Chapter 13 of 21 · 7536 words · ~38 min read

CHAPTER XI

EARLY VIOLIN MUSIC AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF VIOLIN TECHNIQUE

The origin of stringed instruments; ancestors of the violin--Perfection of the violin and advance in violin technique; use of the violin in the sixteenth century; early violin compositions in the vocal style; Florentino Maschera and Monteverdi--Beginnings of violin music: Biagio Marini; Quagliati; Farina; Fontana and Mont’ Albano; Merula; Ucellino and Neri; Legrenzi; Walther and his advance in technique, experiments in tone painting--Giov. Battista Vitali; Tommaso Vitali and Torelli; Bassani; Veracini and others--Biber and other Germans; English and French composers for the violin; early publications of text-books and collections.

The origin of string instruments of the violin family is involved in much obscurity and it would be impossible to discuss here the various theories concerning it which have been stated with more or less plausibility by musical historians.[42] A preponderance of authoritative opinion seems to favor the theory that the direct ancestor of the violin was the Welsh _crwth_, a sort of harp, which seems to have been played with a bow. Venantius Fortunatus (570 A.D.) mentions this instrument in the much quoted lines: _Romanusque lyra plaudit tibi, barbara harpa, Græcus Achillaica, chrotta Britana canat_. (‘The Roman praises thee with the lyre, the barbarian sings to thee with the harp, the Greek with the cither, the Briton with the _crwth_.’) The fact that the old English name for the fiddle was _crowd_ furnishes an etymological argument in favor of the _crwth_. It is, of course, possible that the idea of using a bow with the small harp was first suggested by some instrument already in existence. The Arabs and other peoples had instruments roughly approximating the violin type. One is inclined, however, to the assumption that the violin was not developed directly from any particular instrument, but came into being rather through the evolution of an idea with which various races experimented independently and simultaneously.

[Illustration]

Ignace Paderewski. _After a photo from life (1915)._

The immediate forerunner of the violin seems to have been the rebec, of which there is a drawing in an extant manuscript of the ninth century. The Benedictine monk Ofried, in his _Liber Evangeliorum_ of about the same period, mentions the fidula as one of the two bowed instruments then in use, though to what extent the fidula differed from the rebec we are unable to ascertain. In the psalm-book of Notker (d. 1022) there is also a figure of a rebec and a bow. Drawings, written references and bas-reliefs enable us to follow the development of the violin clearly enough from this time on. In the abbey of St. Georges de Boscherville, Normandy, there is preserved a bas-relief which shows a girl dancing on her head to the accompaniment of a band which includes two instruments of the violin type, played with the bow. The _Nibelungen Lied_ speaks of a fiddler who ‘wielded a fiddle-bow, broad and long like a sword,’ and although this epic was completed in the twelfth century it is probably safe to antedate the reference considerably. There is in the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris a crowned figure with a four-stringed violin, and in the Abbey of St. Germain des Près there is a similar relic showing a man with a five-stringed violin and a bow. Both date from the eleventh century. From these and similar evidences it is plain that a violin of a rudimentary type was used extensively in the eleventh century. Its musical possibilities must have been very slight, and probably it was used chiefly to accompany the song or the dance.

As we may deduce from many contemporary references, the troubadours, jongleurs, and minnesingers[43] of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries played a very important part in the development of the violin type of instrument. There is extant, for instance, a manuscript of the period, containing an illustration of a _jongleur_ playing upon a three-stringed instrument very nearly resembling the modern violin. Jerome of Moravia, a Dominican monk of Paris in the thirteenth century, informs us in his _Speculum Musices_ that the two strings of the violin then in use were tuned as follows: [Illustration: Music score]. His _Speculum_, which is probably the earliest approach to an instruction book for the violin, also contains this very definite indication of the fingering:

[Illustration: Music score]

Under the influence of the troubadours and minnesingers the popularity of the violin spread rapidly both among professionals and amateur musicians. It was especially popular as an accompaniment to dances. In the _Brunswick Chronicle_ (1203) we read of a clergyman who had his arm struck by lightning while playing for dancers. We may infer from this that it was considered quite a respectable recreation. The _Chronicle_ has the words _veddelte_ (fiddled) and _Veddelbogen_ (fiddle-bow) without any comment, so that they must have been quite familiar terms. A stained glass window, a Parisian manuscript and a miniature painting from a manuscript called _Mater Verborum_ (1202-12) show that the instrument then in use resembled in shape the modern violin. In Ulrich von Lichtenstein’s _Frauendienst_ we read of an orchestra which included two fiddles and which played a lively walking-tune or march for the purpose of charming away the fatigues of the journey. We may gather some idea of the vogue of violin playing during this period from the character of a decree, issued in the year 1261 and now in the archives of Bologna, which forbade the playing of the viol at night in the streets of that city. Despite its great popularity it held a place beside the harp as an instrument worthy of the dignity of a minstrel, as we may gather from an allusion of a French poet about the year 1230:

‘When the cloth was ta’en away Minstrels strait began to play, And while harps and viols join Raptured bards in strains divine, Loud the trembling arches rung With the noble deed we sung.’

