How did V. Richelieu get its name?

One of the most common questions we get asked about our Made in Vermont violins is; “why did we call them V. Richelieu?” (“How do you spell that?” takes a close second).  

The “V”  references Vermont of course, our home state whose rich heritage of handcraft we are deeply proud to inherit.  But, more subtly, it is also an homage to Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, a dominant figure in European violin lutherie throughout much of the 19th century. Born in Mirecourt, France, he later moved to Paris where he opened his workshop and pioneered the workshop model of violin making. The workshop model engaged skilled artisans each responsible for specific tasks in the making of the instrument, much in the way Henry Ford would pioneer the automobile assembly line a century later. His instruments were modeled on the Italian masters of earlier centuries: Antonio Stradivari, Nicolo Amati or Guarneri del Gesù. Some of his reproductions were so good that if not for the internal markings they would have passed for an authentic piece from the Italian masters. His instruments are still sought to this day by collectors and players alike who put high value on the workmanship and tonal effect of these fine instruments.  

The name Richelieu comes from the river that runs from Lake Champlain north into Canada and empties into the St. Lawrence River in the Canadian province of Quebec. The river itself is named after 17th Century French political and clergyman (and Alexandre Dumas villain) Cardinal Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu. The Richelieu name pays tribute to our pride in our Vermont heritage and to invoke the French heritage that informs some of our early instrument designs.

And for those who have trouble with the spelling (primarily native English speakers), the easiest trick is to remember that Richelieu is three syllables (Rich-e-lieu).

Our goal is to design innovative instruments and to build them in a manner that allows us to offer truly fine instruments to a wide range of players.   In the competitive world of music, where our talents are judged and ranked on an almost daily basis, it is an unfortunate fact that many of the finest players struggle to compete effectively for lack of affordable fine instruments that supports the music they would create given the necessary tools to do so.  We want to level that playing field so that players of limited means can acquire instruments that compete effectively with instruments stratospherically priced. 

 Our workshop allows our luthiers to combine their decades of knowledge and experience to create instruments at a better retail price, in a shorter amount of time then they would be able to produce on their own. A luthier who makes instruments full time can typically produce 6-10 instruments (violin and viola) a year, whereas we can produce significantly more instruments in a year using the workshop model developed by Vuillaume a century and a half ago!  And, by leveraging the extraordinary talent of our luthier team, we are able to level the playing field for students competing against players with unlimited financial resources.  

If you are interested in renting or purchasing one of our fine V. Richelieu instruments you can send us an inquiry here (link) and someone will reach out within one business day.