PFRETZSCHNER, GOTTLOB, Cremona, 1749.
PFRETZSCHNER, CARL FREDERICK, Cremona.
PICHOL, —— Paris.
PIQUE, —— Paris. An excellent maker, and the master of Lupot. Spohr recommends Pique's instruments, and Dubourg says they were given as prizes by the French Conservatoire in the beginning of the present Century.
PIERRAY, or PIERRET, CLAUDE, Paris. A charming workman. His violins have been frequently mistaken for Italian by inexperienced judges. They are of a deep red colour and finely finished, with an excellent quality of tone.
PIETE, NOEL, Paris, about 1785, pupil of Saunier. An artiste well spoken of.
PLACK, FRANCIS, Schœnback, 1738. Considered a good maker.
POLLUSHA, ANTONIO, Rome, 1751.
PONS, —— Grenoble, France, 1787. Made large pattern violins with high model, which have no great value.
POSSEN, LAUXMIN, Bavaria, about 1540. Made rebecs, viols, and viols da gamba.
POWELL, ROYAL and THOMAS, London, 1785.
PRESTON, JOHN, York, 1789.
R.
RACCERIS, —— Mantua, 1670, believed to have been a partner with one of the Gaglianos, and made similar instruments.
RAF, —— Bavaria.
RAMBEAUX, —— Paris, a pupil of Gand, and an excellent workman.
RAPHAEL, NELLA, Brescia, 18th Century. This artiste was of the school of Maggini, and his instruments are said to have the scrolls sculptured, and to have inscriptions on the sides.
RAUCH, JAQUES, Mannheim, 1730 to 1740. Considered to be a very good maker.
RAUCH, SEBASTIAN, 1742 to 1763.
RAUCH, —— Breslau.
RAUCH, —— Wurtzburg.
Otto praises the instruments of the two brothers of Breslau and Wurtzburg. He says they are excellent violins but have a shape and model peculiar to themselves and entirely different to the Italian or Steiners, but possess when uninjured a full, round and powerful tone. If Otto had told us what instruments were like instead of what they were not like, his book would have been more valuable.
RAUT, JEAN, Bretagne. He was at Rennes till 1790. Made good instruments after the Guarnerius school.
RAYMAN, JACOB, London, 1641. The instruments of this maker were very highly valued formerly. He is considered one of our best old English artistes.
REICHEL, JOHANN GOTTFRIED, Absom. An imitator of Steiner.
REICHEL, JOHANN CONRAD, Neukirch, 1779.
REISS, —— Bamburg. A capital imitator of Steiner, and made excellent instruments.
REMY, —— Paris.
RENISTO, —— Cremona, 1740, pupil of Carlo Bergonzi. His instruments are very similar to those of his master, but rather higher modelled, and the workmanship somewhat rougher.
RETANTINO, —— No particulars of this maker.
RIMBOUTS, PETER, Amsterdam.
ROOK, JOSEPH, London, 1777 to 1852. A good workman, who imitated Forster.
ROSS, JOHN, 1562. An early maker of lutes.
ROTH, CHRISTIAN, Augsburg, 1675.
ROVELIN, —— 18th Century.
RUDGER, —— Cremona—not one of the Ruggeri Family. Made some good instruments of the high build, and deep sides, and used fine varnish.
RUGGERI, FRANCISCO, Cremona, 1640 to 1684. This celebrated maker is considered to have been a pupil of Antonius Amati, and made many excellent instruments which bear a high reputation. They rank next to the Amati. Their quality is similar, and the style of work is easily seen to belong to the same class. There are a few violins by this maker of the same pattern as the Grand Amatis, which are said to surpass the latter, having more wood in them, which was detrimental when they were made, but which age has mellowed, and they now possess a strong and free vibration. Many of the Ruggeris have varnish little inferior to that of Stradiuarius and Guarnerius. This artiste ranks highest in the family in the estimation of the connoisseur. His work is extremely clean. The next is Giovanni Baptista, rather higher built and sound holes rather broader. The scrolls are larger than those of Amati but of the same type, There are many splendid violoncellos of these makers and a few tenors. Some of the former are very large. Francisco Ruggeri is mentioned by Spohr in his list of instruments to be sought for in the absence of the three great makers, Nicholas Amati, Antonio Stradiuarius and Joseph Guarnerius.
RUGGERI, GUIDO, Cremona, 1679.
RUGGERI, GIOVANNI BAPTISTA, son of Francisco. Brescia, 1690. Mentioned above.
RUGGERI, PIETRO GIACOMO. Brescia 1700 to 1720. The celebrated violoncellist Piatti plays on an instrument by this maker, and the tone is uncommonly fine and sonorous as all who have heard him know.
RUGGERI, VINCENZIO, Cremona, 1700 to 1730.
RUPPERT, FRANCIS, Erfruth, made some excellent instruments of a very flat model, but generally omitted the linings and corner blocks as well us the purfling. They are nevertheless esteemed in Germany. They have a dark brown amber varnish.
