Designed more than 500 years ago by Leonardo da Vinci, was never built in his lifetime.
The sketch and drawings, are included in the Codex Atlanticus.
Leonardo’s design is an outline of a construction concept for a bowed string instrument which at the same time is a keyboard instrument.
In 2012, after 4-years-long work, Sławomir Zubrzycki, Polish pianist and constructor, built the first concert Viola Organista and brought it to concert halls and music festivals all over the Europe, starting a new chapter of its history.
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A new book by Sławomir Zubrzycki and Magdalena Zubrzycka. Published by Astraia – October 2021
Order here: https://astraia.pl/produkt/leonardo-da-vinci-historia-pewnego-instrumentu
Viola Organista op. 2
In 2021, Sławomir Zubrzycki built a second instrument, which is the result of further research and concert experience from 2013-2019. Some solutions have been optimized, the overall length has changed, and the control over the sound gives new possibilities of expression and interpretation.
The next instrument was built in 2023. It differs from the previous ones in the construction of the bow, which is in the form of an endless belt, not wheels. Thanks to this solution, the arrangement of the strings is parallel to the surface of the soundboard, similar to harpsichords or pianos. The sound characteristics are also different compared to the two previous instruments. Both types of bow were sketched by Leonardo da Vinci. The decoration of the instrument is based on patterns of the Florentine school from the 16th century.
VIOLA ORGANISTA op. 3