By this time professional instrumentalists had become a strong class and in various cities had begun the formation of fraternities which did not differ much in essence from our modern musical unions. The first of these, as far as we can discover, was the St. Nicholas Brüderschaft which existed in Vienna as early as 1288.

The many and varied forms and sizes of viols illustrated in manuscripts and elsewhere suggest that the instrument was used in the music of the church. Certainly instruments of some kind (apart from the organ) must have been taken into the church service, else Thomas Aquinas would not have argued against their employment. The church was not very sympathetic toward musicians and its attitude was reflected to a great extent by the world at large. Synods and councils frequently issued decrees against wandering minstrels and in the city of Worms they were even refused the privilege of lodging in or frequenting public houses.

The fourteenth century brought much greater recognition for instrumental art, which grew in popularity and in the favor and patronage of those in high places. When the French _jongleurs_ united in 1321 into the _Confrérie de St. Julien des Ménestriers_ they obtained a charter which called their leaders _Rois des ménestriers_ (later _Rois des violins_). The same charter alludes to ‘high and low’ instruments, apparently treble and bass rebecs or viols which were played in octaves to each other or perhaps in a primitive sort of counterpoint. Technique must have been very inferior, for musicians in Alsace were required to study only one or two years before taking up music as a profession. Their incomes, on the other hand, were probably substantial, as it is recorded that they were obliged to pay taxes. It is interesting to note at this early period that the city of Basle employed a violinist to play in a public place for the entertainment of the citizens.

So far we have endeavored to trace the progress of violin music through paintings, monuments and fugitive references in manuscripts, decrees and other documents. These references are not on the whole very clear and the nomenclature of early instruments of the violin family is very loose and confused. We know practically nothing about the music composed for these instruments. Their imperfect shape does not suggest music of an advanced kind, nor does it mean that the technique of the time was equal to very exacting demands. The famous blind organist, Conrad Paumann (1410-73), who could play on every instrument, including the violin, has left us in his _Orgelbuch_ several transcriptions of songs which he may have played on the violin as well as on other instruments, and the dances and other pieces of free invention composed for other instruments may also have served as musical material for violinists. But all this is mere surmise.

[Illustration]

Relatives of the Violin. Top: Viola de braccia, Pochette, Viola bastarda. Bottom: Viola da gamba, Violone, Viola d’amore.

Regarding the combination of the violin with other instruments we know that at the end of the fifteenth century there existed in Louvain an ‘orchestra’ composed of a harp, a flute, a _viol_, and a trumpet. There is recorded an account of another ‘orchestra’ belonging to Duke Hercules in Ferrara, who employed a great number of musicians. It included flutes, trumpets, lutes, trombones, harps, viols and rebecs. We should not assume, however, that all of these instruments were played simultaneously. Each class of instrument had its own part and if all of them played together they must have made noise rather than music. We are also informed that previous to the year 1450 popes and princes employed ‘orchestras’ which combined ‘the voices, organ, and _other_ instruments into the loveliest harmony.’ In spite of the almost entire lack of music for the violin we know that it was a favorite instrument and consequently that the players must have produced on it pleasing music of some kind. Indication of its popularity is found in the works of Fra Angelico (1387-1455), whose famous angel holds a viol in her hands, and in Boccaccio’s novels, where we learn that violin music formed a considerable part of the entertainment of all classes.

