, the
cloth was made by the weaver,
01:00:11.500 --> 01:00:13.053
that was an individual.
01:00:13.890 --> 01:00:16.520
I would be hard pressed to think of
01:00:19.000 --> 01:00:23.273
many things that that are
still actually made by people.
01:00:26.030 --> 01:00:30.970
It's an incredible loss
of self-sufficiency
01:00:32.440 --> 01:00:37.440
and vulnerability that humans
are experiencing right now,
01:00:38.105 --> 01:00:40.000
whether they know it or not.
01:00:40.000 --> 01:00:44.780
If anything happened to disrupt
01:00:49.189 --> 01:00:53.833
the system, no one would
know how to do anything.
01:00:57.650 --> 01:01:01.100
There were blacksmiths making tools
01:01:01.100 --> 01:01:03.440
for the bowmakers in France.
01:01:03.440 --> 01:01:07.520
They made planes, they made this plane.
01:01:07.520 --> 01:01:10.420
This little plane was made in Mirecourt.
01:01:10.420 --> 01:01:13.410
You know, probably in the late 1800s,
01:01:13.410 --> 01:01:14.500
this plane was made
01:01:14.500 --> 01:01:17.220
somewhere around the turn of the century.
01:01:17.220 --> 01:01:18.870
The tools are beautiful.
01:01:18.870 --> 01:01:22.083
They're made by hand, you
have a connection with them.
01:01:23.200 --> 01:01:25.330
They made tools for the bowmakers.
01:01:25.330 --> 01:01:29.630
And then, the bowmakers made
a tool for the violinists,
01:01:29.630 --> 01:01:30.547
which is the bow.
01:01:31.810 --> 01:01:35.340
And then the violinist was
01:01:37.070 --> 01:01:41.103
playing music that served the people.
01:01:44.503 --> 01:01:48.427
It was just like a succession
of people serving people.
01:01:54.893 --> 01:01:58.060
(upbeat string music)
01:02:20.980 --> 01:02:23.460
- This is the birth of a project.
01:02:23.460 --> 01:02:26.283
right now I'm driving to
Port Townsend, which is,
01:02:27.920 --> 01:02:29.420
I think for many of us,
01:02:29.420 --> 01:02:33.067
sort of the modern day Mecca of bowmaking.
01:02:35.190 --> 01:02:37.170
I had commissioned= several years ago
01:02:37.170 --> 01:02:40.370
a bow from a man named
Charles Espey who is,
01:02:40.370 --> 01:02:41.650
I think in many respects,
01:02:41.650 --> 01:02:45.350
the grandfather to a lot of
the bowmakers in Port Townsend.
01:02:45.350 --> 01:02:48.290
Secret dream of mine
was to commission a bow
01:02:48.290 --> 01:02:50.203
from each of the Port Townsend five.
01:02:53.300 --> 01:02:54.133
- [Ole] Hey!
01:02:54.133 --> 01:02:55.169
- Hey.
01:02:55.169 --> 01:02:56.439
- Hello, William.
01:02:56.439 --> 01:02:57.272
- [William] Good to see you again.
01:02:57.272 --> 01:02:59.330
How are you doing?
- Good to see you.
01:02:59.330 --> 01:03:01.103
- Good to be here.
- Yeah, welcome.
01:03:01.103 --> 01:03:02.230
- [William] Wow, this is beautiful.
01:03:02.230 --> 01:03:03.300
- [Ole] It's sunny and it works.
01:03:03.300 --> 01:03:04.520
- Oh my God!
01:03:04.520 --> 01:03:06.470
Well, where should we start?
01:03:06.470 --> 01:03:08.910
- So, what's helpful for me
01:03:08.910 --> 01:03:12.416
is if you can critique these bows.
01:03:12.416 --> 01:03:16.760
And I'm looking for tone,
balance, articulation.
01:03:18.270 --> 01:03:20.930
I was going to Baja, driving to Baja
01:03:20.930 --> 01:03:22.070
and camping in the winters.
01:03:22.070 --> 01:03:25.560
And one winter I decided
I'd learned to fiddle,
01:03:25.560 --> 01:03:29.163
but I had a torque rod
that broke on the engine.
01:03:30.002 --> 01:03:31.970
And I was directed up
the road about a mile
01:03:31.970 --> 01:03:35.100
to this guy named Chuck
Waddington, who was Mr. Fix It.
01:03:35.100 --> 01:03:36.403
He could fix anything.
01:03:37.730 --> 01:03:40.500
Chuck looks in my truck and
he sees the fiddle in there,
01:03:40.500 --> 01:03:43.617
and he goes, "Oh," he says,
"Well, I have a nephew
01:03:43.617 --> 01:03:46.490
"who is a bowmaker, and he
lives in Port Townsend."
01:03:46.490 --> 01:03:48.780
And I said, well, I live in Port Townsend.
01:03:48.780 --> 01:03:52.230
He gives me a card with
Charles Espey's name on it.
01:03:52.230 --> 01:03:55.066
- So, why don't we start with a freshener.
