Barak Norman (1651–1724) was an English string instrument maker. He was an important and prolific English maker of

viol The viola da gamba (), or viol, or informally gamba, is a bowed and fretted string instrument that is played (i.e. "on the leg"). It is distinct from the later violin family, violin, or ; and it is any one of the earlier viol family of bow (m ...

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

s & '

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

s. He was apprenticed in the Guild of Weavers in 1668, and probably received instruction from Richard Meares. His viols are the epitome of the elegant English style of the period. Early specimens are highly arched but later ones have medium arching and elaborate double

purfling Purfling is a narrow decorative edge inlaid into the top plate and often the back plate of a stringed instrument. It was originally made of laminated strips of wood, and later nacre and other hard inlay materials. Plastic is commonly used in moder ...

. The earliest recorded label naming Barak Norman as maker (on a viol) is dated 1690.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Norman, Barak British luthiers 1670s births 1740s deaths