The sixteenth century brought the violin to a perfection that was still far in advance of the technique of the players. At the same time there was a distinct advancement in the recognition of instrumental music, although vocal music continued to maintain its preeminence. This was due partly to the limited technique of the instrumentalists and

## partly to the greater appeal of music wedded to words. Violin players

then knew nothing about changing of positions and therefore could play only in the first position.[44] Thus the tone register of the violin was small. Some players, however, attempted to reach higher tones on the first string through the stretching of the fourth finger. Simple melodic phrases or figures were lacking in even quality of tone, in smoothness and in fluency. The art of legato playing was unknown and violinists could not play two or more notes with ‘one bow.’ Neither did they endeavor to conquer the technical difficulties of playing on the G string. They made practically no use of the fourth string until the end of the century. In addition, the instruments were badly constructed, equipped with strings of inferior quality and tuned in a low pitch, all of which militated strongly against purity and accuracy of intonation. Hans Gerle (a flute player of Nuremberg), in his ‛_Musica Teutsch, auf die Instrument der grossen und kleinen Geigen_’ (1532), advised that intonation marks be placed on the fingerboard, and this naïve advice was in use as late as the middle of the eighteenth century.[45]

The same writer points out that instrumentalists in improvising their parts were prone to vie with each other in demonstrating their ability as contrapuntists, a perfectly comprehensible habit, which must have affected instrumental music in the sixteenth century as badly as the vagaries of coloratura singers affected operatic music in the eighteenth.

Gerle’s book, incidentally, contained a number of German, Welsh, and French songs, and a fugue for four violins. Among other early books on the violin mention may be made of these:

S. Virdung: _Musica getuscht_, 1511.

Judenkönig: A truly artistic instruction * * * of learning upon the lute and violin, 1523. (Contains 25 numbers for violin and flute.)

Agricola: _Musica Instrumentalis_, 1528. (Here the author refers to the vibrato as a device that ‘makes the playing more sweet.’)

La Franco: _Scintille di Musica_, 1533.

Silvestro Ganassi: _Regola Rubertina che insegna suon di Viola d’arco_, 1543.

Ludovico Zacconi: _Prattica di Musica_, 1592 (Zacconi stated here that the compass of the violin was g-ciii).

M. Prätorius: _Syntagma Musicum_, 1619.

Touching upon the use of the violin in the sixteenth century there is extant a wealth of historical references. From one of these, for example, we gather that at a public festival in 1520 viols were used to accompany songs. We may assume their popularity in England from the fact that they were used in the family of Sir Thomas More (1530), an ardent music lover, and that during the reign of Edward VI the royal musical establishment increased the number of its viols to eight. Violins were used at public performances in Rouen in 1558; at a fête in Bayonne for dance music in 1565, and in a performance of a Mass at Verona in 1580. In the year 1572 Charles XI of France purchased violins from Cremona and a little later ordered the famous twenty-four violins from Andrea Amati. In 1579, at the marriage of the Duke of Joyeuse, violins were used to play for dances, and Montaigne in his _Journal_ (1580) refers to a marriage ceremony in Bavaria, where ‘as a newly married couple went out of church, the violinists accompanied them.’ From this passage of Montaigne we may infer that, in Germany at least, the popularity of violin music was not confined to the upper classes. It must be remembered, however, that the terms ‘viola,’ ‘violin,’ ‘viol,’ etc., were often applied indifferently to stringed instruments of various kinds, and in view of this inaccurate nomenclature historical references must be accepted with a certain amount of reserve.

We know little of the music that was played on the violin before the last decade of the sixteenth century. Violins, we are aware, were employed in ensembles, in orchestras, and in unison with voices, and in looking for violin music we have not necessarily to consider compositions written especially for violin. By way of illustration we may cite a collection of French Dances (1617), published for ‘instruments,’ presumably for all kinds of instruments, and a collection of ‘Songs’ edited in Venice (1539) bearing the remark ‘to sing and play,’ and indicating no special instruments. Probably much of this sort of music was played by violin. Among examples of specific writing for the violin there has come down to us previous to 1539 a _Fugue_ (Fugato rather) for four violins, composed by Gerle. It is in four parts: Discant (first violin), Alto (second violin), Tenor (viola) and Bass ('cello), perhaps the earliest specimen of a composition for string quartet. The style is purely vocal, as we may see from the theme:

[Illustration: Music score]

There is no suggestion of the violin idiom in the piece and it throws no light on the development of violin music. Cortecci and Striggio in 1565 scored their intermezzi for two gravecembali, _violins_, flutes, cornets, trombones, and several other instruments. D’Etrée, an oboe player, wrote down the common lively tunes which had been previously learned by ear and published them in 1564. As a practical musician he undoubtedly considered also the violin. In the performance of Beaulieu’s _Circe_ (1581) ten bands were used and in the first act ten violin players in costumes appeared. The famous violinist, Beaujoyeaulx (an Italian in the service of Henry III whose real name was Baltasarini), wrote ballets (1584), dances, festival music, and other compositions, which were very successful at the court. Doubtless he played them himself. Castiglione in his _Cortigiano_ mentions a composition as being written for ‛_quattro viole da arco_’ which almost seems to indicate another specimen of early string quartet. Toward the end of the century we meet with the _Balletti_ of Gastoldi and of Thomas Morley, some of which are printed without words and may have been intended for instrumental performances. Still, they are vocal in character and do not exceed the compass of the human voice. Besides these, there are other compositions and collections of dances, etc., that may be considered musical material for violinists of the time. Most of them, however, deserve no detailed notice.

