[CONTENTS]
[TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE]
VIOLIN TONE AND
VIOLIN MAKERS
VIOLIN TONE AND
VIOLIN MAKERS
DEGENERATION OF TONAL STATUS. CURIOSITY VALUE
AND ITS INFLUENCE. TYPES AND STANDARDS OF
VIOLIN TONE. IMPORTANCE OF TONE IDEALS.
ANCIENT AND MODERN VIOLINS AND TONE.
AGE, VARNISH, AND TONE. TONE AND
THE VIOLIN MAKER, DEALER,
EXPERT AND PLAYER
BY
HIDALGO MOYA
TOGETHER WITH AN ACCOUNT, BIOGRAPHICAL
AND CRITICAL, OF THE PRINCIPAL VIOLIN MAKERS OF
THE VARIOUS SCHOOLS AND THEIR WORKS
BY
TOWRY PIPER,
JOINT EDITOR OF HART’S “THE VIOLIN, ITS FAMOUS MAKERS
AND THEIR IMITATORS”
LONDON
CHATTO & WINDUS
1916
PRINTED IN ENGLAND BY
WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED
LONDON AND BECCLES
All rights reserved
TO
THE KING OF INSTRUMENTS
AND
HIS FAITHFUL SUBJECTS IN ALL COUNTRIES
THIS HUMBLE EFFORT ON BEHALF OF
TONE
IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED BY
THE AUTHOR
INTRODUCTION
For many years those who advocate the principle that Tone is the only thing that matters in a violin have been few in number, but earnest in purpose, and it would appear their efforts have not been barren of result when we find it admitted, where one would least expect it, that the day of the toneless old fiddle has passed for ever.
But this is not enough. Players of the violin, and especially those who seek refinement of tone in the instrument, still remain under the thrall of systems, methods, influences and errors which must also pass away before the road to tone is freely open.
An understanding of the relationship between tone and the instrument, and between the instrument and the various toneless interests by which it is surrounded, is vitally important to the player or the buyer of a violin—unless the instrument is being acquired as a curiosity, in which case tone need not, of course, concern the purchaser to any marked extent. But to the player these relationships matter very much indeed, and the understanding of them is rendered difficult owing to the invisible nature of tone, there being no material evidence to indicate its presence in one violin or its absence from another, a fact of which full advantage is taken in certain quarters. In the classifying of violins according to present methods, tone finds no place, having neither status nor any standard by which it may be judged; well may the player be uncertain whether he is acquiring a musical instrument or merely an antique. The very reason why the violin possesses a tone has not yet been satisfactorily explained, present opinion on the subject being near to chaos, some holding that it is due to the wood, others that it lies in some secret of construction, a few that it results from varnish, and many that it is created by age—but none, so far as I am aware, thinking it is due to an Ideal; material and construction being merely the means through which it finds expression. There is enough here to explain the uncertainty which surrounds the subject of tone and its connection with the violin, a connection which I shall attempt to explain in these pages by dealing with the instrument and its makers, whether ancient or modern, and with its history, manufacture, sale and use, solely from the point of view of Tone.
With tone at the mercy of caprice, and the violin in no better case, it is not unlikely that the general uncertainty extends to its makers—especially to the old instruments and their builders—notwithstanding the number of books which catalogue their names and indicate the nature of their work. Some few of these books are fairly exhaustive, authoritative and reliable, but the point of view from which the violin is approached is that of the connoisseur and collector rather than that of the player, whilst the rest are mainly unreliable and partial copies of the first.
In order to provide a sufficient account of those makers who, for one reason or another, are worthy of attention or likely to be the subject of inquiry from players, the second section of the volume, containing reliable and valuable information—much of which is now published for the first time—has been placed in the hands of Mr. Towry Piper, whose aid I have been fortunate enough to secure, and who needs no introduction to fiddle lovers. To those new to matters connected with the violin, it is sufficient to say that Mr. Piper is widely known as a writer and expert, one of the editors of Hart’s classical work on the violin, a recognised judge of fiddles and tone, and a capable player of the instrument.
