2019 Bastien Burlot "Alkemia-Strasbourg" SP/AR

A 2019 "Alkemia-Strasbourg" classical guitar by Bastien Burlot, with a spruce top and African rosewood back and sides – the second in his cathedral series, after Chartres, inspired by Strasbourg Cathedral.

In the video above, Thomas Viloteau – one of the guitarists Bastien has built for – plays Leo Brouwer's "Danza Característica" on this guitar.

In Bastien Burlot's Words

"This cathedral has only one rose window, which was created by Erwin De Steinbach. There are no biblical scenes represented in it, just a very geometric pattern of corn ears. This is symbolic since corn begins in the darkness (underground), and then it grows up out of the ground to discover the light and give its magic. The central pentagram is quite discreet: only those who seek to see it will find it. It indicates that a 'Unity' is reconstituted: the inner unity of man, but also that of his environment in which he is included. When the rose window was built, Master Erwin's drawings and designs were entrusted not to a master glassmaker, but to a master goldsmith, whose studio was located at the end of a courtyard in the Rue des Orfèvres, a stone's throw from the Cathedral. It is often mentioned that a mixture of diamond dust and precious stones were incorporated by the goldsmith into the preparation of the glass. Hence, we have an alchemical process… It is a real jewel that this rose window was erected above the central portal like a luminous flower, or a precious stone. Its elegance and finesse make it one of the most beautiful rose windows of the medieval west… It is the true sun of the Cathedral and the canopies are the stars."

Clean Work, Impressive Sound

Each "Alkemia" guitar is intended as a bridge between the material and the sacred. Fit and finish are extremely clean, and the guitar sounds as impressive as it looks.

Photos of this guitar taken during construction

Read more: Orfeo Magazine No. 21 – The New French Generation (with a feature on Bastien Burlot)

Bastien Burlot: From the Paris Conservatoire to the Workbench

Bastien Burlot is a French classical guitar maker who works in Aubazine, in the Corrèze. A guitarist first, he studied at the Conservatory of Lille and then in Roland Dyens' class at the Paris Conservatoire, where he built his first guitar during an internship in a luthier's workshop. He taught guitar for seven years while building at home, and in 2009, with some 30 instruments behind him, he became a full-time luthier.

The "Alkemia" Cathedral Guitars

Known at first for modern designs – his "Maestro hf" model, with a soundhole in the side, was built for eight years – Bastien has built for Roland Dyens and Thomas Viloteau. His "Alkemia" guitars combine traditional lutherie, studied through masters such as Torres and Hauser, with the symbolism and sacred geometry of the great French cathedrals. He was featured in Orfeo Magazine No. 21, on the new French generation.