Violin Bow In the manner of Dominique Pecatte By Bernard Walke Ottawa, Ontario 1991 Pernambuco wood, cow horn, silver thread, silver, mother-of-pearl, abalone, leather, bone, horsehair 74,5 cm Brand: "Bernard Walke"

Walke is a biologist by training, and his concern for the environment has led him to question the use of "living" materials, from animal or plant sources, to build musical instruments and other objects. Cow horn offers an interesting alternative to ivory and tortoiseshell, traditional bow-making materials whose use is now banned. The bow shown here is a modern one, with its nut made of cow horn.

     

Bernard Walke

Bernard Walke has been a bow maker for ten years. His interest in bow making was sparked by his predilection for classical and Celtic music for violin. But his brother, Gregory, also had a hand in his taking up the profession. In 1974, the two brothers had the opportunity to meet John Doherty, a renowned Irish fiddler, in a Donegal pub. The musician's playing and their sustained contact with Irish and Scottish music encouraged the brothers to take up the violin.

In 1980, back from a stint as a biologist in Nigeria, Walke set about to learn the bow maker's craft, at the insistence of his brother, who had since become a luthier. For two years, Bernard apprenticed under Peter Mach, a luthier and bow maker in Aylmer, Quebec. During this time, he also met Dominik Zuchowicz, who taught him about early music and the construction of viols, which sparked his interest in making baroque bows. He opened a workshop in Toronto in 1982 and studied early French and English bows. In 1984, Bernard Walke settled in Ottawa, where he makes bows for modern violins and for baroque instruments.