S.
SAINT, PAUL. Paris, about 1650. An excellent French maker.
SALO, GASPAR DI, Brescia, dates from 1560 to 1610. This celebrated artiste was the contemporary of the ancient Amatis, and is thought by some connoisseurs to have been the master of Andrew. However that may be, as there can be no certainty of the fact, the varnish on which the great Cremonese makers established that notable reputation which distinguishes them to the present day, bears a strong analogy to that of Gaspar di Salo, however they may have derived it. In this respect, also, Gaspar excels Maggini, his pupil and follower, who was evidently not initiated into the secret of making that excellent varnish which characterises his master.
The pattern of the instruments which the two early and famous chiefs of the Cremonese and Brescian Schools built, is however totally different. Those of Gaspar are large, massive, double purfled, and with large sound holes. Andrew is noted for a small pattern, and if he studied in the Brescian workshop, he discarded the style he found there (varnish excepted) and aimed at altogether a different object in his own productions. Those of Gaspar di Salo are constructed with capacity and strength to produce a considerable volume of tone. The Cremonese Artiste on the other hand, made instruments which, both in their proportions and adjustment, were especially adapted for the production of a sweet but not powerful tone. Gaspar's instruments seem to foreshadow in their tone and power, those of Stradiuarius and Joseph Guarnerius, while the Amatis seem generally to have been contented with producing a tone of surpassing sweetness. Gaspar also succeeded in giving to his productions that fine tone which seems to have been especially aimed at by the early makers, but as he also from the size and strength of his instruments, produced more tone, he may be considered far the superior of Andrew, the first of the Amatis. It is on this account that in the present day, Gaspar di Salo is esteemed as the greatest maker of his time, and connoisseurs value his instruments accordingly.
There are not many violins by this great master, but of tenors and double basses more. These are very fine and rich in tone. He was not however famous for giving so very high a finish to his works as was afterwards attained at Cremona. His violins are described as rather long, and with a gentle elevation from the sides to the centre. The sound holes straight and large, well cut and parallel, and double purfling. The varnish is generally of a rich brown. These are the chief external characteristics, but they have always possessed that "which passeth show," and commanded the esteem of the dilettanti in that rich quality of tone which is the first essential in a perfect instrument.
Signor Dragonetti, the greatest double bass player of our day, used one of Gaspar's instruments, which was presented to him on account of their admiration of his wonderful talent, by the order of the Convent of St. Mark at Venice. Shortly before his death the Duke of Leinster offered him £700 for it, a princely sum, but it was refused, as Dragonetti did not feel justified in parting with it, and he ordered in his will that it should be returned to the convent at Venice, which was accordingly done. Ole Bull has a very celebrated violin of Gaspar's make. In the first place, it was sculptured with Caryatides, by the great Florentine artist, Benvenuto Cellini, at the special command of another eminent person, Cardinal Aldobrandini, who presented it to the museum of Inspruck in the Tyrol. In 1809 that city was assaulted by the French, the museum was plundered, and this violin carried to Vienna, where it became the property of another notable person, the Councillor Rehazek, who was famous for his collection of ancient musical instruments. He left it by will to another still more celebrated person, Ole Bull, the distinguished Norwegian violinist, by whom it was exhibited in London in 1862, and with whom it still remains. To our description of Gaspar's instruments we should add that his tenors and double basses are of a rather broader form than his violins.
SALLE, —— Paris, 1800. This artiste was an excellent workman, and famous also as a judge of old instruments.
SANONI, GIOVANNI BAPTISTA, Verona.
SANTI, GIOVANNI, Naples, 1730.
SANCTUS SERAPHINO, Venezia, about 1730. An excellent workman, whose instruments possess almost the beautiful finish of Stradiuarius. He used handsome wood of small figure, and his varnish is often beautiful in the extreme. The model however approaches that of the Steiner school, and the tone is therefore generally wanting in fullness and roundness. He made also a few violoncellos with similar characteristics.
SAPINO, —— Cremona. Pupil of Guiseppe Cappa, made instruments after the style of the Amati.
SANZO SANTINO, —— Milan.
SAUNIER, —— born in Lorraine 1740. An excellent artiste whose instruments are reckoned among the best of the French school.
SCHEINLEIN, MATTHIAS FREDERICK, Langenfeld, born 1710, died 1771.
SCHEINLEIN, JEAN MICHAEL, Langenfeld, born 1751. Made instruments which are said to be good but not strongly built.
SCHMIDT, —— Cassel, mentioned by Otto as living in 1817, and praised by him as an excellent maker. His instruments are of the flat model of Stradiuarius but have the edges larger and the purfling further from the sides.
SCHONGER, FRANCIS, Erfurth, made high modelled instruments, but of poor tone.
SCHONGER, GEORGE, Erfurth, son of the above, modelled his instruments in the Italian style and produced some very superior examples.
SCHORN, JACOB, Salzbourg.
