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ALAMI
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Leon Al Istanbuli [???]
Anyone heard of a oudmaker called :
Leon Al Istanbuli (Leon of Istanbul) ?
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Ararat66
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Hi Alami
That makes me 'Leon Al Portsmouth' - unfortunately I don't live in Istanbul and I don't make ouds ... but what a name!!!
Best wishes
Leon
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ALAMI
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Oud Freak
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Yes Alami, I heard about leon stambouli and I even saw one of his ouds with my teacher when I started learning. I can remember the oud was nice
looking and sounding, but it was tuned slightly higher. However I've never seen this oud again. I shall ask him if it is his oud or if he borrowed it
from someone, and if he knows anything about the maker. Will get back to you later on, if answer available. Cheers!
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Adel Salameh
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Hello,
Istanbuli Leon is the hanna nahat of Lebanon........ his ouds are very sharqi, warm, alot of bass.
Best wishes,
Adel
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ALAMI
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Thanks a lot guys for the tips, it was very helpful.
I met (and get) today a Leon Istanbuli oud.
It will need some work and as you can see the central and one small rosettes are missing with some damage around but the rest of the face is good,
the bowl is probably lemon.
Stringlength 63, bowl 52X38.5 and 20.5 deep.
Fingerboard is ivory and looks perfect.
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ALAMI
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The label says:
Leon Istanbuli
Making and repair of musical instruments
Beirut - Al Basta Al Tahta
There is no date on the label.
It looks pretty old, may be 30s-40s.
Adel and Oud Freak it would be great if we can have some extra infos about this maker.
I guess he is an Armenian maker
Leon is a common name among the armenian community in Lebanon -....and may be Portsmouth?? - and Al Istanbuli is probably related to the place he came from, the majority of the lebanese-armenian community is also originally from
Turkey .
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Adel Salameh
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Hi Alami, I know he is Armenian oud maker....I have played few of his ouds and the sound is so big and warm.....he lived in Lebanon and produced many
ouds...yet his ouds are not available....so what you have here is something very special....made in the 1940's...he was defnitly one of the best oud
makers in Lebanon...
your oud is in good condition, needs repaires not a big deal....but please take it to somebody who knows what he/she is doing.....this oud is
important as Hanna nahat....
Also I advice you not to use alot of tension on this oud, 2.8 kg is good ....not more than this....
Enjoy your oud.
Best wishes,
Adel
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charlie oud
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Ararat66
Hi Alami
That makes me 'Leon Al Portsmouth' - L.O.L Nice one Leon, dull day, your sense of humour has cheered me up, thankyou  |
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Ararat66
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Hello all
I was just about to ask if he was Armenin - not many Leons in Portsmouth but I am half Armenian and named after my uncle Levon Arakalian ... I also
have a broad Yorkshire accent which may seem a bit incongruent
Many Armenians ended up (many in a terrible state) in Syria and Lebanon at the beginning of the last century, so the Istanbuli makes a lot of sense.
I really hope you can get this oud back to playing condition Alami, it keeps the full extent of musical flavour alive!!!
Adel, are you playing the UK soon, I briefly met you at the West End Centre in Aldershot last year, I really enjoyed your concert.
Best wishes
Leon
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mavrothis
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Congratulations on acquiring this oud! It looks beautiful and seems to be of great historical value, in addition to probably being a wonderful
instrument to play.
Take care,
mavrothis
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ALAMI
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Thanks for the infos Adel, I am delighted to know what you think of the value of this oud specially when it comes from someone with your experience
and your knowledge.
This find is a double joy, because beyond discovering a fine old oud, it is also a discovery of a luthier most of us didn't know.
You are right the oud is in good condition and it is very playable but I prefer not to string it before having it checked by a luthier. Be assured I
will not let inexperienced hands touch it, Nazih Ghadban is going to see the ouds in few days. May be it is time to use this gut set I was saving in
the dark and dry.
In Lebanon armenians are known for precision work: Instrument making, watch repair, photography, fine printing....Leon is right about the fact that
most armenians that fled to Lebanon and Syria were in a terrible state but they were also a chance and a positive force for the countries who received
them.
Thanks mav, I'll post a sound file when the oud is ready (hope it is not going to be long)
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Ararat66
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Alami is absolutely right, being part of a diaspora provides a good chance to transform negative situations into positve, the energy that pushes
people away from their homelands can drive them to excel which can have wonderful benefits.
Alami .. enjoy your oud my friend, it is so good to hear of these great masters, and that someone is prepared to honour them.
Leon
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Oud Freak
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Oud Freak
Yes Alami, I heard about leon stambouli and I even saw one of his ouds with my teacher when I started learning. I can remember the oud was nice
looking and sounding, but it was tuned slightly higher. However I've never seen this oud again. I shall ask him if it is his oud or if he borrowed it
from someone, and if he knows anything about the maker. Will get back to you later on, if answer available. Cheers! |
Alami, as promised, please see the pics of the related Leon Stambouli oud. Gorgeous one, elegant shape, nice sound!
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Oud Freak
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The bowl.
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paulO
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Hi Alami,
Super cool oud man, great find. Can't wait to hear it.
Regards..Paul
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ALAMI
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Thanks Oud Freak for the pics, it is a beautiful oud in perfect condition, the body seems narrow in comparison to mine which is very large (38.5
cm).
The rosette design is interesting and unique: the design is asymmetrical and the patterns are very uncommon.
Mine has lost his rosettes (except one small one), I still have a tiny hope that the lady who sold the oud to me might find them, she remembers that
they were "somewhere" but cannot find them, meanwhile Nazih is working on the oud and it will be ready soon.
The main difficulty that faced him was that the neck is globally rotated a bit around its axis (torsion longitudinale)
Thanks for the pics, it is a great thing that the members here are sometimes able to bring back a master from being forgotten and that we can see and
hear their work again.
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ALAMI
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Restoration by Nazih Ghadban
The holes around the missing rosettes have lost parts of the face wood , the possible scenario is that the oud received a quantity of water (or other
liquid) directly on the face as the dark stains suggest, the roses' glue came loose and they were taken away by force damaging the face around.
Nazih was able to fit and color 2 pieces of spruce to fix this.
We decided to keep the unique small rose hoping to find the original ones.
Thanks to Oud Freak, we know now how the rosette might have looked.
(BTW, OF I would be grateful if you can post a higher res or close up picture of the rosette in case you have such a pic)
The steps of the work on the face:
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ALAMI
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There was a long crack along the neck.
The crack was "opened" and glued again
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ALAMI
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Also a big crack and few small ones in the bowl
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ALAMI
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The finished oud,
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ALAMI
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And finally - and best of all - what makes all the effort worth it and very rewarding, the old master is speaking to us again:
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mavrothis
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This has been a great thread, thank you.
To see the progress made on this rare oud, and then hear such a beautiful sound clip after the restoration is extremely satisfying and uplifting.
I hope you enjoy this masterpiece for a very long time. Mr. Ghadban has done a beautiful restoration job once again.
Take care,
mavrothis
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Adel Salameh
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what a beautiful sound......very Arabic indeed.
Enjoy your oud Alami,
Salamat,
Adel
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SamirCanada
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Oh waw!
its excellent.
Mabrouk
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