Up to 1587 the leading instrument of the orchestra was the Cornetto (German ‘Zinke,’ an instrument of wood, not of metal). The earliest instance where the Cornetto alternates with the violins in taking the lead and where a part was inserted especially for _violino_ is to be found in _Concerto di Andrea e Giovanni Gabrieli--per voci e strumenti musicali_, 1587. Some of G. Gabrieli’s compositions, however, are still in vocal style, but some are decidedly instrumental in character, as we may see from the following illustrations.

[Illustration: Music score]

and

[Illustration: Music score]

[Illustration: Music score] From a Sonata à 3 (1615).

and

[Illustration: Music score]]

(Note the last example, where the intentional contrast between _piano_ and _forte_ is distinctly indicated.)

In 1593 Florentino Maschera, one of the celebrated organists of his time, published a book of ‘Songs to play’ (_Canzoni a sonar_). The work consisted of seventy-one pieces which had family names for their titles, a custom that was often repeated in the first half of the sixteenth century. It is important to note that these pieces were printed in separate parts, so that they may be considered as the first specimens of independent though not direct writing for the violin. These _canzoni_ were vocal in character and there was little that suggested instrumental technique. The style was that of the vocal compositions of the time--contrapuntal.

A genuine and daring innovator in the field of violin music was Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643), who in some violin passages went up as high as the fifth position. Besides broadening the technique of the left hand, he demanded tremolos for dramatic effects in accompanying recitative:

[Illustration: Music score]

This passage from _Combattimento di Tanceredi e Clorinda_ (1624) offered so many difficulties to the musicians that at first they refused to play it. As we shall see presently, however, Monteverdi was not the first to introduce this effect (_cf._ p. 381). Another of his new effects was the introduction of the _pizzicato_, which he marked thus: _Qui si lascia l’arco, e si strappano le chorde con duo diti_, and afterwards _Qui si ripiglia l’arco_. That Monteverdi expected violins to produce a _crescendo_ with the bow is apparent with the instruction _Questa ultima note va in arcato morendo_. ‘Monteverdi with his two violins “_alla Francese_” in the score of _Orfeo_ (the first printed reference to the violin as an orchestral instrument in the modern sense), probably meant nothing more than that the violins were to be in the fashion of the French, but in place of accompanying a dance, the character indicated in the opera was accompanied by two violins in a particular part of its music.’[46] In other violin pieces by Monteverdi, as in his _Scherzi musicali_ and _Ritornelle_ (1607), we see his superiority to his contemporaries, just as in his _Sonata sopra Sancta Maria detratta_, etc. (1610), he showed plainly his desire to improve violin music.

III

The first attempt at independent violin composition was made by Biagio Marini (1590-1660), _maestro di cappella_ in Santa Eufemia in Brescia and a court concert-master in Germany, who may be regarded as the first professional composer-violinist. In his early compositions the violin parts were not difficult for the players. There were mostly half and quarter notes in slow tempi, displaying the quality of vocal compositions, and without much use of the G string. Witness the following example from his _Martinenga Corrente_ (1622):

[Illustration: Music score]

A passage from his _Il Priulino Balletto e Corrente_ (marked canto primo, secondo, and basso)

[Illustration: Music score]

is more instrumental in quality, though the second part of the Balletto reveals again the character of vocal music. The whole may be played on the A and E strings. More violinistic passages are to be found in his sinfonia _La Gardana_; for example:

[Illustration: Music score]

Marini’s dance compositions are characteristic of all dance music at the beginning of the seventeenth century. Among them, however, is one that possesses particular interest for us from the fact that it is the first extant composition marked distinctly ‘for violin solo.’ It is entitled _La Romanesca per Violino Solo e Basso_ (ad libitum), and has four sections, each consisting of two parts. The first section, _Parte prima_, has six measures in the first and second part; the second section has five measures in the first part and six in the second. The form of the third section is not so clear as that of the previous ones, although, as we may see from the basses, the composer endeavored to give clear-cut melodies. The same may be said of the fourth section, where the figures are in the bass. The third section--_terza parte in altro modo_--with new melodic and rhythmic material, has the character of a dance. The violin part moves in figures of eight, and there are sustained notes in the bass. The first few measures of each section will serve as illustration.

