Part 18 (1/2)
In fiddle-practice, as in life, are difficulties _gifts_?
Yes-_double stops_ are just the thing to drive thee to thy _s.h.i.+fts_!
”Bating no jot of heart or hope,” toil, till, in time's process, The music that is in thy soul, thy fiddle shall express!
CHAPTER IX.
ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE VIOLIN.
It is a very natural curiosity which engages us to look minutely into the structural peculiarities of that which is a medium for awakening pleasurable sensations within us. The balloon that has borne us aloft into aerial alt.i.tudes-and the violin that, under the management of a Vieuxtemps or a Sivori, has transported us, through varying acoustic currents, into the sublimer regions of harmony-are, each, the object of a close and willingly conceded attention.
Quitting the balloon, however, and confining ourselves to the violin-_what_ (let us enquire) are the component parts that make up the ”form and pressure,” the ”complement extern” and intern, of this material ministrant to our joys and sympathies;-_what_, also, are the several most remarkable patterns, or models, of the _completed_ instrument;-and _who_ were the originators, respectively, of those varieties of conformation? This latter point of enquiry will lead us to advert, before concluding this chapter, to certain innovations that have been attempted, with more or less felicity, in our own days.
A curious little work on the Construction, Preservation, Repair, &c. of the Violin, written in German by JACOB AUGUSTUS OTTO, appeared in 1817, and was translated into English some years afterwards. The author, himself an instrument-maker, professes to have studied ”music, mathematics, physics, and acoustics,” which respectable preparation certainly adds not a little to his claims to attention, in undertaking to be instructive. It may be worth while here to present, in a condensed form, some portion of his matter, which is both indicative and preceptive. Such of my readers as, with a stronger impulse of curiosity, may desire to possess the _whole_ of the information furnished by his treatise, are referred to the latest English edition of it, which, supplied with an appendix by the translator, Mr. John Bishop, has been issued by the publishers of the present work.
Otto states that the Violin, when complete, consists of _fifty-eight_ different parts-a fact, by the by, which the ordinary observer would be little inclined to suspect[68], and of which, indeed, many a good player is probably not aware. The author makes general complaint, indeed, of the ignorance on the part of many Violinists of celebrity, as to the construction of the instrument. Then, as to the _wood_-for, ”ex _quovis ligno_ non fit Mercurius;” that is to say, a fellow so mercurial as your fiddle is not to be created out of any chance piece of timber;-the wood that is generally used is of three sorts: sycamore for the back, neck, sides and circles: Tyrolese soft red deal for the belly, ba.s.s-bar, sound-post, and six internal blocks: and ebony for the finger-board and tail-piece. The greatest care and judgment, it seems, are requisite in the selection of the material for the _belly_ of the instrument, on which its _tone_ entirely depends. The wood for this purpose is prescribed to be cut only in December or January, and only that part to be used which has been exposed to the sun.
As to the _Cremonas_ (a word of fondest a.s.sociation to all votaries of the violin!), the oldest of them are those from the hands of _Hieronymus_ (or Jerome) _Amati_, at the beginning of the seventeenth century, or rather earlier. Next come those of _Antonius Amati_, belonging to the middle of that century; and then those of _Nicholas Amati_, towards the end of it. To these makers are to be added _Antonius Straduarius_, and afterwards (at the commencement of the eighteenth century) _Joseph Guarnerius_. All these men of Cremona, so renowned for the products of their ingenuity were (according to M. Otto), _mathematical_ builders, and nice observers of the proportions best calculated for imparting a full, powerful, sonorous tone. The instruments by the three Amati are rather higher, or less flat, in the model, than those of Straduarius. Of all the Italian Violins, Hieronymus Amati's are the handsomest in shape, and the best in make. They are now more than two centuries and a half old, strongly constructed, and likely to retain their excellence another century. Nicholas Amati's are of rather small size, and somewhat abrupt in the swell of the form. The instruments of Straduarius are most esteemed by _Concert_ performers for the power of their tone. Those of Guarnerius are beautifully constructed, and with a good deal of similarity to those of Nicholas Amati.
The fine _Tyrolese_ instruments-those of the celebrated _Jacob Steiner_-differ much from the _Cremonese_, both in shape and tone. In the latter respect, they are of sharper and more penetrating quality.
