NEW RELEASE
THE ONLY (KNOWN) SURVIVING LUTE BY JOSEPH HELLMER, FÜSSEN, 1601
SIGRUN RICHTER – Lute by Joseph Hellmer, Füssen, 1601
The lute by master Joseph Hellmer of Füssen, dated 1601, has been played and treasured for centuries. Countless repairs and alterations to the instrument bear witness to this. This ancient lute seems to have always attracted musicians, as it was played almost continuously throughout its history, no matter what condition it was in. The instrument was not even spared the destructive transformation into a guitar-lute, as was common in the 19th century.
The lute was extensively restored by Nico van der Waals in 2019/2020. At the request of the client and owner of the instrument, the lute was made playable again. Its proportions leave open the possibility that the lute was originally an 8-course instrument. At first, the original maker of the instrument was unknown. Seven slips of paper documenting the various repairs and alterations made to the instrument, including a repair slip by the famous Johann Christian Hoffmann of Leipzig, dated 1721, were found inside the shell. However, the maker's label was missing. That is, until it was finally found and retrieved under the repair label of a certain Alois Suter from 1860. After restoration, the label read: Joseph Hellmer, Füssen, 1601.
For this project, Sigrun Richter researched the "life story" of Joseph Hellmer's only surviving lute – a music-historical endeavour that is inextricably linked to the history of the town of Füssen. Here, in the cradle of European lute making, Joseph Hellmer built an instrument which, thanks to careful restoration, can now be played again 420 years after its creation, and whose sounds can be heard on this recording played by Sigrun Richter.