Section I [Illustration: Music score]

Section II [Illustration: Music score]

Section III [Illustration: Music score]

Section IV [Illustration: Music score]

In his technique Marini does not go beyond the first position; consequently the fluency of the melody suffers many a break, for when he reaches the limit of the first position, he continues the melody an octave lower. Yet he is responsible for several technical innovations for the violin. He was the first to mark the bowing (legato playing) and to introduce--seven years before Monteverdi’s _Combattimento_--the coloring effect of the tremolo, thus:

[Illustration: Music score] Tremolo con arco.

Other innovations are to be found in his _Sonate e Sinfonie Canzoni_ (1629) where in a Capriccio ‘two violins play four parts’ (_due violini sonano quattro parti_), thus:

[Illustration: Music score]

and a ‘Capriccio to be played on the violin solo with three strings after the manner of a lyre’ (_Capriccio per sonare il Violino solo con tre corde a modo di Lyra_).

[Illustration: Music score]

Besides Marini there were others who seriously endeavored to write in a distinctive violin idiom. Before considering them we may mention here Paolo Quagliati, who in his _Sfera armoniosa_ (1623) made the violin accompany the voices and used it also as a solo instrument with the accompaniment of the theorbo in a toccata of the same opus. The violin part usually consisted of sustained tones that were to be embellished by the players according to the custom of the time. Quagliati himself was not a violinist and this fact serves to explain the simple technique of his violin parts.

Four years later Carlo Farina, a Saxon chamber virtuoso and concert master, who may be termed the founder of the race of violin virtuosos, published a composition for the violin, called _Capriccio stravagante_. Here he strove toward new and unusual violinistic effects. The very title, ‘an extravagant caprice,’ explains his object. While the piece shows little improvement in form, the technique is noticeably advanced. Farina goes to the third position and points out how the change of position should be executed. Besides broadening violin technique Farina was among the first to venture into the field of realistic ‘tone painting.’ For he tried to imitate the whistling of a soldier, the barking of a dog, the calling of a hen, the crying of a cat, the sound of a clarinet and the trumpet. Farina’s experiments in tone-painting were, however, rather the product of a desire for sensational novelty than of a legitimate seeking after artistic expression. He lacks the genuine qualities of a true artist.

Although Farina did not use the G string, and did not go further than the third position, he recognized the power of expression latent in the violin. Besides rapid figures of sixteenth notes and considerable variety in bowing there are double stops:

[Illustration: Music score]

and a series of consecutive chords with the instruction that it should be executed with the stick of the bow:

[Illustration: Music score]

It was also his idea--not at all a bad one--to mark double stops with figures:

[Illustration: Music score]

The fact that he found it necessary to give instruction for the execution of double stops and tremolos, and the production of the required effects in his imitations indicates that these devices were entirely new in violin playing.

According to Gerber he published besides the Capriccio, a collection of ‛_Sonatas_’ and ‛_Pavanes_’ (1628), which, if they existed at all, are entirely lost. Of his other compositions (Dances, Arias) we possess the first violin parts containing the melody. He used the G clef and the term ‘violino.’

The compositions of Marini, Quagliati and Farina represent the beginnings of independent violin solo music. The first to write sonatas for violin solo was the violinist-composer Giovanni Battista Fontana (1630). His works, compared with the sonatas of Gabrieli, show a marked improvement in violin technique; they are characterized by the same polyphonic style, but they are not so conclusively vocal in character. The following selections will show the great improvement in violin technique; they virtually comprise the first ‘runs’ composed for the violin:

[Illustration: Music score] From a Sonata for Violin Solo.

[Illustration: Music score]

Fontana strove toward a broader form and in doing so he took a part in the evolution of the later sonata. But he was not capable of fluent and even expression, hence the effect of his works on the whole is stiff and dry. We should not forget, however, that he lived during the period of transition from the old tonal systems to the new, and that, while he endeavored to write in the new style, the old one had not lost its hold upon him. The result was awkwardness in modulation and a general vagueness and uncertainty.