01:03:55.066 --> 01:03:58.066
(soft string music)
01:04:01.143 --> 01:04:02.850
- What I like about the
bow is it sort of brings
01:04:02.850 --> 01:04:06.690
a smooth quality out of the
sound, at least under my ear.
01:04:06.690 --> 01:04:10.300
- Well, I had no idea,
you know, about bowmaking.
01:04:10.300 --> 01:04:12.570
I mean, who knows
anything about bowmaking?
01:04:12.570 --> 01:04:14.911
It's just, you get it with a fiddle.
01:04:14.911 --> 01:04:17.911
(soft string music)
01:04:19.810 --> 01:04:20.780
- Yeah.
01:04:20.780 --> 01:04:22.630
But yeah, like, I don't know
what it sounds like out there,
01:04:22.630 --> 01:04:25.350
immediately there's like a,
there's a richness to it.
01:04:25.350 --> 01:04:26.183
- Yeah, there is.
01:04:26.183 --> 01:04:28.250
And I didn't really know who Charles was
01:04:28.250 --> 01:04:31.000
or how the whole bowmaking world was,
01:04:31.000 --> 01:04:32.120
it was a complete mystery.
01:04:32.120 --> 01:04:34.880
All I saw was Charles making
these beautiful things.
01:04:34.880 --> 01:04:36.420
And it was so intuitive to me.
01:04:36.420 --> 01:04:38.430
I always liked to work with my hands.
01:04:38.430 --> 01:04:42.620
The more I stayed with
Charles and watched him,
01:04:42.620 --> 01:04:45.890
it become apparent that he
wasn't just an ordinary,
01:04:45.890 --> 01:04:48.850
you know, craftsmen
working in a little town,
01:04:48.850 --> 01:04:52.871
he was important in the world of bows.
01:04:52.871 --> 01:04:56.204
(dramatic string music)
01:05:00.160 --> 01:05:03.610
- That one feels like I have to work
01:05:03.610 --> 01:05:05.220
to keep the sound spinning.
01:05:05.220 --> 01:05:10.220
- He loves working and
talking to a musician.
01:05:11.420 --> 01:05:15.540
- What would you call it,
like a liveliness in the bow?
01:05:15.540 --> 01:05:16.373
- [William] Yeah, definitely.
01:05:16.373 --> 01:05:19.070
- Seems like the Espey and the Tourte
01:05:19.070 --> 01:05:21.940
both have that quality.
01:05:21.940 --> 01:05:25.000
- They have these elegant, intimate ways
01:05:25.000 --> 01:05:27.890
of describing their bows,
because as Ole calls it,
01:05:27.890 --> 01:05:29.251
it's their magic wand.
01:05:29.251 --> 01:05:30.084
(dramatic string music)
01:05:30.084 --> 01:05:31.450
It's a wand.
01:05:31.450 --> 01:05:34.217
And without the wand,
the magic won't happen.
01:05:37.530 --> 01:05:40.608
The language is so amazing.
01:05:40.608 --> 01:05:44.420
What they want, and what
they are looking for.
01:05:44.420 --> 01:05:48.470
And that he can translate
that into a piece of wood,
01:05:48.470 --> 01:05:50.300
that's beyond me, that's like alchemy.
01:05:50.300 --> 01:05:53.140
- So is it nervous?
01:05:53.140 --> 01:05:53.973
- [William] The bow?
01:05:53.973 --> 01:05:54.986
- Yeah.
01:05:54.986 --> 01:05:55.819
- [William] A little bit.
01:05:55.819 --> 01:05:56.652
- A little bit.
01:05:56.652 --> 01:05:57.485
- Yeah.
01:05:57.485 --> 01:05:59.140
Doesn't feel like it has as much grip.
01:05:59.140 --> 01:06:02.307
(upbeat string music)
01:06:11.520 --> 01:06:13.053
See that, that's the Espey.
01:06:14.160 --> 01:06:17.770
- There wasn't any messing
around learning from Charles.
01:06:17.770 --> 01:06:18.603
It was,
01:06:20.010 --> 01:06:21.631
he wasn't easy on me.
01:06:21.631 --> 01:06:22.680
(chuckling)
01:06:22.680 --> 01:06:24.360
I don't think he's been easy on anyone
01:06:24.360 --> 01:06:28.975
that's learned from him,
he has high expectations.
01:06:28.975 --> 01:06:30.133
It works.
01:06:31.548 --> 01:06:33.363
- [Christine] Oh well, it's
all part of bowmaking for me.
01:06:33.363 --> 01:06:34.930
- It totally is.
01:06:34.930 --> 01:06:36.440
- Pretty cool shop, Ole has, huh?
01:06:36.440 --> 01:06:38.403
- This is all beautiful.
01:06:38.403 --> 01:06:39.608
That's all right.
- Here you go.
01:06:39.608 --> 01:06:42.775
(upbeat string music)
01:06:43.920 --> 01:06:45.353
He likes to visit the shop.
01:06:48.124 --> 01:06:48.957
(all laughing)
01:06:48.957 --> 01:06:49.790
Eat it.
