Paul Fischer (born
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...
1941), a British maker of musical instruments, began making harpsichords and clavichords in 1956 in Oxford under the tutelage of Robert Goble, with further study at the Oxford College of Art and Technology.
After military service (
11th Hussars
The 11th Hussars (Prince Albert's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army established in 1715. It saw service for three centuries including the First World War and Second World War but then amalgamated with the 10th Royal Hussars (Pri ...
) he joined the lute and guitar maker
David Rubio
David Rubio (born David Joseph Spinks; 17 September 1934 – 21 October 2000) was an English maker of stringed musical instruments.
Biography
David Rubio was born on 17 September 1934 in London, England. He acquired his new surname in his t ...
at
Duns Tew,
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...
. With the benefit of Fischer's experience, Rubio began making harpsichords, soon to be followed by
theorbo
The theorbo is a plucked string instrument of the lute family, with an extended neck that houses the second pegbox. Like a lute, a theorbo has a curved-back sound box with a flat top, typically with one or three sound holes decorated with rose ...
s, viheulas, pandoras,
cittern
The cittern or cithren ( Fr. ''cistre'', It. ''cetra'', Ger. ''Cister,'' Sp. ''cistro, cedra, cítola'') is a stringed instrument dating from the Renaissance. Modern scholars debate its exact history, but it is generally accepted that it is d ...
s and baroque guitars. Bowed instruments were to follow. As the workforce expanded to meet increasing demand, Fischer was appointed manager and oversaw the making of this wide range of instruments until establishing his own studio in 1975.
Fischer set up shop in
Chipping Norton
Chipping Norton is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Cotswolds in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England, about south-west of Banbury and north-west of Oxford. The United Kingdom Census 2011, 201 ...
. The award of a
Winston Churchill Fellowship and Southern Arts bursary at this time, provided the opportunity to take up the challenge. From this and the work of physicist Dr. Bernard Richardson the 'Taut' system of construction was developed.
See also
*
Classical guitar making
References
Acoustic Guitar Central: Classical Guitar Design and Construction
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fischer, Paul
British luthiers
Guitar makers
English musical instrument makers
1941 births
Living people