H. M.
CONTENTS
| [CHAPTER I ANOMALOUS POSITION OF THE VIOLIN] | |
|---|---|
| PAGES | |
| Its dual status—More of a curiosity than a musicalinstrument—How the curio interest originated—Itspernicious influence—Tarisio and the formation ofthe Fiddle Cult—Exploitation of violins of small tonevalue—Consequences to the player | [1-6] |
| [CHAPTER II A TONELESS METHOD OF VALUATION] | |
| How the old violin is judged—Valued without referenceto tone—Bought and sold by the same method—Examples—Whythe method should be abolished ormodified—A guarantee for tone-value needed—Smalltone-value of many old violins—The violin’s properposition as a “work of art”—A toneless pariah | [7-13] |
| [CHAPTER III TYPES OF STANDARD VIOLIN TONE] | |
| Amatisé, Bergonzian, Brescian, “Cremonese,” Guarnerian,“Italian,” Stradivarian—Other ancient makers andstandard tone | [14-18] |
| [CHAPTER IV THE OLD MASTERS AS VIOLIN MAKERS] | |
| Violins frequently made by workmen and “pupils”—Finishedand tone-developed by the master—Twoentirely distinct arts—Tone the result of ideal—Effectof model on tone—Methods of tone development stillin use—Only possible means of creating a tone to anideal—Reasons—Why the great masters attractedpupils—Tone versus cabinet making—Why pupilssucceeded and failed—Most striking tone-feature ofthe old masters—Construction no guarantee for tone | [19-26] |
| [CHAPTER V THE DECLINE OF TONE] | |
| Position of violin makers after 1750—Difficulty of sustainingsupreme ideals—Overshadowing influence of thegreat violins—The demand for low-priced fiddles—Afew tone-builders always living—The art abandonedby all save the few—Attempts at a revival of the“lost” art—Mechanical efforts of Savart—Scientificexperimenters—Scientific side of tone unknown to theold masters—Results following “attuning” process ofSavart—Copyists, old wood theorists, and varnishers | [27-34] |
| [CHAPTER VI RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A NEW VIOLIN AND TONE] | |
| No mystery about construction—Tonal results of mereconstruction—The tone of a new fiddle likened toraw material—Its refinement and the result—What asatisfactory relationship between violin and tonedepends upon—Tonal position of the modern violin—Influencesthat have worked to its detriment—Itssurvival—Its test of merit—Idolaters of the fiddle andtone seekers | [35-42] |
| [CHAPTER VII OLD TONE AND NEW—A CONTEST] | |
| The Paris competition of 1912 reported by the Daily Mailcorrespondent—The more extended report of Mr. D. I.Cardozo and its particular interest—Six old violinscompete with six new violins—How the competitionwas arranged—The violins and their makers—Theresult of the contest—The winner’s advice to violinmakers—Obvious criticisms on the contest—Theresult decisive—Great strides in tone since the contest—Theimportance of these comparisons to theviolinist—Comparison between the ancient andmodern violin maker | [43-50] |
| [CHAPTER VIII A -BARRELLED THEORY] | |
| A consideration of some of the pitfalls besetting the tone-seeker—Theaccommodating qualities of age—Thepermanency of tone—Why the age theory is advanced—Sowingthe seeds of suspicion—The result | [51-52] |
| [CHAPTER IX THE EXPERT DEALER] | |
| Two kinds of dealers—The “expert” dealer’s first consideration—Hisstock-in-trade—Why he does notexploit new violins—His one serious trouble—Hisview of tone—What he considers violins are notpurchased for—Why he prospers—The type ofdealer that is opposed to him—The genuine dealerand expert—The reliability of famous houses—Hazardsconfronting the buyer and how they may beavoided | [53-57] |
| [CHAPTER X IMITATION OLD MASTERS] | |
| Ancient copyists—Genuineness of their work—Forgerythrust upon them—The substitution of labels—Allthe great makers copied—Difficulties of detection—Genuinelabels of the masters in the copies—Tone ofthe copies—Another class of copyist—Those whoimitated age—Their object in so doing—Process ofageing destructive of tone—Honesty of these “fakes”—Anotherclass: the factory imitation—Deceive onlythe ignorant—Another class: those intended to deceive—Theirvictims—Their danger to the player—Aquotation from a letter and its lesson | [58-61] |
| [CHAPTER XI LITERATURE OF THE VIOLIN] | |
| The authoritative histories of the old makers—Their chiefvalue—Their status as guides to tone—The impressionsthey convey—The limitations of the authors—Theirattitude towards the modern builder—Themodern builder’s “revenge”—The one idea which theplayer absorbs from these histories—The good faithof the authors—Their honesty of purpose—Theirrenown as connoisseurs and judges—The wide-spreadinfluence of their work and its effect—Books on violinmaking—What they do and do not teach—A classicalwork—Instructions on how to play the violin—Theirservice—Their neglect of tone—The periodical literatureof the fiddle—Its interest and value—Whereinit fails—A warning—The “Lives” of famous oldmakers—Their value | [62-67] |