01:06:49.790 --> 01:06:53.790
(upbeat string music continues)
01:07:25.190 --> 01:07:28.000
- Good, good, sounded good.
01:07:29.429 --> 01:07:32.240
Okay, the next bar.
01:07:32.240 --> 01:07:33.961
- [Daniel] Where I start the F sharp?
01:07:33.961 --> 01:07:35.220
- [Man In Glasses] Yeah.
01:07:35.220 --> 01:07:36.800
I need to hear more sound there.
01:07:36.800 --> 01:07:37.633
It would be nice.
- Sure, that one
01:07:37.633 --> 01:07:39.060
should make it easier.
01:07:39.060 --> 01:07:43.795
- And, Will, make sure you sustain the 42,
01:07:43.795 --> 01:07:46.860
43, 44 before they come in.
01:07:46.860 --> 01:07:51.860
The third quarter note of
213, we got to sustain,
01:07:52.500 --> 01:07:53.499
it's not sustaining before
01:07:53.499 --> 01:07:55.249
Daniel come in.
- The.
01:07:56.201 --> 01:07:57.034
(soft string music)
01:07:57.034 --> 01:07:58.708
(leader singing)
01:07:58.708 --> 01:07:59.708
I see, okay.
01:08:01.539 --> 01:08:02.441
- [Man In Glasses] One
more time, one more time,
01:08:02.441 --> 01:08:04.274
one more time, people.
01:08:05.718 --> 01:08:07.997
("Opus 131")
01:08:07.997 --> 01:08:09.863
- Wait, you can play right now.
01:08:09.863 --> 01:08:11.462
(softly laughing)
01:08:11.462 --> 01:08:13.879
("Opus 131")
01:10:28.968 --> 01:10:29.801
- [Man In Glasses] Good, good, good.
01:10:29.801 --> 01:10:32.777
No, that was all good,
very good, sounds good.
01:10:32.777 --> 01:10:35.444
(wood scraping)
01:10:41.671 --> 01:10:43.030
- This is a button ring.
01:10:43.030 --> 01:10:45.130
This is a ring that'll go on the adjuster.
01:10:51.530 --> 01:10:54.083
Piece that fits on the
very end of the bow,
01:10:55.680 --> 01:10:57.990
it adjusts the frog, it adjusts the hair.
01:11:07.236 --> 01:11:10.153
(machine whirring)
01:11:23.040 --> 01:11:25.600
The hands are servants of the mind,
01:11:25.600 --> 01:11:28.333
but, they're only as
good as their training.
01:11:29.520 --> 01:11:32.950
I just kinda lucked
into an amazing teacher
01:11:32.950 --> 01:11:36.000
with a really huge depth of knowledge,
01:11:36.000 --> 01:11:38.280
and a language of the bows
01:11:38.280 --> 01:11:41.443
that I just couldn't have
really gotten anywhere else.
01:11:42.873 --> 01:11:45.993
It was an amazing chance of luck.
01:11:52.040 --> 01:11:54.920
The left hand becomes the universal joint.
01:11:54.920 --> 01:11:58.830
So, and this finger is the pivot.
01:11:58.830 --> 01:11:59.663
See that?
01:11:59.663 --> 01:12:00.496
- Yeah.
01:12:04.780 --> 01:12:05.613
- [Ole] Paul Siefried!
01:12:05.613 --> 01:12:07.000
- Hey, hey.
01:12:07.000 --> 01:12:07.950
- [Ole] Come on in.
01:12:08.920 --> 01:12:09.753
- [Paul] Hi there.
01:12:09.753 --> 01:12:10.586
- [Benny] Nice to meet you.
01:12:10.586 --> 01:12:11.660
- [Ole] Nathan Benny.
01:12:11.660 --> 01:12:13.040
- [Paul] Nice meeting you too.
01:12:13.040 --> 01:12:13.873
So what are you guys doing?
01:12:13.873 --> 01:12:17.560
- Well, we're just getting
set up Nathan's up here for
01:12:17.560 --> 01:12:18.600
couple,
- Doing some bow stuff?
01:12:18.600 --> 01:12:21.930
- yeah, a couple of weeks
to learn how to make frogs.
01:12:21.930 --> 01:12:22.763
I figured that
01:12:22.763 --> 01:12:23.596
was the easiest way
- Oh, cool.
01:12:23.596 --> 01:12:25.270
- to learn a little bit about repairs,
01:12:25.270 --> 01:12:26.660
to start making a frog.
01:12:26.660 --> 01:12:27.493
- Mm-hmm.
01:12:27.493 --> 01:12:30.370
Two nights ago, on my desk
where the computer is,
01:12:30.370 --> 01:12:32.200
two mice came up and talked.
01:12:32.200 --> 01:12:34.380
- Oh, no way, yeah, little mice friends.
01:12:34.380 --> 01:12:36.344
- And a rat ran across the floor.
01:12:36.344 --> 01:12:37.740
- Ow.
01:12:37.740 --> 01:12:38.990
- I gotta get outta there.
01:12:38.990 --> 01:12:40.240
- Yeah, I'll say.