SCHORN, JOHANN, Inspruck, 1688.
SCHOTT, MARTIN, Prague.
SHAW, —— London, 1656.
SIMPSON, JOHN, London, 1790.
SIMPSON, J. and J., son of the above.
SIMON, —— Salzbourg, 1722.
SIMON, —— Paris.
SMITH, HENRY, London, 1629. This may be a celebrated maker of viols, &c., mentioned by Mace, 1676, as one of the best then known.
SMITH, THOMAS, London, 1756 to 1799. This well known maker was a pupil of Peter Wamsley. His violoncellos are of the Steiner model, and some of them possess considerable power, and were formerly highly esteemed, but they are now considered to be deficient in quality and wanting in the rich fine tone of the Italian artistes. Notwithstanding, they are still favourites in the country; the editor knows two of his violoncellos which have been respectively sold for £30 and £40 within a few years.
SMITH, WILLIAM, London, 1771.
SOLOMON, —— pupil of Bocquay, a good French artiste.
SPEILER, —— 18th Century.
STADELMANS, DANIEL, 1744, Vienna.
STADELMANS, JOHANN JOSEPH, Vienna, 1784. Fame speaks very highly of this maker, who closely imitated Jacob Steiner and ranks next to him among the German makers.
STEINER, JACOB, of Absom in the Tyrol, born about 1620, date of death not known, but at about the age of seventy retired to a Convent.
See separate chapter on this celebrated artiste.
STOSS, FRANCIS, Bavaria.
STORIONI, LORENZO, Cremona, living in 1782, said to be the last of the great Cremona makers. Forster says his instruments resemble those of Joseph Guarnerius, and that Vieuxtemps' solo violin in 1861, was by this master, and was very much admired. His violoncellos are very powerful. The author knows a violin which an authority says is by Storioni, but which the owner considered to be by Antonius and Hieronymus Amati. The same authority says there are only two in England of this make. It possesses a splendid fine full and rich tone, beautiful wood for the belly, but the back rather plain, varnish deep yellow with reddish tinge. Workmanship not very fine. We mention those little known artistes' instruments when we have seen them, because they are now rising in value and are esteemed as likely to afford good instruments to those who cannot afford those of the three great masters.
STRADIUARIUS, ANTONIUS, Cremona, born 1644, died 1737.
See separate chapter for a fuller account of this celebrated artiste.
STRADIUARIUS, HOMOBONO, Cremona, son of Antonius; made instruments under the direction of his father, which were signed "Sub disciplina A. Stradiuarius."
STRADIUARIUS, FRANCISCO, Cremona, another son of Antonius, and signed in the same manner as his brother.
STRAUBE, —— Berlin, 1770. Constructed after the Italian model. His instruments are scarce and good.
STRNAD, GASPAR, Prague, 1781 to 1793. This maker bears a good reputation.
STURIONUS, LAURENTIUS. See Storioni.
SURSANO, SPIRITUS, Coni, 1764.
T.
TAYLOR, —— London, 1770 to 1820.
TECHLER, DAVID, first established himself at Salzburg, and afterwards went to Venice, where the story goes that he was so persecuted by other makers that he fled to Rome, about 1706. He made some excellent and beautiful instruments. They have fine yellow varnish and resemble those of the Tyrolean school of Albani and others. Lindley had a violoncello by this maker which was very fine, and powerful in tone. Another was sold a few years ago by auction, for £50. We have seen a violin of this maker, with very beautiful wood and highly finished workmanship, the tone of which was very pure and polished.
TENZEL, —— One of our catalogues contains a violin by this maker, but we have no particulars.
TEODITI, JEROME, Rome, 1750.
TESTATOR, IL VECCHIO, Milan, about 1520. A claim has been made for this maker that he was the first to give the name of violino to the reduced viol.
TERRESIO, —— An Italian who died in 1853, was a most eminent judge of instruments. His whole existence seemed to be centered in his art, and his eye became so practised that when travelling to discover old instruments, he took them all to pieces, sides, backs, heads, and all parts, forming a conglomerate mass of pieces of valuable violins. The object of so doing was to avoid the customs' dues which are of course heavy on old instruments. When he reached his destination, he would replace them without the aid of a single mark. After his death his house, or rather his hermitage, was visited by connoisseurs, who found it strewed with different parts of instruments, some being found in the most out of the way places. He had the major part of all the great instruments through his hands. Among other valuable instruments found in his house after his death, was a Gaspar di Salo double bass and a Bergonzi double bass—the latter unique. Both these instruments are now in Mr. Hart's possession. The Gaspar di Salo is very perfect and its tone is unsurpassed. The Bergonzi is quite a curiosity, from its being the only one of his make known. He visited this country during the Exhibition of 1851, and was deeply gratified upon seeing so many high class instruments among the dilettanti here, and the taste and zest the English have in forming collections.
