2021 Bastien Burlot "Alkemia-Amiens" SP/AR

A 2021 "Alkemia-Amiens" classical guitar by Bastien Burlot, with a spruce top and African rosewood back and sides – the fifth guitar of his cathedral series and the second inspired by Amiens, after the 2020 cedar-top Amiens – pre-owned and in like-new, mint condition.

In the videos above, Brian Rodriguez plays Albéniz's "Córdoba" on this guitar, and a drone film shows Amiens Cathedral itself – the building whose details shaped this guitar's design.

A Labyrinth on the Label

The rosette weaves in the motifs of the cathedral's floor, laid in 1288 in the late Middle Ages. Its octagonal labyrinth – the twin of the round one at Chartres, with the same path arrangement and widths – appears on the label, resting symbolically on the guitar's inner "floor".

Three Elements and the Guitarist

Bastien explains that a centuries-old tradition gives each of the four motifs of the nave pavement the name of one of the four elements: "3 have been integrated into this rosette whose complexity of construction was a real technical challenge. The 4th element will therefore be the guitarist…"

Sound and Condition

For Bastien the cathedrals are "bridges between the profane, material world and a more sacred one." This guitar's fit and finish are extremely clean, and its sound is rich, big and bold, with deep resonances and carrying power across all registers.

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.