01:12:40.240 --> 01:12:41.193
- It's terrible.
01:12:42.142 --> 01:12:45.475
(dramatic string music)
01:12:54.620 --> 01:12:56.850
I've known Paul from the very beginning,
01:12:56.850 --> 01:13:00.630
when I first thought I
might become a bowmaker,
01:13:00.630 --> 01:13:03.033
Charles recommended that I go meet him.
01:13:04.460 --> 01:13:07.650
Paul's a genius, he is an absolute genius.
01:13:07.650 --> 01:13:12.650
He has an eye for detail
and a memory for style.
01:13:13.500 --> 01:13:16.336
His creativeness is just without bounds.
01:13:16.336 --> 01:13:20.503
(dramatic string music continues)
01:13:53.850 --> 01:13:58.850
- I liked the idea of a bow
shop that could move with me.
01:13:58.920 --> 01:14:02.110
So it's kinda based in
the tiny house movement,
01:14:02.110 --> 01:14:04.860
but I really didn't care for
the designs I was seeing.
01:14:04.860 --> 01:14:06.550
Cottagey kind of things.
01:14:06.550 --> 01:14:08.520
Well, I was liked rail cars,
01:14:08.520 --> 01:14:10.570
you know, like Coleman rail cars.
01:14:10.570 --> 01:14:14.200
Mine based on a 19th
century luxury caboose.
01:14:14.200 --> 01:14:16.690
So it'll have a full bow shop in it,
01:14:16.690 --> 01:14:19.323
and a kitchenette, an office.
01:14:21.310 --> 01:14:24.940
Wood stove, and standing
height work bench here
01:14:24.940 --> 01:14:27.380
with wall-hung tools.
01:14:27.380 --> 01:14:31.290
And more work bench cabinetry,
01:14:31.290 --> 01:14:36.000
a seated work bench
right here, a little gap.
01:14:36.000 --> 01:14:36.833
And then there will be
01:14:36.833 --> 01:14:39.893
a dinette right here, dinette seating.
01:14:40.727 --> 01:14:43.060
(whistling)
01:14:45.502 --> 01:14:48.835
(dramatic string music)
01:15:18.600 --> 01:15:20.400
- I first met Charles
01:15:22.720 --> 01:15:26.310
with my mom and my brother, Jamie.
01:15:26.310 --> 01:15:27.713
- I showed him my shop.
01:15:28.762 --> 01:15:32.070
A week later he came back
with a bow that he had made
01:15:32.070 --> 01:15:33.773
that was that long.
01:15:34.730 --> 01:15:38.050
He'd whittled it out of
a piece of, I don't know,
01:15:38.050 --> 01:15:39.610
some kinda wood.
01:15:39.610 --> 01:15:41.743
- My mom would say from time to time,
01:15:43.167 --> 01:15:45.537
"Oh, someday you're gonna make a bow."
01:15:45.537 --> 01:15:47.420
"Charles is gonna show
you how to make a bow."
01:15:47.420 --> 01:15:49.740
And I thought she was crazy.
01:15:49.740 --> 01:15:51.150
I was just like, there's no way
01:15:51.150 --> 01:15:52.600
I can do something like that.
01:15:58.840 --> 01:16:02.870
- [Charles] Cody had eye for design.
01:16:02.870 --> 01:16:07.340
He had great hand eye coordination.
01:16:07.340 --> 01:16:08.870
He knows about music.
01:16:08.870 --> 01:16:11.270
His whole family played music.
01:16:11.270 --> 01:16:14.963
And, he's got a drive to
be great at something.
01:16:19.270 --> 01:16:23.220
To succeed at bowmaking you
need to want to be the best
01:16:23.220 --> 01:16:28.220
because bowmaking is a very narrow field.
01:16:28.960 --> 01:16:32.313
There's only room for the
best in what we're doing.
01:16:32.313 --> 01:16:34.010
(dramatic string music)
01:16:34.010 --> 01:16:38.293
- He taught me how to
make my first three bows.
01:16:40.040 --> 01:16:45.040
- And from there he just
went off the charts.
01:16:45.250 --> 01:16:50.250
You know, his level of work is
right up there with everyone.
01:16:50.250 --> 01:16:52.520
And there's nobody in the world
01:16:52.520 --> 01:16:56.003
that works any better than he
does, as far as I'm concerned.
01:16:58.480 --> 01:16:59.590
He's already there,
01:16:59.590 --> 01:17:03.863
he just has to spend his
life discovering stuff.
01:17:05.570 --> 01:17:07.559
- The best thing about bowmaking
01:17:07.559 --> 01:17:11.033
is carrying on this trade.
01:17:12.810 --> 01:17:16.000
Because so many things
like that are just fading
01:17:16.000 --> 01:17:17.163
in the modern world.
01:17:28.982 --> 01:17:32.837
(dramatic string music)
01:17:32.837 --> 01:17:36.754
(speaking in foreign language)
01:17:52.233 --> 01:17:54.483
(laughing)
01:18:00.998 --> 01:18:04.130
- You know, you can really
see the strength of this wood
01:18:04.130 --> 01:18:05.700
when you look at the shaving.