The _later_ Tyrolese makers have been rendered the great source of deception by dealers, &c.-their instruments having been made to pa.s.s as cla.s.sics. The best among them are those of Klotz. The Tyrolese imitations of the Steiners and Cremonese are chiefly distinguishable by the coa.r.s.e and wide grain of the deal, and by the thin spirit varnish upon them, instead of the Italian strong amber varnish.
The author treats individually of the princ.i.p.al German makers.
_Statelmann_, of Vienna, of high fame as a studious maker, was a close imitator of Jacob Steiner; as were also _Withalm_ of Nuremberg, and _Riess_ of Bamberg. The flat model of Straduarius has been imitated by _Buckstadter_ of Ratisbon, and _Jauch_ of Dresden. _Martin Hoffman_, and _Hunger_, both of Leipsig, were excellent as tenor-makers, and good in violins. The instruments by _Eberle_ of Prague, one of the most celebrated German makers, are like the Cremonese, but less round and full in their tone. _Bachmann_ of Berlin, also very eminent, was strictly careful as to proportions.
Against the cla.s.s of _repairers_ in general, as so many botchers, tinkers, and spoilers, the author is emphatically severe; and he points the especial finger of scorn at one _Kirchlag_, who, about 1787, made a visit of destruction, under pretence of repair, to most of the towns in Germany.
Instruments, it appears, should be sufficiently _well-timbered_; their durability is much affected when they are finished off too weak in wood.
The ba.s.s-bar and sound-post are not inserted to strengthen the instrument (as many have supposed), but to increase the vibration. The vibratory principle, according to M. Otto, has been as yet but imperfectly investigated, and is little understood. Recent experiments, however, have somewhat further extended our knowledge of it. Great nicety is requisite as to the erection and proportions of the _bridge_: when it is too high, the effect is a dull tone, difficult to be brought out-when too low, a shrill sharp, and thin tone. In good instruments, the sound-post stands half an inch below the left foot of the bridge: in defective ones, it may be placed rather nearer, to increase the strength, and a.s.sist the tone. The screw-holes must not be rubbed with rosin to tighten them: the best appliance is chalk. Some wise-acres pretend that a violin is to be improved in tone by breaking it to pieces, and mending it again! Others disturb and s.h.i.+ft about the bridge and sound-post, till the tone is almost gone. Others again, with a taste worthy of Hottentots, have daubed over the ”belly part” with a coat of glue, mixed with powdered gla.s.s; and some there are, who have tampered with instruments by an absurd plaster of varnish and white of eggs, under the unwholesome idea of closing up the pores! It is suggested that _flies_ should not be allowed to introduce themselves into the _f_ holes. (Children say, by the by, that _f_ ”_stands for fly_:” and, in the case in question, it stands _open_; so there seems, at least, a pretty good excuse for the intruders.) The inside of the instrument is to be cleaned out once in six months, by means of a handful of barley, made warm, poured in at these _f_ holes, and well shaken. The best _strings_ are those from Milan (called Roman), which are clear and transparent as gla.s.s, and should have as much recoil, when opened out, as a watchspring. A very important article of requirement is good refined rosin: the common brown rosin of commerce is quite unfit, because of its thickness and clamminess.
The author, deflecting entirely from the prevalent notion on the subject, a.s.serts that it is not _age_, but constant _use_, that is the means of producing a smooth, clear tone. He lays it down as a position, which he has himself verified in various experiments, that _any_ instrument is to be greatly improved by working at it daily for three months together, with a strong bow-taking two tones at a time, fourths or fifths. This method of improvement, it is clear, must be somewhat costly, and infinitely tedious-but it is much recommended by our author.
Hapless indeed must be the condition of the human being destined to labour at fourths and fifths, with a strong bow, for three months together! If such a system were introduced among _us_, it is to be feared that the announcement of ”Improvers wanted” would frequently be made in vain. What (we may ask) would become of the _intellects_ of a human being _so_ employed? As for the reason _why_ so beneficial an effect belongs to this peculiar practice, M. Otto has declined unfolding it-his ”duty to his family” forbidding such divulgement.
Thus far, Jacob Augustus Otto-dismissing whom, with thanks for the information picked out of him, we proceed to other details, derived from other sources.