TESTORE, CARLO GUISEPPE, Cremona, about 1700. This artiste made some very good instruments after the Guarnerius pattern. The wood of the backs of his violoncellos is mostly pear tree, and the bellies are of splendid wood. The tone is very powerful, but not always so smooth as might be wished. This is another rising name. The celebrated double bass player Bottesini, uses one of this maker's instruments which possesses a splendid tone, and is sufficient to stamp Testore as an excellent maker. If any of his smaller instruments possess as good and fine a tone as this double bass he must be ranked among the best Italian artistes. Use will probably wear away the want of smoothness at present complained of in some of them.
TESTORE, CARLO ANTONIO, Milan, about 1710 to 1730.
TESTORE, PAOLO ANTONIO, Milan, about 1720 to 1740. Both the above have the reputation of being good makers. Of these artistes we have a note which states that their model was flat, resembling Joseph Guarnerius in shape, but the varnish very inferior and void of colour.
THOROWGOOD. HENRY, London, the 18th Century.
TOBIN, —— London, 1800 to 1836. This maker cut most beautiful heads, and his work was neatness in the extreme, so much so indeed as to rob it of decided character.
TONINI, FELICE, Bologna.
TONINI, ANTONIO, Bologna.
TONINI, CARLO, Bologna.
TONINI, GUIDO, Bologna.
We have no special information on these makers, but they are generally ranked among the good Italian makers.
TONONI, CARLO, Venezia, 1699
TONONI, GIOVANNI, Venezia, 1699. The instruments by Tononi are worthy of the highest praise. They are however very scarce. They are of the large pattern, and flat model, with good varnish, and everything about them, including a superior tone, to entitle them to be ranked as excellent instruments.
TORING, —— London.
TRUNCO, —— Cremona, 1660.
U.
URQUART, THOMAS, London, 1650. An excellent old English maker. He used beautiful varnish (for English) and made many small violins which are useful to young players, being old and the price reasonable.
V.
VALLER, —— Marseilles, 1683.
VERON, —— Paris, about 1725. Highly esteemed in France.
VIARD, NICHOLAS, Versailles, about 1730.
VIBRECHT, GYSBERT, Amsterdam, 1707.
VIMERCATI, PAULO, Venezia, 1700.
VOGEL, WOLFGANG, Nuremberg.
VUILLAUME, JEAN, 1700 to 1740. Worked with Straduarius, and made some good instruments under his own name.
VUILLAUME, JEAN BAPTISTE, Paris. Now living. Famous for his copies of Cremonese instruments. This artiste obtained by personal researches in Cremona the particulars of the life of Stradiuarius, which Fetis has embodied in his book.
W.
WAGNER, JOSEPH, Constance, 1733.
WAMSLEY, PETER, London, 1727. A celebrated artiste, who made many excellent instruments. Those with the dark brown varnish are the most valuable. They were mostly of the Steiner patterns. Mr. J. Rodgers, organist of Doncaster Parish Church, has a very beautiful tenor by this maker, which is built in the shape of a double bass, and with very peculiar sound holes instead of the usual S S.
WEAVER, SAMUEL, London.
WEISS, JACOB, Salzburg, 1761.
WENGER, GREGORIO FERDINAND, Salzburg, 1761.
WEYMANN, CORNELIUS, Amsterdam, 1682.
WIGHTMAN, GEORGE, 1761.
WITHALM, LEOPOLD, Nuremberg, 1765 to 1788. Otto says this maker's instruments are worthy the attention of the virtuoso, and are extremely like those of Steiner, and difficult to distinguish from them.
WISE, CHRISTOPHER, London, 1656.
WORNUM, —— London, 1794.
WRIGHT, DANIEL, London, 1745.
Y.
YOUNGE, JOHN, London, 1724.
Z.
ZANETTO, PEREGRINO, Brescia, about 1540. A maker of rebecs, violas, and viols da gamba.
ZANTI, ALESSANDRO, Mantua, about 1770. Reckoned among the good Italian makers.
BOW MAKERS.
It will not be considered out of place in the course of a biographical account of the principal makers of violins, to give a short notice of some eminent persons without whose labours, the violin itself would never have been developed as it has been, to wit, violin bow makers. Much of the elegant finish and refinement of tone and style which distinguish the great players of the violin, if not due altogether to the bow, by which the tone is produced, is at all events greatly aided by it. A Paganini will have a Tourte bow, and so will every other great master, if he can get one. There must be something therefore in the bow, as well as in the violin, more than meets the eye of a casual observer. We have not here space to enter into the subtle niceties which distinguish the bows of Tourte of France, of Dodd of England, and others. Suffice it to say that whoever boasts of an excellent violin should match it with a superior bow. One is incomplete without the other. There are many excellent makers, but we must content ourselves with briefly noticing the most prominent. Suffice it to say in the way of advice and warning that whether the amateur buy an old or a new bow, let him see that its flexibility, which is its great merit, is perfect, and that it is still strong though light and straight. Mr. Bishop in his edition of Otto says the finest bows are those of Vuillaume! He does not even mention any others. Tourte and Dodd do not deem to be worthy his remembrance! There must be nevertheless something in the bows of these makers which commands great respect, for any performer of skill will give (if he can get one, that is the difficulty,) ten or twelve times the amount for a perfect Tourte, which will buy a Vuillaume! There is no doubt that Vuillaume manufactures good bows—but to rank them highest is so palpable a misrepresentation that we have thought it necessary to enter a protest against it.