01:18:05.700 --> 01:18:08.047
A lot of wood, a shaving like this,
01:18:08.047 --> 01:18:10.490
you just pull it in and
it would fall apart.
01:18:10.490 --> 01:18:13.980
And Pernambuco wood, it's like a spring.
01:18:13.980 --> 01:18:18.703
This is one of, if not the
strongest wood in the world.
01:18:20.010 --> 01:18:21.403
And then there's the dye.
01:18:25.240 --> 01:18:28.800
In a little while you'll start
to see the pink come out.
01:18:28.800 --> 01:18:31.713
And before long this
whole jar will be pink.
01:18:35.380 --> 01:18:39.650
The wood I actually use 99% of the time
01:18:39.650 --> 01:18:44.650
I bought in Brazil at a
little mill back in the '80s.
01:18:46.080 --> 01:18:50.473
It's been drying and seasoning
for basically 30 years.
01:18:51.480 --> 01:18:56.480
And so, I know the trees
these boards came out of.
01:18:58.020 --> 01:18:59.880
In my wood, I'll go through it,
01:18:59.880 --> 01:19:03.093
and there'll be just
like veins of one tree.
01:19:04.520 --> 01:19:07.809
I can recognize the tree
in each of these boards.
01:19:07.809 --> 01:19:11.142
(dramatic string music)
01:19:22.170 --> 01:19:26.320
When I first went to Brazil in 1983
01:19:26.320 --> 01:19:31.320
I went to this little mill in
the state of Espirito Santo.
01:19:31.540 --> 01:19:34.963
And I met Floriano Schaeffer.
01:19:40.700 --> 01:19:42.777
He started planting trees.
01:19:42.777 --> 01:19:47.777
And he also had a greenhouse
where he literally raised
01:19:48.510 --> 01:19:51.120
thousands and thousands of seedlings,
01:19:51.120 --> 01:19:53.580
and then distributed
them throughout the area.
01:19:54.419 --> 01:19:55.960
(singing in foreign language)
01:19:55.960 --> 01:19:59.877
(speaking in foreign language)
01:20:04.397 --> 01:20:08.314
(speaking in foreign language)
01:20:11.589 --> 01:20:15.506
(speaking in foreign language)
01:22:19.269 --> 01:22:22.436
(upbeat string music)
01:22:43.903 --> 01:22:46.820
(speaking in foreign language)
01:22:46.820 --> 01:22:49.080
- The wood only grows in Brazil,
01:22:49.080 --> 01:22:54.080
so, for most Brazilians, they
have no idea that Pau-Brasil,
01:22:54.760 --> 01:22:57.440
the wood that actually
gave Brazil it's name,
01:22:57.440 --> 01:23:01.240
it's the preferred wood
used on bows worldwide.
01:23:01.240 --> 01:23:05.290
So when they see it, it's
that moment, Yo-Yo Ma,
01:23:05.290 --> 01:23:09.590
the best classical playing,
they don't make that connection.
01:23:09.590 --> 01:23:13.423
Wow, here's a piece of Brazil onstage.
01:23:26.870 --> 01:23:29.920
The influence of the bows made in Brazil
01:23:29.920 --> 01:23:33.413
over the past 20 years is very palpable.
01:23:34.330 --> 01:23:36.297
It's really clear to me
that they said, you know,
01:23:36.297 --> 01:23:41.297
"This brought the playability
of students to the next level,
01:23:41.640 --> 01:23:44.435
pretty much all the way up
to their college years."
01:23:44.435 --> 01:23:47.454
(soft string music)
01:23:47.454 --> 01:23:50.890
Guarana is the Mecca now of student bows.
01:23:51.990 --> 01:23:54.410
And I'm thinking, why
not take the next step
01:23:54.410 --> 01:23:58.685
and make really first class
bows in the world stage?
01:23:58.685 --> 01:24:02.018
(dramatic string music)
01:24:03.280 --> 01:24:05.850
Pernambuco wood, it is a tree that
01:24:05.850 --> 01:24:08.810
it grows only in the coastal rainforest.
01:24:08.810 --> 01:24:11.300
If you're talking about
native stretches of forest
01:24:11.300 --> 01:24:14.840
had been cut for agriculture, cattle,
01:24:14.840 --> 01:24:18.173
eucalyptus for the
cellulose manufacturing.
01:24:25.557 --> 01:24:27.550
And we are the first to reverse that.
01:24:27.550 --> 01:24:32.550
So we want to actually get
these patches of forest,
01:24:32.900 --> 01:24:36.183
native forest, and grow them
out, preserve what we have.
01:24:49.414 --> 01:24:52.840
(speaking in foreign language)
01:24:52.840 --> 01:24:57.840
- So here we are, Floresta
Viva School greenhouse.
01:24:58.620 --> 01:25:01.783
we have 25,000 seedlings here.
01:25:02.940 --> 01:25:05.213
Here are the Pau-Brasil seedlings.
01:25:08.270 --> 01:25:11.070
Let's get out a really nice one.