About the same time (1629) another composer, Bartolomeo Mont’ Albano, published his _Sinfonie_ for one and two violins (and trombones, with the accompaniment of the organ). These pieces are incoherent and lack inspiration and power. Their value is far below that of Fontana’s compositions. Mont’ Albano is only worthy of mention as showing that Fontana was not absolutely alone in his attempts to improve violin music. It may be noticed that he called his compositions _Sinfonie_, meaning nothing more nor less than Fontana meant in his sonatas--a proof that the technical terms at that time were not yet strictly defined.

Great improvement in technique is obvious in the works of Tarquinno Merula (1633). He used the G string freely, demanded skips from the G to the E string, also tremolos, changes of position:

[Illustration: Music score]

and octave passages:

[Illustration: Music score]

Mont’ Albano’s music was thought out rather than invented and it would give little pleasure to the modern ear. In the history of the development of violin music these early compositions should be considered simply as efforts or studies to advance violin technique and musical form.

While Merula helped the progress of left hand technique, Marco Ucellini (1669) made more demands on the bow, writing rapid thirty-second notes for certain tremolo effects in his _sinfonia_ entitled _La gran Bataglia_.

A more pleasing musical quality is to be found in the sonatas of Massimiliano Neri, who was the first to make a distinction between the _Sonata da chiesa_ and the _Sonata da camera_. In his _Sonate e Canzoni a quattro_ and in his _Sonate da suonarsi con vari strumenti_, Neri followed the path of Gabrieli in writing for as many as twelve instruments. The frequent change of time and the restless rhythm are also reminiscent of Gabrieli’s peculiarities. Although Neri’s structure of phrases and periods is more normal, his modulation more fluent, and his music on the whole more agreeable to the modern ear than that of Fontana and Merula, his works still belong to the practical experiments of violin music, and are without great intrinsic merits. The same may be said of the sonatas of Biagio Marini whom we have already discussed. He may be termed one of the originators of the cyclical form of the modern sonata, since his sonatas were in four movements. The first, usually in slow tempo, was followed by an Allegro, this by a longer or shorter piece that led to the last movement (Allegro). While his style was still distinctly polyphonic, the development of his motives was considerably more pleasing. Improvement in harmony and modulation is found in the _Sonate da chiesa_ and _Sonate da camera_ of Giovanni Legrenzi (1655), who did not otherwise accomplish much in forwarding solo violin music.

Turning to Germany, it is to be regretted that the works, which, to judge by their titles, might have shed some light on the development of early violin music, are irretrievably lost to us. They are _Auserlesene Violinen Exercitium aus verschiedener Sonaten nebst ihre Arien, Balladen, Sarabanden, etc., and Musicalische Tafelbedienung von fünf Instrumenten, als zwei Violinen, zwei Violen, nebst den General Bass_, by Wilhelm Furcheim (1674), concert-master at Dresden. The most important figure, among the earliest German composers for the violin from the standpoint of technical advance, is evidently Jacob Walter. His twelve _Scherzi da violino solo_ are in the style of the _Sonate da Camera_ (Suite) or in the form of variations. Eight of them are called sonatas, and contain three or four movements, mostly in the same key but in a variety of tempi. From a musical point of view most of Walter’s compositions are unattractive, as the form is stiff, the rhythm awkward, modulation poor, and the melody heavy and clumsy. His importance lies exclusively in the advanced claims his writings make upon execution, for he ascends as far as [Illustration: Music score] and writes many difficult double stops, chords, and arpeggios. Walter was also fond of imitating other instruments, birds, echoes, and so forth. In a set of variations we meet with imitations of the guitar by playing pizzicato, of the pipes by going up high on the E string, of fanfares by playing on the G string. In another composition the imitation of the call of the cuckoo was his chief purpose; but we would hardly recognize the cuckoo’s call, had he not in every case taken the pains to mark the imitation. In another instance, in _Hortulus Chelicus_, he endeavored to imitate the voice of some other bird. This work as a piece of art is more valuable, since here he attempted to write a duet for one violin. Another composition that is characteristic of Walter’s musical ideas is a _Capriccio_, where the C major scale is used as basso ostinato in forty-nine variations, as though the composer wanted to give as many kinds of motions and figures as he could.

[Illustration] Stradivarius at Work: ANTONIO STRADIVARI.

Walter was not an innovator in the art of tone painting, for Farina had tried the same devices seventy years before. Still he cannot be dubbed a mere imitator of Farina, though he was without doubt strongly influenced by the latter. Walter’s technique is much more advanced than that of Farina, but at the same time he shows little improvement in a purely musical way.

