The Evangelists
Arts Global Director Heather de Haes: "Each instrument is outstanding in its own right,
but when heard as a group their collective sound assumes an extraordinary beauty and radiant energy.
It's as if they were made from the wood of a single tree."
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| St Jean violin 1 |
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| St Marc violin 2 |
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| St Mathieu viola |
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| St Luc cello |
The Evangelists were made in 1863 by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume (1798-1875) in Paris, and are acknowledged to be supreme examples of his Golden Period. They were acquired by Arts Global in April 2008 from the legendary luthier Étienne Vatelot in Paris, who had held them for 35 years as signature pieces in his showroom. They had hardly ever been played, and were in mint condition.
Arts Global's objective in acquiring The Evangelists was to loan the set to emerging string quartets of the first rank, with a view to contributing to their artistic growth. The first recipients of the instruments were the Modigliani Quartet of Paris.
St Jean, the first violin of The Evangelists, was then loaned to the renowned young Swiss violinist Rachel Kolly d’Alba, for a concert tour and a recording for Warner Classics of music by Saint-Saëns and Ysaÿe.
St Jean was honoured to be featured in the 2013 calendar of The Strad.
Presently St Jean is on loan to the outstanding Australian violinist Emily Sun, pending arrangements with a third string quartet to receive the instruments.