01:25:11.070 --> 01:25:13.340
Well, they're all really beautiful.
01:25:13.340 --> 01:25:17.483
But this one has a very
nice height, very healthy.
01:25:22.675 --> 01:25:25.620
(speaking in foreign language)
01:25:25.620 --> 01:25:30.520
We are going to donate
14,000 seedlings to farmers,
01:25:32.620 --> 01:25:37.020
land owners from people that
are going to plant their trees
01:25:37.020 --> 01:25:41.010
on their backyard, to
people that are going to put
01:25:41.010 --> 01:25:45.886
hundreds of Pau-Brasils
next to cacao plantations.
01:25:45.886 --> 01:25:49.803
(speaking in foreign language)
01:26:09.683 --> 01:26:13.600
(speaking in foreign language)
01:26:53.805 --> 01:26:54.638
(laughing)
01:26:54.638 --> 01:26:58.555
(speaking in foreign language)
01:27:07.181 --> 01:27:10.514
(dramatic string music)
01:27:45.354 --> 01:27:48.354
(soft string music)
01:27:49.536 --> 01:27:52.536
(upbeat drum music)
01:27:57.528 --> 01:28:00.695
(upbeat string music)
01:28:03.414 --> 01:28:07.331
(speaking in foreign language)
01:28:21.715 --> 01:28:25.048
(dramatic string music)
01:28:28.873 --> 01:28:32.790
(speaking in foreign language)
01:28:57.192 --> 01:28:58.025
(dramatic string music)
01:28:58.025 --> 01:29:01.942
(speaking in foreign language)
01:29:25.080 --> 01:29:28.247
(upbeat string music)
01:30:07.727 --> 01:30:11.644
(speaking in foreign language)
01:30:20.855 --> 01:30:24.772
(speaking in foreign language)
01:30:28.880 --> 01:30:32.480
- Well, so this being the mother tree,
01:30:32.480 --> 01:30:34.770
he will expect lots of
it's children to be around.
01:30:34.770 --> 01:30:38.580
So you can see the Pau-Brasil seedlings
01:30:38.580 --> 01:30:43.580
that we eventually take
back to the greenhouse,
01:30:43.810 --> 01:30:44.643
like this one,
01:30:47.130 --> 01:30:48.533
to plant somewhere else.
01:30:51.257 --> 01:30:55.040
So you see how many
only in this small area,
01:30:55.040 --> 01:30:57.623
we have three of them, and all around.
01:30:58.950 --> 01:31:01.653
We could take 50 home.
01:31:03.892 --> 01:31:07.225
(dramatic string music)
01:31:34.520 --> 01:31:38.730
- Well, the hair used to
come from Russia and Poland.
01:31:38.730 --> 01:31:42.280
There's some hair from France, Argentina,
01:31:42.280 --> 01:31:43.793
anywhere they have horses.
01:31:45.350 --> 01:31:47.530
Mongolia has a lotta horses.
01:31:47.530 --> 01:31:51.263
So that's probably where most
of this hair is coming from.
01:31:52.292 --> 01:31:56.459
(dramatic string music continues)
01:32:25.520 --> 01:32:30.520
I'd say that if somebody
came upon this bow
01:32:34.950 --> 01:32:38.413
in the future, and a bow,
and it was all beat up.
01:32:40.200 --> 01:32:42.347
When they looked at it
they'd probably think
01:32:42.347 --> 01:32:44.963
it was an early 19th century bow.
01:32:53.050 --> 01:32:53.883
Looking good.
01:32:56.574 --> 01:32:58.836
I really hope Milena likes this bow.
01:32:58.836 --> 01:33:02.103
I really feel that it's a special stick.
01:33:03.840 --> 01:33:08.657
It's just got a special
power in the wood itself.
01:33:17.064 --> 01:33:19.051
- This is very exciting.
01:33:19.051 --> 01:33:21.893
Woo, here it is.
- Amazing.
01:33:21.893 --> 01:33:23.752
- And then look in there.
- Yeah, look at directions
01:33:23.752 --> 01:33:26.567
on the back of like a
sleeve of bubble wrap.
01:33:26.567 --> 01:33:28.010
- Are there any cool knots in it?
01:33:28.010 --> 01:33:30.354
- It has a knot, I think
01:33:30.354 --> 01:33:31.236
here.
- Oh yeah.
01:33:31.236 --> 01:33:32.069
- And then it has
01:33:32.069 --> 01:33:32.902
this this wavy
- Really similar to mine,
01:33:32.902 --> 01:33:36.559
actually.
- stuff here, interesting.
01:33:36.559 --> 01:33:38.079
Curious what you think.
01:33:38.079 --> 01:33:38.912
- I'm curious what I think.
01:33:38.912 --> 01:33:39.745
- [Man] It's strong, I feel like it was.
01:33:39.745 --> 01:33:43.078
(dramatic string music)
01:33:56.490 --> 01:34:00.040
- This is the Espey bow right here.
01:34:00.040 --> 01:34:03.040
And when I got it,
01:34:03.040 --> 01:34:05.363
I instantly wanted,
01:34:06.240 --> 01:34:09.940
I wanted it to be like
a revelation instantly.
