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THE
AUGUST 24, 1918
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
SOME FACTS CONCERNING^ VIOLONCELLO DEVELOPMENT
DISTRIBUTORS FOR CONN LINES
William Braid White Traces the Gradual Evolution of the 'Cello From Its Inception in the Six- New York Conn Co., Just Incorporated, Will
Handle C. G. Conn Co. Products in New York
teenth Century—The Derivation of the Word "Fiddle"—The Early Masters
and Vicinity—L. R. Anderson as Manager
In an article on the talking machine rec- panded to violone or diminished to violono.
Distribution in New York and vicinity of the
ords of the violoncello, appearing in the Au- Fiddle therefore is a good, respectable old name,
gust number of The Talking Machine World, quite as good as violin; in fact, better, since band instruments manufactured by the C. G.
Conn Co., Elkhart, Ind., has just been arranged
William Braid White, the author, takes occa- it is closer to the original.
sion to give a short but most interesting history
"Violoncello means a little violone; and that for through the incorporation of the New York
of the development of the modern violin family, means a little bass fiddle. In the old viol days Conn Co., Inc., with capital stock of $25,000.
in the course of which he says:
it was often called the viola* da gamba or knee- The incorporators are C. D. Greenleaf, presi-
"The word violoncello simply means little fiddle, just as the tenor viol, now obsolete, was dent of the C. G. Conn Co.; L. R. Anderson,
violone. The Violone was the double-bass of called a viola da spalla, because it was played formerly of Newark, N. J., who represented the
the old family of viols from which the modern resting on the knee with the head over one Conn instruments in that city, and G. M. Bundy,
violin family springs. All these viols, the shoulder. The alto fiddle, which we now call 1579 Third avenue, New York, who is engaged
double-bass viol, the bass-viol, the tenor viol, viola, was called viola da braccia or arm fiddle in the retail musical merchandise business there.
The new company has taken over the store
the alto viol and the treble viol, were favorite and the treble viol was known usually as violino.
instruments from the beginning of the sixteenth or little viol, which is what we call it now, at 237 West Forty-seventh street, formerly oc-
until the end of the seventeenth century, when violin. All the names, it will be observed, are cupied by the Boyer Music Co., and Mr. Ander-
the inventions of the great school of Italian Italian, which indicates where the fiddles were son is in charge as manager of the business. It
makers of Cremona began to develop and per- developed—and indeed Italian fiddles are the is stated that both the Conn and Liberty lines
fected the modern violin, viola, 'cello and bass. only good fiddles. Others may be pretty good; of band instruments manufactured by the Conn
Co. will be handled by the new concern, which
"Anyone who lives in or near New York and but the Italian is master in these matters.
who has time for looking occasionally at some-
"The violoncello, then, is the bass fiddle will also carry strings and other small goods.
thing out of the usual can entertain himself and played between the knees. Its present form,
at the same time gain a lot of very interesting like that of the other three, violin, viola and
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FORMED
and useful information by spending some hours double-bass, was developed by the great Italian
looking over the wonderful Crosby-Brown col- makers of the Cremonese school, Stradivari, the Full Details of New Small Goods Association
to Be Found Elsewhere in This Issue
lection of musical instruments at the Metropoli- two Guarneri, the Amati, Gasparo de Salo,
tan Museum of Art, which is probably the finest Maggini and others. It is probable that Mag-
collection of such instruments, with one excep- gini was the earliest maker who worked out
Full details of the formation of the National
tion, in the entire world. Here, among other violoncelli of modern dimensions and perfected Musical Merchandise Manufacturers' Associa-
things, such for example as one of the two tone. The other great makers followed suit, tion, affiliated with the Music Industries Cham-
known extant specimens of the pianos made by and their productions are now, of course, almost ber of Commerce, will be found in another part
Cristofori, the inventor of that instrument, one priceless. A fine old Italian 'cello is as rare as of this issue of The Review. The formation
may find several cases devoted to exhibiting a fine old Italian violin, and as lovely to the ear." of this body means much to the small goods
complete sets of 'chests' of the old viols. A
trade as a whole, and the importance of the story
chest of viols was a complete set from double
demanded that it occupy more space than could
bass to treble, All these old instruments were
be given it in this department, hence it is placed
Chas. H. Ditson & Co. have recently intro- elsewhere.
made with flat backs, strung with from five to
seven strings, and had their fingerboards bound duced a new Boy Scout drum, known as No.
with frets made of gut, just as the fingerboards 1412. The new model meets with the young-
No quarter for the foe, but many quarters for
of guitars and banjos are now. They were in ster's idea of having a regulation army drum of
Thrift Stamps. Buy some to-day.
all other respects, however, almost the counter- a little lighter weight. The height of the new
drum is the same as that used in the United
parts of the present violin family.
INE
. "It is an interesting fact, by the way, that the States Army, the circumference not being so
VIOLINS
ISR/WO POIZES
names of all these instruments derive from one large. It has a mahogany veneer shell and the
kOcKOiau-tt. LOUIS no-
source and arc almost the same in all modern other parts are of the best materials. H. L.
JOHNFRIEDRICH&BRO.
languages. The basic word is the Latin fides, Hunt, manager of the musical merchandise sec-
SEND FOR ^ ^ 2 279TVJH AVC
OUR
the diminutive of which is fidicula, the two tion of Chas. H. Ditson & Co., is on a two
TALOCUES"
meaning, respectively, string and little string. weeks' vacation, returning early in September.
The name in time, came to be applied to the
stringed instrument itself, a sort of small lyre,
OPENS VIOLIN REPAIR SHOP
known during the later Roman Empire. Sturdy
Anglo-Saxon tongues made it fiddle, French
V. Wahlman, violin maker, has opened a shop
softened it gradually from fideille to vielle and at ( )34 Kwing street, Fremont, Wash., where
thence gradually to violon. By a parallel proc- he will make and repair violins and other mu-
AND
ess the Italians developed the word viola, ex- sical instruments. Mr. Wahlman is an expert
violin maker, and has had many years' experi-
ence in that line.
'
OFFER A NEW BOY SCOUT DRUM
1
DURRO
STEWART
I WILL BUY
FOR CASH
Sheet Music and Small Goods
Peate's Music House,
OLIVER DITSON GO.
BOSTON. MASS.
Utica, N. Y.
RUNQ
THE OLDEST AND
LARGEST MUSICAL
MERCHANDISE HOUSE
IN AMERICA
Exclusively Wholesale
ESTABLISHED 1034
351-53ItontTH Am NEWYORKCHY
Victor Distributors
Manufacturer*
I m p o r t m and Jobber* ot
MUSICAL
MERCHANDISE
Attractive Specialties
Modern Service
ESTABLISHED ISM
WEYMANM
hperior Q o * MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
Victor Distributor*
1 1 0 8 C h a g t n u t Street, Philadelphia, Pa.
Established OTW half m century
Largest Wholesale
Musical Merchandise
House in America
Buegeleisen & Jacob son
113 University Place
NSW YORK
Black Diamond
Strings
THE WORLD'S BEST
National Musical String Co.
New Brunswick, N. J.