The Violin. George Hart
by additional Miscellanea, including "Hudibras and the Champion Crowdero." In placing this piece of wit and humour before my readers, I have endeavoured to do so in a form as connected as possible, by the selection of passages likely to conduce to that end, without trespassing too much on space, and on the reader's patience.
I am indebted to Mr. G. D. Bishopp for the table containing the amount of tension of Violin strings, and their downward pressure. The information therein contained will doubtless be acceptable to many of my readers.
I owe to M. le Chevalier Kraus, of Florence, the pleasure of including among the engravings those of the instruments made by Antonio Stradivari for the Grand Duke of Florence, he having obtained for me the necessary photographs.
In conclusion, I have to thank my young friend Mr. Allan Fea for the two illustrations forming the head and tail pieces to "Hudibras and the Champion Crowdero."
28, Wardour Street, London, 1884.
PREFATORY NOTE BY THE EDITORS
Pending the completion of a more costly revised version of the late Mr. Hart's work, the editors, in compliance with what seems to be a widespread public desire, have decided to reprint the volume, as issued in popular form and finally corrected by the author in 1887, but with additions and certain emendations desirable in order to bring it into accord with the present state of knowledge, and to enhance its value as a work of reference. To this end the names of a considerable number of makers, either unknown at the time, or not deemed of sufficient prominence for insertion in the edition of 1887, have been incorporated in the text, together with particulars of the distinctive features of their work; and the notices relating to others have, where needful, been modified or recast. In other respects the book remains substantially as the author left it.
28 Wardour Street November, 1909.
| SECTION I.—THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE VIOLIN. | ||
| PAGE | ||
| 1.— | General observations—Early History involved in obscurity and vague conjecture—Jubal, Orpheus, and Apollo—Views of Early Historians of Music, as to Asiatic and Scandinavian origin respectively—Ravanon, King of Ceylon, and the "Ravanastron"—Researches of Sanscrit Scholars—Suggested Arabian origin of the Ribeca, or Rebec, and the Rehab of the Moors—Early Egyptian instruments—Moorish musical influence in Spain—The Troubadours and Trouvères in Northern France, and the Gigeours of Germany | 1–11 |
| 2.— | Early evidence of Bowed Instruments in the north of Europe—Presumed Scandinavian origin of the German Geige—The Hon. Roger North's "Memoirs of Music"—Martinus Gerbertus, his "De Cantu et Musicâ Sacrâ"—Paul Lacroix' "Arts of the Middle Ages"—Earliest known representations of Bowed Instruments, sixth to ninth century—The Manuscript of St. Blasius—The Cheli or Chelys—Saxon Fiddle in the Cottonian Manuscripts, and in Strutt's "Sports and Pastimes"—The early Saxons' love of Music—The Saxon Fithele in the time of the Norman Conquest—The Geige in France, and the Jongleurs, "dancers, jugglers, and buffoons"—Domestic Music in Germany and the Low Countries in the sixteenth century—The Viol and the Madrigal—Music in Italy—Adrian Willaert, "The Father of the Madrigal"—Northern Musicians attracted to Italian Courts—Development of the Madrigal in Italy—High standard of early Italian work, but under German teaching—The Viols of Brensius of Bologna—Silvestro Ganassi, his work on the Viol—Duiffoprugcar and Gasparo da Salò and the development of the Violin—The Fretted Finger-board—The Violono or Bass Viol—Five-stringed Viols—The three-stringed Fiddle, or Geige, attributed to Andrea Amati, altered by the Brothers Mantegazza to a four-stringed Violin—Advent of the four-stringed Violin ascribed to Gasparo da Salò | 12–26 |
| SECTION II.—THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE VIOLIN. | ||
| The present form of the Violin the result of much research and experiment, but perfected by the great Cremonese makers—Hogarth's "Line of Beauty" exemplified in the Violin—The requisites necessary to the due appreciation of the grace and properties of the Violin, and its exquisite power of expression—Its acoustical properties—Varieties of woods used in its construction—Methods adopted, and choice of material, by the great Brescian and Cremonese makers—The "whole-back" and "slab-back"—The constituent parts of the Violin—System of placing the sound-bar—Properties and position of the sound-post, and of the bridge; the neck; the finger-board; purfling, &c., &c.—The sound-holes of different makers—Needed cautions as to repairing good instruments | 27–42 | |
| SECTION III.—ITALIAN AND OTHER STRINGS. | ||
| Importance of the Strings in the economy of the Violin—Adrien Le Roy's instructions "How to know Strings"—Thomas Mace and "Venetian Catlins"—Character of the different manufactures of Strings—Superiority of the Italian—The raw material not supplied by the feline race—Rules to be observed in choosing Strings—Modern improvements in Stringing—The Strings of Lindley and Dragonetti—Covered Strings—Experiments on the strain and pressure of Strings | 43–56 | |
| SECTION IV.—THE ITALIAN SCHOOL. | ||
| A glance at the rise, culmination, and decadence of Art in Italy, and the Violin as connected therewith—The Italians far in advance of other nations in the manufacture—The five Schools of Italian makers—Roger North on the demand for Italian Violins—Brescia the cradle of the manufacture | 57–69 | |
| SECTION V.—THE ITALIAN VARNISH. | ||
| The formation of the Italian Varnish a secret lost to the world—Lustrous character of that of Cremona—Characteristics of the four classes of Italian Varnish—Conjecture as to the loss of the secret—Influence of the different Varnishes on the tone of the Violin | 70–76 | |
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SECTION VI.—ITALIAN | ||