01:34:09.940 --> 01:34:14.940
It was so different from my bow
that I was a little nervous,
01:34:15.020 --> 01:34:19.900
and worried, because it
just, it felt so different.
01:34:19.900 --> 01:34:22.010
I felt like I couldn't grab the string.
01:34:22.010 --> 01:34:23.580
I was really nervous to say yes
01:34:23.580 --> 01:34:27.391
when I felt so uncomfortable
physically, at first.
01:34:27.391 --> 01:34:28.224
(soft string music)
01:34:28.224 --> 01:34:31.340
And so, what I decided to
do was not play on my bow
01:34:31.340 --> 01:34:34.760
for a week, I just only
played on the new bow
01:34:34.760 --> 01:34:36.833
just to see if I could get used to it.
01:34:38.000 --> 01:34:40.740
It had a very luminous and lively sound.
01:34:40.740 --> 01:34:43.250
Like the sound was very, it just felt like
01:34:43.250 --> 01:34:45.580
it was really spinning and alive.
01:34:45.580 --> 01:34:46.460
(dramatic string music)
01:34:46.460 --> 01:34:48.610
And then I played it in concert
01:34:48.610 --> 01:34:51.110
and it felt slightly easier to play on.
01:34:51.110 --> 01:34:53.123
So I thought, this is a good sign.
01:34:54.210 --> 01:34:56.460
That was actually the
best thing I could've done
01:34:56.460 --> 01:34:58.010
for my own playing.
01:34:58.010 --> 01:35:02.643
Letting go and realizing the
potential of this relationship.
01:35:04.110 --> 01:35:07.287
It really helped me
understand myself better.
01:35:07.287 --> 01:35:10.070
(dramatic string music continues)
01:35:10.070 --> 01:35:12.163
And I just want to keep exploring that.
01:35:19.632 --> 01:35:22.799
(audience applauding)
01:35:31.017 --> 01:35:33.767
(birds chirping)
01:35:43.788 --> 01:35:47.705
(speaking in foreign language)
01:35:48.864 --> 01:35:52.781
(speaking in foreign language)
01:36:04.246 --> 01:36:06.913
(both laughing)
01:36:07.786 --> 01:36:11.703
(speaking in foreign language)
01:36:16.928 --> 01:36:19.678
(birds chirping)
01:36:47.054 --> 01:36:50.471
(Mario breathing deeply)
01:37:45.937 --> 01:37:49.854
(speaking in foreign language)
01:37:53.447 --> 01:37:56.614
(upbeat string music)
01:37:57.731 --> 01:37:58.787
(laughing)
01:37:58.787 --> 01:38:01.454
(both laughing)
01:38:08.692 --> 01:38:12.609
(speaking in foreign language)
01:38:19.419 --> 01:38:22.752
(dramatic string music)
01:38:27.460 --> 01:38:29.810
- It's just exploded all over the world
01:38:29.810 --> 01:38:34.810
that a set o' techniques
have been passed along,
01:38:35.160 --> 01:38:36.840
and I've passed along to a few people,
01:38:36.840 --> 01:38:39.170
and they're passing it on,
01:38:39.170 --> 01:38:42.660
and other people, who were
learning at the same time as me
01:38:42.660 --> 01:38:46.933
are passing it on, and
so, it's just blossomed.
01:38:53.620 --> 01:38:55.460
- [Robert] Something about bowmaking
01:38:55.460 --> 01:38:59.680
that's really important to me
is that it remains a mystery.
01:38:59.680 --> 01:39:01.690
No one has been able to quantify it,
01:39:01.690 --> 01:39:05.105
or bring science to it,
to solve the puzzle.
01:39:05.105 --> 01:39:09.272
(dramatic string music continues)
01:39:29.281 --> 01:39:31.567
I like the quote from Rumi.
01:39:31.567 --> 01:39:33.617
"Let the beauty we love be what we do."
01:39:41.724 --> 01:39:43.792
(wood scraping)
01:39:43.792 --> 01:39:47.125
(dramatic string music)
01:39:52.920 --> 01:39:55.280
- [Ole] The carving and the crafting of it
01:39:55.280 --> 01:39:57.520
is just kind of in my bones at this point.
01:39:57.520 --> 01:40:02.520
But, the interaction happens
with the life of the stick,
01:40:02.980 --> 01:40:06.463
of how do I make this bow come to life?
01:40:07.300 --> 01:40:10.120
That's the thing that I look forward to
01:40:10.120 --> 01:40:11.810
every time I pull out a bow.
01:40:11.810 --> 01:40:14.810
(soft string music)
01:40:38.530 --> 01:40:42.210
- 10 months since I've been out of work,
01:40:42.210 --> 01:40:44.647
I hope I can still remember how to do it.
01:40:44.647 --> 01:40:45.480
(laughing)
01:40:45.480 --> 01:40:46.494
I think I probably will
01:40:46.494 --> 01:40:49.191
because I've been at it for so long.