There is an obvious advance in musical value in the _Correnti e balletti da camera a due violini_, 1666; _Balletti_, _Sonate_, 1667, 1669; _Correnti e capricci per camera a due violini e violone_, 1683, and other instrumental pieces by Giovanni Battista Vitali, ‛_sonatore di Violino di brazzo_’ in the orchestra of Bologna. Vitali’s melodies contain much more pleasing qualities than those of his contemporaries. In regard to form, his sonatas, in which rapid changes from quick to slow movements mark the various sections, show the transition from the suite to the _sonata da camera_. Vitali was one of those early inspired composers, whose greatest merit lies in their striving toward invention and toward the ideal of pure absolute music. In technique Vitali does not show any material progress.

Of particular importance is Tommaso Antonio Vitali, a famous violinist of his time. Of his works, _Sonate a tre, due violini e violoncello_, 1693; _Sonate a due violini, col basso per l’organo_, 1693, and _Concerto di sonate a violino, violoncello e cembalo_, 1701, the most famous and most valuable is his _Ciaccona_, which is very often played on the concert stage by present-day violinists. The _Ciaccona_ is full of poetic moods and its short, pregnant theme shows deep feeling and genuine inspiration, qualities which we find here for the first time. The whole is a set of variations upon a short theme, constituting a series of contrasting pictures. Noteworthy are the harmony and the advanced treatment of modulation. The ornamental figures, too, are derived from the logical development of the theme, hence do not serve the sole purpose of providing the virtuoso with an opportunity to display his technical skill.

The first representative virtuoso-composer was Giuseppe Torelli (1658-1708), to whom is ascribed the invention of the concerto, that is, the application of the sonata form of his time to concerted music. In Torelli’s concertos the solo-violins were accompanied not only by a bass as in the sonatas, but by a stringed band, to which sometimes a lute or organ was added. The solo-violins in his ‘Concerti grossi’ (1686) usually played together, though not always. That he had the virtuoso in mind when he wrote may be gathered from the following examples:

[Illustration: Music score]

In his concertos Torelli was the direct precursor of Corelli, Vivaldi, and Handel. His influence, however, was not so intense as that of Giovanni Battista Bassani (1657-1716), whose music had more unity and definiteness and on the whole ranked very much higher artistically. This, added to the fact that he was Corelli’s teacher, gives him a prominent place in the history of violin music. While the single movements of Bassani’s sonatas on the whole show little improvement in form, the composer established a higher standard in the evenness and uniformity of his figures, in the smoothness of his modulation and chromatics, in rhythms that were far superior to those of earlier composers, in phrasing that was clear, especially in slow movements, and in the almost complete abandonment of the ‘fugal’ treatment. His influence upon Corelli is so evident that one could hardly distinguish one of his later compositions from an early sonata of his famous pupil.

A few examples of Bassani’s writing may be of interest:

[Illustration: Music score] Grave. From a Sonata for two Violins and Bass.

[Illustration: Music score] Largo. From a Baletto e Corrente.

[Illustration: Music score] Gige

[Illustration: Music score] Sarabande. Presto

Before closing our account of the seventeenth century, reference should be made to the prominent Antonio Veracini, the uncle and teacher of Francesco Maria Veracini, whose sonatas are still played by violinists today. Antonio Veracini’s sonatas, composed in the form of the _sonata da chiesa_, do not lack a certain amount of beauty, inspiration, and repose; they show, moreover, clearness, fluency and roundness. His melodies are original, his modulations and contrapuntal combinations good. While his Allegro movements show no improvement in comparison with Bassani’s works, the Adagios and Largos are of more independent finish.

There were numerous contemporaries, followers, and pupils of the composers already discussed. Their works, however, were academic, lacked individuality, and contained little that was worthy of special consideration. The list of these minor composers includes Laurenti, Borri, Mazzolini, Bononcini, Buoni, Bernardi, d’Albergati, Mazzaferrata, Tonini, Grossi, Ruggeri, Vinacesi, Zanata, and others.