TOURTE, FRANCIS, Paris, born 1747, died 1835. This is conceded, by all the best judges, to be the greatest maker we have ever known, in fact the Stradiuarius of the bow. His father and grandfather were instrumental in improving the bow, but Francis Tourte brought it to the greatest perfection. His bows are light and flexible, yet straight. They are highly finished and made of the finest Brazil wood. He himself sold his bows mounted with gold, at 12 louis, (£11 4s. 6d.) each; with silver 3½ louis (£3 5s. 6d.) It is said the reason of his charging so much was that he found so great a difficulty in getting wood fine enough to satisfy his critical judgment, and that he also made no scruple to break any which did not reach his standard of perfection; he was therefore compelled to charge those sums for such as he permitted to go forth. Whoever wishes to match his cherished Cremona with an equally fine bow will get a Tourte if he can.
LUPOT, of Paris, was another excellent maker. His bows are not quite so light as those of Tourte, but they are in all other respects highly esteemed.
DODD, EDWARD, born at Sheffield, and died in London, at the age of 105 years, in 1810, was distinguished as an improver of the bow in England, about the same time that the Tourtes were founding their great reputation in France. The great maker of this name, however, and who has achieved the honourable title of the Tourte of England, is
DODD, JOHN, the son of Edward. The best bows of this maker are highly esteemed, and partake of all the excellencies of those of Tourte. Some of them, however, are rather short, which is perhaps their only defect.
After these come the bows of Panormo, Pecatte, Tubbs, Vuillaume, and other English and Foreign artistes, whose best bows are much esteemed.
As between old and new bows, we would observe that in general modern bows are nearly us useless as new violins. The wood of which most of them are made is very inferior to that of the older artistes, and there is always a doubt whether they will stand continued use and remain straight and flexible. With an old bow, if it is straight, there is no fear, with ordinary care, of its remaining so. A good bow is as important as a good violin.
THE GREAT CREMONA MAKERS.
THE AMATI FAMILY.
Cremona! Who has not heard of this now celebrated Italian city? And yet but for a fiddle maker it is very probable indeed that it would never have been known beyond the circle of its own local interests and its relations with neighbouring cities. Now, however, its name is a spell to conjure with. A Cremona Violin is, to a rich amateur, a loadstone that is sure to attract the shining metal from the depths of his purse. Seven hundred pounds have been given for a Guarnerius Violin! Think of that ye dilettanti who are so proud of your pictures and marbles! Even the poor fiddler has his Mecca far away, and it is called Cremona. Like pictures, the Cremona Violins are real works of art, and like them also, were once to be had for trifling sums. Cuyps and Paul Potters, Stradiuarii and Guarnerii were once to be had for three or four pounds each that are now worth as many hundreds. A Cremona instrument has even been considered a worthy gift to pass between crowned heads, Pope Pius V. having presented a violoncello by Andreas Amati to Charles IX. of France. Fleeting however are the honours of time! Cremona has lost its most famous names from among its citizens, and with them its most distinguished characteristic. For nearly a hundred years no maker of great skill has arisen to dispute the glory of the place with the Amati, Stradiuarius, and Guarnerius, by whom the fame of Cremona will be carried to the latest generations.
