Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW.
Violins,
ANDREW T. SI NBA LI).
(Continued.)
[WRITTEN FOR THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW.]
I
N the consideration of the body of the
violin as an instrument for communicat-
ing, under the most favorable conditions, the
vibrations of the string's to the air, account
must be taken of the mass of air contained
within the violin-box, and which communi-
cates with the outer air by the two openings
in the belly. This inclosed air corresponds
to certain proper tones, and is able to rein-
force these tones, and other tones which lie
near them, or are harmonically connected
with them. The proper tone of the in-
closed air may be found by blowing across
one of the / holes, and has been investi-
gated by Savart and others. Mr. Ellis has
investigated this point with great minute-
ness by holding a tuning-fork of which the
exact pitch was known,over the widest part
of the / hole on the covered string side of
the violin. Mr. Ellis used a series of forks
proceeding by four vibrations in a second.
The examination of a fine violin of the
grand pattern by Stradivari, in the posses-
sion of a friend, gave a chief maximum at
from 260 to 268 vibrations in a second, and
a secondary but weaker maximum reson-
ance at about 252 vibrations.
The power of reinforcement (that is to
say that in no case is the tone quenched,
and in no case is it reduced in strength),
through all the tones of the octave is of the
first importance for the production of an
even quality of sound. Where this proper-
ty is absent certain notes which have the
proper relation to the inclosed air are
strong, and out of proportion to the other
notes of the scale.
This property of universal reinforcement,
though never in the same degree for all the
notes of the scale, depends upon very subtle
conditions of the general form of the violin,
and also upon the form and extent of open-
ing of the ' ! / " holes in the belly through
which the mass of inclosed air is in com-
munication with the air outside. The cut-
ting of these holes has also an important
influence upon the tone through its action
upon the power of vibration of the belly
itself. It is obvious that the form of cut-
ting, and also the direction of the holes
lengthwise, will determine the number of
the longitudinal fibres of the belly which
are cut through, a wide and obliquely
placed / hole cutting through a greater
number of the long fibres of the wood
than a n / hole more nearly parallel to the
axis of the violin. The number of fibres
cut through will affect the quality of the
belly considered as an elastic wooden plate,
and should be determined by the peculiar
qualities of the wood relatively to other
conditions of the particular violin which is
under construction.
The several points
which have been mentioned—a few only
selected out of many—are perhaps suffi-
cient to show how numerous and most deli-
cately balanced are the conditions which
have to be successfully met by a maker
who would produce a fine-toned violin of
the highesc class. Violins, good up to a
certain point, may be made by rule and
compass, but masterpieces of beauty and
of tone cannot be produced by mechanical
copying, any more than high-class music
can come from a barrel organ, or the inspi-
rations of a painter can be printed off from
a chromo-lithographic press.
At this point let us look for a moment at
a part of the machinery which is not, as it
is sometimes considered, of a subordinate
importance. A violin is silent until its
voice is evoked by drawing the bow across
the strings.
Every bow possesses an
idiosyncrasy of its own in its power of call-
ing forth the sound of the violin. A clever
player may do wonders with an inferior
bow, but the possessor of a fine violin has
no easy task in finding the bow which is
best adapted to produce the highest quality
(not loudness) of tone from his instrument.
We are not considering the personality
of the player in respect of his choice of
lightness, or of weight, or of stiffness. It
may be mentioned that Sarasate, whose
tone is unusually pure and delicate, uses a
bow which would be too heavy for almost
any other player.
We have seen that the quality of tone
depends upon the constituent notes within
it. It is well known that if in piano pas-
sages the bow is brought a little farther
from the bridge the tone is not only less
loud, but it is rendered duller in quality,
because the fifth or sixth partial tone, which
gives brightness, will then be absent. Al-
terations in quality somewhat analogous
can be produced by using different bows.
If the hair is slack, but firmly pressed, it
will bend more over the string, and affect
its velocity during the rebound, and so alter
the relation of this velocity to that of the
string while it is clinging to the hair of the
bow.
This would seem to affect the rela-
tive force of the constituent upper partial
tones, and so modify the quality of the
tone which is produced. Another considera-
tion is, that only very fine instruments
allow of a powerful motion of the strings,
without the tone becoming disfigured by
roughness.
The more perfect the violin
the more vigorously may it be bowed with-
out a loss of purity of tone, or, in other
words, without the coming in of mere noise,
from an irregular jarring of the instrument.
The tension of the hair, combined with the
elasticity and the lightness of the stick,
should be such as to bring out most suitably
the constituent partial notes, and the larg-
est flow of pure sound that can be got, with-
out any accompaniment of roughness, or
noise.
Tourte (1775-1835) stands in relation to
the bow much in the same position as Stradi-
vari to the violin. He has given us the
bow, without which modern playing, and
delicate shades of piano and forte would be
impossible. By making the bow curve in-
wards, he has made it possible to combine
great strength'with elasticity and lightness.
He fixed the length of the stick, spread the
hairs, and showed how to give a proper
balance, by putting the centre of gravity in
the right place.
Hitherto we have considered the violin
from the acoustic side, as an instrument for
setting the aiMnto wave-motions, but there
is also an art side. In some of inr.ny ma-
chines and instruments art comes in only in
the forms and in the modes of decoration,
which are wholly independent of the use
and efficiency of the machines and instru-
ments. In the highest violins, on the con-
trary, art and science are joined in "losest
wedlock, and no man may put them asun-
der. The exquisite curves which can flow
only from the hand of a true artist, are
those which contribute greatly to the pro-
duction of the highest quality of tone. The
gem-like beauty of the old varnish is the
outcome of qualities which in the highest
degree bring about and preserve the elastic-
ity and sonorous condition of the wood.
The violins of Stradivari have stood through
two centuries, alone and tin approached,
because in them science and art are mated
in a perfect union.
There are indeed two minor exceptions
which go to prove the accuracy of this gen-
eral statement, namely, the color of the
varnish, and the artistic feeling expressed
in the curves of the scroll of the violin. It
is obvious that these belong exclusively to
art, and do not affect the scientific condi-
tions on which the violin as a musical in-
strument depends for its perfection. It is
scarcely possible to describe in general
terms the subtle qualities of beauty and of
scientific precision of form which distin-
guish the noblest violins.
The jnost perfect violins for tone and
beauty are those which were made by
Stradivari from a little after 1700, to about
1720, and which are technically known as of
the "grand pattern." At sixty-nine he
wrought placidly his best. There is a vio-
lin, dated 1732, made when he was eighty-
two.
This is a good work of art; in look-
ing at it w r e are conscious of the approach
rather than of the actual presence of any-
great loss of power. This may be looked
upon as one of the last of the fine instru-
ments that left his hands. In violins, as in
all things else, there has been a slow evo-
lution. Has the highest possible form of
the violin been already reached? Is there
noplace for another Stradivari? Though in
Stradivari's finest instruments the eye and
the ear can rest with a perfect contentment,
we should hesitate to say that no further
advance is within the range of the possible.
The name of the man who should even,
equal the work of Stradivari would be fa- ;
mous through all the coming time.
The Arts Divine,
UNDER the heading of "Current Ex-
changes"the PhrowlogicalJournal for May-
says: ^Keynote—certainly an appropriate
name for a music periodical—treats on the
arts divine,besides the drama and literature
akin, pleasantly.