French-born violinist Marie Limondin clearly remembers the day she bought her much-loved violin. She was 12-years-old and it was already clear to everyone that Marie was not only a passionate player, she was also a very good one.
When the day came to upgrade her child’s violin to an adult-sized instrument Marie, along with her music teacher and parents, headed to Paris’ legendary Rue de Rome (home to many of the world’s best luthiers and stringed-instrument dealers). For the young Marie these music shops were like Aladdin’s Caves and her eyes were as wide as plates as she searched for the instrument she wanted.
“I saw a nice shiny one that I liked but then my music teacher blindfolded me and told me to try different violins. I couldn’t even look at them so I played each one without knowing anything. Every violin has a personality, a sound, a resonance, a certain feel – musically and physically. I didn’t know it but I kept coming back to the same violin that felt and sounded right for me.”
When Marie removed the blindfold her heart sank. Rather than a brand new, highly polished and immaculately presented instrument, she’d chosen a tattered and battered one that had seen several lifetimes of use.
“It was 212 years old; made in 1779. Its wood was very dark so it looked really different to all the others. It was made in Germany and had been expertly restored but its dimensions were really unusual so we think it was custom built for a small woman… just like me.”
Marie named the violin ‘Gaston’ after her violin teacher’s cat and over the coming years Marie and Gaston were inseparable. So, when her family relocated to Spain for her father’s work, finding a good violin teacher was a high priority.
“We found this very old man from Poland who had all the East European traditions and knowledge. He was very demanding, very precise and he’d teach with few words but always showing how it should sound.”
After returning to France a few years later Marie was determined to continue her musical journey. But Marie didn’t want to be a soloist; she wanted to play with other musicians, to feel that connectivity and collaboration, and the harmonic unison that comes with being part of an orchestra.
“I applied to France’s top conservatory of music but they preferred soloists and I had to face the reality that it was going to be really hard to get a job in an orchestra. I decided to do the safe thing and go to Uni to become a violin teacher.”
But the desire to play in an orchestra continued and when another musician suggested looking for orchestras in other countries via ‘Musical Chairs’ – an international recruitment website for musicians – Marie’s world suddenly expanded. Before long Marie quit her teaching job, sold her possessions, and carrying only her backpack and violin she moved to Mexico to join an orchestra.
Marie says it was a “blissful time” but a chance encounter with an Australian man led Marie to follow heart strings of a different kind and she ended up relocating to regional WA carrying (yet again) only her backpack and treasured violin.
“My English wasn’t very good but I had my music and my violin was my passport. It was my language. I loved the sense of freedom here, the space and the ability to breathe fresh clean air.”
While Marie and that man eventually parted she later went on to marry a local musician and raise two children, while teaching violin at a small country school and playing with multiple bands.
“When I play with my different bands there is much improvisation. It feels like floating where you’re carried by the other musicians and you add an extra layer and you float in this beautiful river of notes and harmony.”
The adoration Marie has for her instrument is clearly visible whenever she tucks her violin under chin and starts to play. Her eyes close and her body sways as she glides the bow across the strings with highly accomplished fluidity. The sound is exquisite, otherworldly, and can often bring both the player and listener to tears.
Marie’s violin is now 245 years old and this violin – that she was once horrified to have chosen – has become her most constant and treasured companion.