It is now about three centuries since there flourished at Cremona its first great violin maker. Andreas Amati appears to have been born there in 1520, and died in 1580. The family was an ancient one, and is mentioned as early as 1097 in the records of the city. It is a remarkable fact, and shows in a strong light the difference of manners and customs in different countries that both Amati and Stradiuarius seem to have been of ancient and honourable families, and yet notwithstanding their adopting an avocation which would in England be thought to tarnish an old family name, they lived and died respected and honoured by their fellow citizens. There is no account of how or of whom Andrew Amati acquired the art of violin making; but it is clear that by some means he had attained to a considerable amount of skill. Under the head of Gaspar di Salo, we have however hazarded a conjecture that he had been to Brescia for the first principles of the art, but that he had adopted little that he found there except the varnish and the general routine of the workshop. Some of his instruments are described as beautifully made, and to have amber varnish of excellent quality of a deep rich yellow tinted with brown or light red colour. His violins appear to have been chiefly of the small pattern and high model. The backs are mostly cut the reverse way of the grain to the present rule, forming what are now termed "slab" backs. They possess a delicate graceful tone of wonderful sweetness, which has also been more or less the chief characteristic of the other makers of this family. With reference to this peculiarity, an eminent writer observes that in the times in which the Amati lived, the tone was not required to be of that powerful character which modern players demand, and that such an immense tone as many later instruments possess would not then have been tolerated. This is very probable, and may account also for the elevated model which was adopted both by Andrew and some others of the Amati. This model conjoined with their beautiful workmanship and generally small size, combined to produce that elegant delicious sweet tone which of all other makers, the Amatis especially possess. They also, all of them, made a greater number of instruments of the smaller size than what is known as the grand pattern, no doubt because the tone produced by them was found generally sufficient. They were also made to carry a much lower bridge and a lighter bass bar than are now used, and the proportions were arranged accordingly. On this point M. Maugin, author of a Treatise, entitled Manuel du Luthier, makes some remarks which we have translated as pertinent and valuable. Speaking on the subject of repairing old instruments, he says, "There is no violin maker now, who does not put, whether in the instruments he has to repair, or in those which he makes, a much stronger bar than those which were employed by the great makers themselves. They must have felt the necessity of doing this or they would not all act in this way. Now what is the reason of this mode of working? I have seen in the hands of rich amateurs, several instruments which have been preserved with a religious care, absolutely in the form which Amati and Stradiuarius had given to them. The bridges of these violins had only an inch and a fraction of height above the belly, while now-adays bridges have a height of an inch and (say) three-eighths. Now, the belly being put into vibration by strings at a great distance from it, and these strings vibrating by themselves more at the distance of fourteen lines than at twelve, it has been found necessary to strengthen the bar which, without that, being drawn into too great a vibration, would give to the strings sol and re a cottony sound which would have quite spoiled the goodness of the instrument." M. Maugin does not say why higher bridges are now used, but there is no doubt on this point. All judges concur that the pitch having been so greatly raised since the old instruments were built, a stronger bar has been found necessary, to counterbalance the increased tension of the higher bridge.
Andrew Amati gave to his instruments a still more decided swell than the later members of his family, his successors no doubt finding a diminution in the rise of the model to produce a fuller if not a sweeter tone. This principle was gradually carried forward till it culminated in Antonius Stradiuarius, who brought it to perfection and demonstrated that the flat model produced the greatest vibration and consequently the most powerful tone. Otto in his celebrated work on the Construction of the Violin, does not mention Andrew Amati, but says that those of Hieronymus were the oldest Cremona Violins. This is one of the mistakes in his original work which renders it comparatively useless. Connoisseurs and collectors have dissipated those errors, and we now know to a certainty that to Andrew Amati of Cremona, and Gaspar di Salo of Brescia, (of whom also Otto was ignorant,) we owe the establishment of these two great schools of violin making. From their great age, the instruments of these two great makers are now very rare. They are most of them about three centuries old, and though they appear to have made a considerable number, they have through the influences of time and accident gradually disappeared. Some of Andrew Amati's instruments are still left however in the hands of dilettanti and collectors, and retain that distinguishing characteristic of delicious and sympathetic quality which has been the chief charm of all the Amati productions. Andrew had a brother calledNicholas, of whom little appears to be known.
AfterAndrew, as great makers, come his two sonsAntoniusandHieronymus, who flourished from 1550 to 1634.Antoniusmade many small pattern violins, which possess in the highest degree the distinguishing characteristic of the family—a sweet but not powerful tone. He also constructed some of a larger pattern.AntoniusandHieronymusconjointly built a number of large pattern violins, which are of high finish and beautiful wood. They are very highly esteemed, and a well preserved example will command a large price.Nicholaswas the greatest artiste of this deservedly celebrated family, and many instruments still exist to attest the excellence of his workmanship and his knowledge of the proportions requisite to produce a fine tone. He also built many small pattern instruments, but he appears to have almost anticipated Stradiuarius and succeeded in producing some instruments of the grand pattern which possess a very powerful as well as sweet tone, and are considered to rival in every respect the famous instruments of that great master. Some of his violins possess a distinguishing mark in a rather abrupt rise in the centre. Otto describes it as a "sharp ridge." It is not exactly so, but is still very different to the gradual swell on the other Cremona instruments. His best violins, which are known by the title of Grand Amatis, are those which approximate closely to the very best instruments of Stradiuarius and Guarnerius. There can be no doubt therefore, that in these fine specimens of his skill, he had hit upon the same principles which afterwards guided those distinguished artistes in the construction of those most renowned violins which now command the admiration of violinists throughout the world.
We have said that the chief characteristic of the Amati violins is a sweet but not powerful tone. It is necessary to qualify and explain this remark. From their excellent construction and beautiful wood, which has evidently been selected with the greatest care for its resonant quality—their age and long and careful use, their tone is divested of all extraneous properties, and become fine and pure. Notwithstanding therefore their original small tone, when fitted with the modern appliances of larger bars and higher bridges, some have been found quite competent for all purposes. In 1861 the celebrated instrument by Antonius Amati, which was presented by George IV. to Francois Cramer, was sold by auction, and it was stated in the catalogue that that great performer always led the Ancient and other concerts on that instrument. The fact no doubt is that it is the fine and pure quality of tone that tells, arising from age, constant use, and beautiful woods. They seem to be now divested of all extraneous characteristics and are become refined and ethereal, and are in fact the nightingales of the stringed tribe. That the Stradiuarius and Guarnerius have equal quality combined with more power arising from their flatter model is undoubted, and therefore they are the most valued. It is believed that the finest specimen of the skill of Nicholas Amati is in the possession of Ole Bull. It is of the large pattern, and possesses a magnificent tone, as many of our readers have no doubt heard.
