2020 Bastien Burlot "Alkemia-Amiens" CD/IN

A 2020 "Alkemia-Amiens" classical guitar by Bastien Burlot, with a cedar top and Indian rosewood back and sides – the fourth in his cathedral series (after Chartres, Strasbourg and Paris), inspired by Amiens Cathedral.

The Floor of Amiens Cathedral

Bastien drew on the beautiful patterns of the cathedral's famous floor, first laid in 1288, and wove them into the rosette. At the center of the nave is a labyrinth with the same path arrangement and widths as the one at Chartres, but octagonal rather than round – and Bastien pays tribute to it in the artwork of his label, which rests, symbolically, on the guitar's own inner "floor".

In Bastien Burlot's Words

"For all specialists in medieval architecture, the cathedral of Amiens represents an absolute masterpiece of Gothic art, of daring design and execution that has provided centuries of admiration. Standing beneath the stone vaulted nave at a height of 43 meters (140 feet) makes us think we are dreaming! The entire Notre-Dame de Paris would comfortably fit in this incredible space – Amiens' volume being double that of Paris at 200,000 cubic meters. To get an idea of what such size means, consider that the Arc de Triomphe de Paris is barely taller. In Amiens, we see what at the time was the absolute limit of what was achievable: a few years after the completion of Amiens, the builders of the Beauvais cathedral would try to surpass Amiens in size, only to have the roof partially collapse, leaving Amiens the tallest enduring cathedral in France to this day. So it is with Amiens that Gothic architecture seems to have found its limit. Concerning the creation of the rosette of this guitar, I chose this time to draw my inspiration from the magnificent floor of the cathedral. A centuries-old tradition attributes to 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…"

Big and Bold

Fit and finish are extremely clean, as is Bastien's usual standard, and the sound is rich, big and bold, thick with deep resonances and carrying power in every register.

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.