To the names of the _Amati_ family already mentioned, should be added that of _Andreas_, brother of Nicholas. These two brothers, as well as the other makers in that family, constructed instruments of a soft and rich tone, but deficient in the _brilliancy_ which modern players regard as so great a requisite. They (the two above specified) supplied, about the year 1570, some violins of large pattern for the chamber-music of Charles IX, King of France, which are remarkable for beauty of shape, and nicety of finish.
Contemporary with Andreas and Nicholas Amati, was _Gaspar de Salo_, of Lombardy. He was especially renowned for his instruments of the _viol_ species, at that time more in request than violins. His instruments of this latter kind, somewhat larger in pattern, have more power than those of the Amati; but their tone has been said to be too a.n.a.logous to that of the _tenor_. Of a similar quality are the violins of _Giovanni Granzino_, who operated at Milan, from about 1612 to 1635.
Another noted Italian fabricator, whose doings come within about the same range of time as those of Granzino, was _Giovanni Paolo Magini_, who established his factory at his native town, Brescia. Magini's violins are usually large, although he produced a few of small pattern.
Their convexity is very positive; and the back is a good deal flattened towards its upper and lower extremities. The sides are softened off, at the various points of angular projection. A broad double fillet sweeps round the belly and back, and, on the latter, sometimes terminates in an ornament, situated near the neck of the instrument, and having the shape of a large clover-leaf. He made use of spirit-varnish, of a fine golden colour. The tone of his violins, less soft than that of a Straduarius, and less potent than a Guarnerius, approaches that of the _viol_, and has in its character a touch of melancholy. Magini's instruments came (or rather, returned) into high consideration some years ago, from the fact of De Beriot's having adopted the custom of playing on one of them.
There are but few of them in existence. One, that was pretty loud in tone, was sold, years ago, by an ingenious fiddle-fancier at Kensington, to Reeve, princ.i.p.al ”Second Violin” at the Italian Opera House. It had been long in the possession of old Baumgarten, who was orchestra-leader at Covent Garden for forty years, and died at Kensington Gravel-pits.
From about the middle of the seventeenth to that of the eighteenth century, the Italian renown for instrument-making attained its climax by the productions of those two Cremonese ”men of pith,” _Straduarius_ and _Guarnerius_-or to give them their local names, _Antonio Stradivari_, and _Giuseppe Guarneri_. Violins-tenors-ba.s.ses-all was admirable, that came from their hands; but they are distinguished from each other by qualities that are sufficiently appreciable. In the large Concert-hall, the Guarnerius has the greater sonorous power; while, for the combination of brilliancy with suavity, nothing can equal, in a private music-room (and especially where a _quartett_ is in hand), a well-conditioned Straduarius.
Born in 1664, and employed for years in the factory of the _Amati_, Straduarius began his own separate career, by imitating their models; but, at the commencement of the eighteenth century, taking leave of his masters, he changed the proportions of his instruments-adopted a larger size, with a diminished convexity-and was as studious about the gradations of thickness, as in the choice of his wood. Nothing was omitted, that the careful mind of this artist could devise, for the production of the finest quality of tone. His instruments, nicely-balanced, provoke no unseemly opposition of character among the four strings. Add to these advantages, a graceful outline-high finish in the details-a brilliant harmony in the varnish-and you have the accomplished, the complete _Straduarius_.
_Giuseppe (Joseph) Guarnerius_, the most distinguished among a family noted for the construction of bowed instruments, belongs, in date of birth, to the latter end of the seventeenth century. He is said to have studied his art in the factory of Straduarius, although the products of his hand shew none of the high finish characteristic of that maker. His _build_ is often very slovenly; the _f_ holes are cut almost straight, and with angularity about the ends; the fillets are badly traced-and, indeed, there is so little in the _look_ of his violins to proclaim the master, that one might be tempted to attribute their fine quality to the excellence of the materials he used, rather than to any bestowed workings of his mind. Close examination, however, has decided that he must have been guided by some positive principles, howsoever attained, and that his productions have an originality derived from these. Of his violins of the large pattern, there are but few: those of the smaller size, which are more numerous, exhibit very little convexity, and are thicker, in the thick parts, than those of Straduarius. The effect of his instruments is more gratifying at a little distance, than at ”close quarters.”
The art under consideration seems to have gone on in Italy with hardly any change, since the time of the above two celebrated makers-their successors having been content with one or the other of them, for model.