We think we shall please our readers by inserting verbatim the following excellent description of the Amati instruments, furnished to us by an able and experienced connoisseur. He says:—
"Nicholas Amatiand theBrothers Amati. The tone is with few exceptions sweet in quality and seldom powerful, but admirably suited to the amateur. The workmanship is of the highest order, which conduces to this result. The wood must have been selected with great judgment. The bellies are nearly always of a fine reedy nature. Sometimes the backs are whole backs (in one piece), at others in two, more often the latter. The varnish of a beautiful amber colour, and there are a few instances of fine red. The sides generally rather shallow, heads of exquisite form and well defined. The care bestowed upon them alone bespeaks the hand of the artist. There are several magnificent tenors and violoncellos, and perhaps three or four double basses. The tenors are sometimes seen of large size. The Amati family made several sets of instruments for foreign courts, which bear their particular arms, mostly beautifully painted on the backs. The violins known as Grand Amatis are the best, and were made by Nicholas Amati. They take their name from their size. He also made many long pattern instruments, and also several three quarter violins, which have conferred a great boon upon juvenile violinists who are able to purchase them, by giving them an opportunity of early becoming familiar with the irreproachable Italian quality of tone."
In reference to the remark made in the preceding paragraph, it is recorded that a set of instruments, no doubt one of those therein alluded to, was made for Charles 9th of France by Andrew Amati, consisting of twenty-four violins, six violas, and eight basses. These were lost from Versailles in 1790, and have not been recovered, except two which M. Cartier discovered some years since. Notwithstanding that Andrew Amati was the first maker of any note, except Gaspar di Salo of Brescia, it is clear that he had attained an astonishing amount of skill, as there is an account of a violoncello which was offered by auction at the sale of the celebrated Sir Wm. Curtis's instruments by Mr. Musgrave, who in the catalogue stated that "a document was given to the proprietor when he purchased this instrument, stating that it was presented by Pope Pius 5th to Charles 9th of France for his chapel. It has been richly painted, the arms of France being on the back, and the motto 'Pietate et Justitia' on the sides. The tone of this violoncello is of extraordinary power and richness." Mr. Forster supposes this to have been one of the instruments mentioned before, but that would destroy the value of the document given to Sir William, because if Andrew Amati made it for Pope Pius 5th, who presented it to Charles 9th it could not have been one of those made by him expressly for that monarch. It is clear however that the tone was both grand and fine, and therefore the first of the Amatis must have attained great ability in his art. We have before mentioned the celebrated Nicholas Amati violin, dated 1679, formerly the property of the same distinguished collector, Sir W. Curtis, and which has since been sold by Mr. Hart to the great violinist Ole Bull. This is considered the finest specimen of the Amati skill and was thus described in the catalogue of the sale—"This is justly considered as one of the most beautiful and finest instruments in thewhole world." The Count de Castelbarco of Milan, possessed a quartett of instruments by Nicholas Amati, which have since been sold in London (see the article on Stradiuarius.) M. Fetis describes these asadmirable, but as our readers will see, the English connoisseurs do not appear to have coincided generally with the critic on their quality, as only one of them produced any great price. There is a splendid grand Amati in the hands of an amateur in Derbyshire, which formerly belonged to Mr. Hankey the banker, for whom it was purchased with others by Viotti, who dedicated several of his compositions to him. This instrument possesses in an eminent degree the admirable qualities of the Amati tone, with also considerable power. Another of the same set in the same hands is a splendid Stradiuarius of the large pattern with a magnificent tone. There are many fine examples of the different makers of this celebrated name in this country. English connoisseurs suffer those of no other nation to excel them in their collections.
ANTONIUS STRADIUARIUS.
A most interesting account of Antonius Stradiuarius, who is generally thought to be the greatest maker of the violin—has been published by M. Fetis, and translated into English by Mr. Bishop of Cheltenham. In addition to records of his family, which was an ancient one in Cremona, obtained by M. Vuillaume in his persevering labours in search of information, and which he placed at the service of M. Fetis—the latter enters deeply into what we may call the science of violin making, and presents us with many interesting and valuable experiments which have been made on fragments of the great instruments, in order to ascertain the exact principles which enabled Stradiuarius to build with such undeviating and brilliant success. The book is well worthy the perusal of all amateurs of the violin.