01:40:49.191 --> 01:40:51.421
So I think it's maybe a second nature.
01:40:51.421 --> 01:40:55.588
(dramatic string music continues)
01:40:59.150 --> 01:41:01.420
Things are starting to happen.
01:41:01.420 --> 01:41:02.253
Back to work.
01:41:03.320 --> 01:41:04.614
Okay, next one.
01:41:04.614 --> 01:41:08.781
(dramatic string music continues)
01:41:17.904 --> 01:41:21.348
(dramatic string music)
01:41:21.348 --> 01:41:22.181
- [Man] Which one of the styles?
01:41:22.181 --> 01:41:23.384
- [Woman] Tom Fletcher.
01:41:23.384 --> 01:41:26.717
(dramatic string music)
01:41:35.226 --> 01:41:38.559
(dramatic string music)
01:41:55.750 --> 01:41:58.498
- This one is made by Kowalski.
01:41:58.498 --> 01:41:59.490
- [Man] Cody Kowalski.
01:41:59.490 --> 01:42:00.879
- Cody, yeah.
01:42:00.879 --> 01:42:04.212
(dramatic string music)
01:42:14.140 --> 01:42:16.940
I have to say, I just, I
literally just picked this bow up
01:42:16.940 --> 01:42:19.590
and I just said, it's an amazing bow.
01:42:19.590 --> 01:42:21.540
It's a great, great bow.
01:42:21.540 --> 01:42:22.901
So how old is Cody?
01:42:22.901 --> 01:42:23.734
- [Man] 21.
01:42:23.734 --> 01:42:24.893
- [Woman] Oh, 21, I thought he was 22.
01:42:24.893 --> 01:42:27.680
- He's 21-years-old, this bowmaker.
01:42:27.680 --> 01:42:28.563
Amazing.
- He worked with Espey.
01:42:28.563 --> 01:42:29.920
- [Man] This is Cody Kowalski.
01:42:29.920 --> 01:42:33.290
- Oh, hey, congratulations,
beautiful bow, great.
01:42:33.290 --> 01:42:34.123
- [Woman] Nice to meet you.
01:42:34.123 --> 01:42:36.016
- So I hear you're only 22-years-old?
01:42:36.016 --> 01:42:36.849
- [Woman] 21.
01:42:36.849 --> 01:42:37.682
- [Sean] 21.
01:42:37.682 --> 01:42:38.515
- [Cody] 23.
01:42:38.515 --> 01:42:39.348
- 23!
- 23. Okay.
01:42:39.348 --> 01:42:40.633
- All right, okay.
01:42:40.633 --> 01:42:43.966
(dramatic string music)
01:42:56.464 --> 01:42:57.297
It's a great bow.
01:42:57.297 --> 01:43:00.630
(dramatic string music)
01:43:04.122 --> 01:43:05.890
I said with this bow now, and this violin,
01:43:05.890 --> 01:43:08.218
I could practice on this
forever, the violin.
01:43:08.218 --> 01:43:10.025
(both laughing)
01:43:10.025 --> 01:43:13.358
(dramatic string music)
01:43:21.870 --> 01:43:25.563
- I'm just excited about some
of these sticks I just found.
01:43:29.200 --> 01:43:31.500
I see a piece of wood like this
01:43:31.500 --> 01:43:33.623
and I can see the finished bow.
01:43:35.320 --> 01:43:37.570
Or I can see other bows that look like it.
01:43:37.570 --> 01:43:41.563
You know, really old bows
that are 150-years-old.
01:43:43.770 --> 01:43:47.773
Here's a really interesting stick.
01:43:48.720 --> 01:43:51.170
I think this might be the next bow I make.
01:43:52.100 --> 01:43:54.548
Yeah, this is the one
I'm really curious about.
01:43:54.548 --> 01:43:58.006
(dramatic string music)
01:43:58.006 --> 01:44:01.339
(dramatic string music)
01:44:29.885 --> 01:44:32.885
(soft string music)
01:44:50.120 --> 01:44:52.519
(audience cheering and applauding)
01:44:52.519 --> 01:44:56.352
(soft string music continues)
01:45:00.333 --> 01:45:03.500
(upbeat string music)
01:45:19.702 --> 01:45:23.554
(audience cheering and applauding)
01:45:23.554 --> 01:45:27.554
(upbeat string music continues)
01:45:33.822 --> 01:45:36.172
- [Leader] One, two, a
one, two, three, four.
01:45:36.172 --> 01:45:39.339
(upbeat string music)
01:45:48.071 --> 01:45:50.568
(audience cheering and applauding)
01:45:50.568 --> 01:45:54.568
(upbeat string music continues)
01:45:59.767 --> 01:46:03.018
(audience cheering and applauding)
01:46:03.018 --> 01:46:07.018
(upbeat string music continues)
01:46:10.066 --> 01:46:14.494
(audience laughing and applauding)
01:46:14.494 --> 01:46:18.494
(upbeat string music continues)
01:46:19.657 --> 01:46:20.574
Here we go!
01:46:23.942 --> 01:46:28.192
(audience cheering and applauding)