| [CHAPTER XII WANTED: A TONE GUARANTEE] | |
| The business of the dealer—What he guarantees—Hisattitude towards tone—The dealer’s guarantee of notone value to the player—The fiddle warranted butnot its tone—Why the dealer should give a toneguarantee—How it could be done—Mere statementsregarding tone not enough—An independent judgeneeded—The present situation reviewed—The perfectviolin model—The modern maker’s relation thereto—Howthe critics view his work—The player without aguide to tone—His procedure under the circumstances—Nostandard of tone recognised by experts—Theresulting difficulties—Capable judges of tone—Theunsatisfactory judge | [68-76] |
| [CHAPTER XIII HOW TO TEST A VIOLIN’S TONE] | |
| An infallible method—The violin weighed in an impartialand accurate balance | [77-79] |
| [CHAPTER XIV EFFECT OF AGE ON TONE] | |
| Most theories held as mere beliefs—Mellowness of toneand age—Reasons why age is not responsible formellowness—How mellow tone is created—The realeffect of age on the instrument and its tone—Its effectpurely mechanical—An appeal to violin lovers | [80-85] |
| [CHAPTER XV VARNISH AND TONE] | |
| A controversial subject—Effect of varnish on tone—Whyit is misunderstood—Why experiments fail—Thegoverning factor—The effect of a fine oil varnish—Howthe effect of the best varnish may be nullified | [86-89] |
| [CHAPTER XVI TONE AND THE VIOLIN PLAYER] | |
| Relationship between player and violin—The inexpert,beginner, amateur, artist, and tone—The player’srelation to tone: an illustration—The gulf betweenplayer and fiddle—Artist and player—Why playersfail or succeed in tone | [90-94] |
| [CHAPTER XVII THE IDEAL TONE] | |
| The ideal tone—How a famous violinist secured his ideal—Difficultiesof tone selection—What the averageplayer seeks—Statement by a pupil of Joachim | [95-97] |
| [CHAPTER XVIII HOW TO ACQUIRE AN IDEAL TONE] | |
| The appeal of technic and the appeal of tone—Importanceof tone—The development of tone-sense—Subjectsfor tone-study—What the student should avoid—Thetone of technic—Tone of technic and ideals combined—Progressof the student explained—Advice to thebeginner | [98-102] |
| [CHAPTER XIX TWO STYLES OF TONE PRODUCTION] | |
| The artist of the bow and the artist of the brush: a comparison—Thedelicate style of playing—Its dangers—Therobust style—How the player is handicapped—Thedifficulties of judgment—Importance of therobust style | [103-105] |
| [CHAPTER XX MODERN VIOLIN MAKERS] | |
| Attractions of violin making—Makers who have discoveredthe “secret” of Stradivari—Violin makersand tone—Modern view of art and artists—Fiddle-makersand advertising—Worth of testimonials | [106-110] |
| [CHAPTER XXI NOTES ON TONE] | |
| Carrying Power: Carrying power distinct from loudnessof tone—True toned violin rarely seems loud tothe player—How such violins are abused—Whatplayers do not always realise—Carrying power andits relation to tone explained. Quantity versusQuality: A quotation very much to the point—Awarning to be remembered—Importance of good tone—Theplayer’s limits in tone—How the violin’s tone-capacityaffects the player. Flexibility of Tone:The meaning of flexibility—What the tone loses withoutit—Its importance to the student and artist.Tone Failure: Violins which “lose their voice”—Conditionsresponsible—Reasons suggested for thefailure in old violins and new. Fiddles Classified:Difficulties of tonal classification render results onlyapproximately accurate—May be roughly dividedinto four groups: (1) Superior tone—The violinspossessing it; (2) Excellent tone—Where it is found—Difficultiesof selection—Ancient and modernfiddles—Human limits and consecutive reproductionof superior tone; (3) Good tone—Wide range forselection. Where this tone is usually found. Expertadvice essential in selection; (4) “Just Fiddles”—Whatthey are—Their legitimate place—Those towhom they bring pleasure. A Strange Belief:A quotation and comments thereon—“Stradivari as afailure if living to-day!” Tone Health: Somehabits and fallacies—Fresh air and the fiddle—Mustyfiddle cases—The carelessness of violinists—A suggestedvandalism. Tonal Misjudgment: A fewinstances—A professional violinist and two violins—Theopinions of himself and those of his hearers—AStradivari violin and a talented amateur—His mistakeand the result—An artist, an expert, and a poor tonedviolin—The result—Some great players and their tone—Whereit fails—A player of ability and a factoryfiddle—Its “suitable” tone—Accessories and tone—Theimportant accessories of the violin—The soundpost—What it may do and what the player should do—Thebridge—How to keep it in the correct position—Strings—Somesimple advice—The bow—A fewremarks on its selection—The fiddle doctor—Deceptivesimplicity of the violin—What to do inthe case of accidents, etc. | [111-126] |
| [Conclusion] | [127] |
| [Account of the Principal Violin Makers] | [129] |