Antonius Stradiuariuswas born in Cremona, in 1644, and died there in 1737, having lived in the peaceful exercise of his art to the great age of ninety-three. There is a violin still extant which bears his signature and proves this fact. In the early part of his life, he was a pupil of Nicholas Amati, and some of his early productions bear his master's name, as seems to have been the custom. These instruments have the Amati characteristics, and have some of the backs cut the contrary way of the grain, forming what are known by the name of "slab" backs. He afterwards enlarged his model and adopted a flatter pattern, and arrived at the greatest perfection about 1700. From that period to 1725, everything he made bore the impress of the great master. In shape, the cutting of the S holes, the varnish, and the accuracy with which all the parts were adjusted in harmonical relation, from that time he excelled all who had gone before him, or who have since attempted the difficult task of vying with him. All these instruments are of the flat pattern, which is now proved to be best adapted for the production of a rich, deep and powerful tone. It would appear that the more elevated model used before his time, although it allowed of very fine quality of tone, tended to prevent that strong vibration which is the cause of great tone. M. Fetis insists that the violins of Stradiuarius were as good and fine in quality of tone when made as they are now, contrary to the established opinion that time is necessary as well as use for refining and perfecting all violins. He gives an instance of a violin made by Stradiuarius, now in Paris, which he states has never been played upon—but we must beg to doubt this fact. Though we are ready to admit that the careful adjustment of the different parts and the selection of fine wood, would tend to perfect the tone of these instruments, much sooner than others less carefully fashioned, yet in the instance he brings forward in support of his theory, it does not appear quite so clear that the violin never had been played upon. On the contrary, there are many years unaccounted for, in his description of it, during which it might have undergone considerable use. It appears almost impossible that while in the hands of various possessors, so fine an instrument should have been suffered to lie idle in a cabinet, as though it were a picture to be looked at, but not touched. From its condition, however, it is clear that it had always been in hands that prized it, for he describes it as having quite the appearance of a new instrument. In this respect, therefore, we must still adopt the opinion of the most eminent judges, including that recorded by Spohr, that it requires both time and use to perfect all instruments of the violin class. It would appear moreover that this has always been a settled belief, for even Mace in his "Music's Monument," published in 1676, says "We chiefly value old instruments before new for by experience they are found to be far the best." As to the condition of this instrument which Fetis states to be quite unique for its perfection and apparent newness, our countryman, Mr. Gardiner, in his interesting work, "Music and Friends," says that Mr. Champion, an amateur had given 300 guineas for a Stradiuarius violin and tenor, of a beautiful yellow colour inclining to orange, and which appeared to have been untouched since the day they were made. Here then in this country is a double instance of the same fact as to condition, for which M. Fetis claims for the Paris instrument the title of unique. The fact is that these fine violins have for many years been so highly appreciated that their possessors have taken the most extraordinary care to prevent their being damaged or disfigured, and there are many instances of violins in equally perfect condition.
After 1725, at which date Stradiuarius was 80 years old, his work lost some of its characteristic excellence though still of great merit. His sons, Homobono and Francesco, now assisted him, but he appears still to have signed them, occasionally adding to their names however, the wordssub disciplina A. Stradiuarius. He had many pupils, the chief and the best of whom was Carlo Bergonzi. There were also Gobetti of Venice, Guadagnini of Cremona, Michael Angelo Bergonzi, and others mentioned in the dictionary. Fine examples of the works of his pupils are now becoming very valuable, and are well worthy attention.
Stradiuarius made a few instruments inlaid with ebony and ivory round the edges. There is a quartett of them, all bearing the same date 1687. One is in the collection of Charles Plowden, Esq.; the other violin belongs to a gentleman in Staffordshire; the violoncello belongs to the Queen of Spain, and the tenor was once the property of Sir Wm. Curtis. This is a very curious and remarkable set of instruments, very highly finished and in fine preservation. There is also another violin inlaid which belonged to the late Dr. Camidge of York, bearing date 1713. A. Fountain, Esq., has in his possession, the last violin which Stradiuarius made. This instrument is known as the Habenock Violin from the previous owner's name from whom Mr. Fountain had it. Charles Plowden, Esq., has a quartett of splendid instruments by Stradiuarius, of which one violin is of the Grand Pattern, dated 1719; another dated 1711; which are perfect in model and preservation, and both first-class; the third is a remarkable violin, with rich golden varnish, dated 1709—a perfect instrument, which has been twice sold for £600, was formerly the property of Emiliani and is still known by his name. The fourth violin is the inlaid instrument mentioned above. Besides these, Mr. Plowden possesses a magnificent violoncello by Stradiuarius—a remarkable specimen both for beauty and tone; and also, four violins by Joseph Guarnerius which will be mentioned under the head of that master.
There is in Derbyshire a very fine Stradiuarius which was purchased by Viotti for his friend Mr. Hankey, from whom this and the Amati mentioned elsewhere went to his brother, a distinguished amateur, who died some years ago. Wm. Howard, Esq., of Sheffield, has a fine Stradiuarius violin, of the most beautiful yellow varnish, splendid wood, fine tone, and perfect condition, which formerly belonged to Salomon.