The first German composer of violin music of æsthetic value was Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber (born 1638), a very prominent violinist and composer of his time. Although frequently his form is vague and his ideas often dry, some of his sonatas contain movements that not only exhibit well-defined forms, but also contain fine and deeply felt ideas and a style which, though closely related to that of the best Italians of his time, has something characteristically German in its grave and pathetic severity. His sonatas on the whole are of a much higher artistic quality than those of his contemporaries. His sixth sonata, in C minor, published in 1687, is a genuinely artistic piece of work. ‘It consists of five movements in alternately slow and quick time. The first is an introductory _largo_ of contrapuntal character, with clear and consistent treatment in the fugally imitative manner. The second is a _passacaglia_, which answers roughly to a continuous string of variations on a short, well-marked period; the third is a rhapsodical movement consisting of interspersed portions of _poco lento_, _presto_, and _adagio_, leading into a _Gavotte_; and the last is a further rhapsodical movement alternating _adagio_ and _allegro_. The work is essentially a violin sonata with accompaniment and the violin parts point to the extraordinary rapid advances toward mastery. The writing for the instrument is decidedly elaborate and difficult, especially in the double stops and contrapuntal passages. In the structure of the movements the fugal influences are most apparent and there are very few signs of the systematic repetition of keys which in later times became indispensable.’[47] It was characteristic of Biber that his ambition was to create something original and that his works always showed individuality. He was fond of variations and this form was not lacking in any of his eight sonatas. Besides the variation form he frequently used the form of _gavotte_ and _giga_, which he began and ended with an organ point. In his eighth sonata he attempted to write a duo in polyphonic style for one violin, writing it out on two staves. This work is of little importance to us, aside from the fact that he sought originality in changing the tuning of the violin from [Illustration: Music score] to [Illustration: Music score] and sometimes to [Illustration: Music score]. This kind of modified tuning, however, was not his invention, for we know that Johann Fischer, a composer and violinist in the same century, also attempted to write for differently tuned violins.

One of the best violinists of the seventeenth century was Nicholas Adam Strungk. He was also a good cembalist and once accompanied Corelli. It was Strungk to whom Corelli said upon hearing him play on the violin: ‘My name is Archangelo, but you should be called Archidiavolo.’ Strungk published _Exercises pour le violin_ (1691), besides sonatas, chaccones, etc.

Our review of the violin music of the seventeenth century would not be complete without mention of the compositions for violin by non-violinist composers, such as, for instance, Henry Purcell (1658-1695). Purcell imitated G. B. Vitali, and perhaps also other contemporary Italian composers, to whom, however, he was superior in originality, in vigor, in genuine inspiration and in a certain emotional quality. His violin compositions did not accentuate technique, since he himself was not a violinist. Concerning the sonatas of John Jenkins (1600), Dr. Burney remarks: ‘Though written professedly in the Italian style, he could hardly have been familiar with the early Italian compositions of the same order, and though he had been, he would not be deprived of praise on the score of originality, his musical knowledge being quite equal if not superior to the composers for the violin at that time in Italy.’ Among French composers we may single out Jean-Baptiste Lully (1633-1687), leader of the famous band of petit violins at the court of Louis XIV--the first large stringed orchestra. Lully studied the capacity of the instrument and tried to write in an idiomatic style, but on the whole he did not contribute much to the progress of violin music.

The appearance of a great number of violinist-composers in the seventeenth century indicates that the use of the violin was almost general at musical affairs of the time. In Coriat’s ‘Crudities’ the author speaks of hearing an ensemble in which ‘the music of a treble viol was so excellent that no one could surpass it.’ He continues: ‘Sometimes sixteen played together, sometimes ten, or different instruments, a cornet and a treble viol. Of these treble viols I heard three whereof each was so good, especially one that I observed above the rest, that I never heard the like before.’ Pepys (1660) made references to the viol in his Diary: ‘I have played on my viol and I took much pleasure to have the neighbors come forth into the yard to hear me.’ Many other references in literary works of the time attest the increasing popularity and the appealing qualities of the instrument.

There was no dearth of publications of collections for string instruments, which gradually became more discriminating in the _kind_ of instruments to be used. The appearance of works designed to instruct the amateur indicate the spread of the art of violin playing and gave way toward the systemizing technique. A few of these publications appearing at different periods of the seventeenth century may be enumerated: Early in the century Dowland (1603-1609) printed a work in five parts for lute and viols, named ‘Lacrimæ, or Seven Tears figured in passionate Pavans, with divers other Pavans, Galliards, etc.’ In 1614 Sir William Leighton published ‘The Tears or Lamentations of a sorrowful soule; composed with the Musical Ayres and songs both for voyces and divers instruments.’ In this he included published vocal music of different composers with the accompaniment of the lute, and appended to the titles the remark: ‘Cantus with the Treble Viol.’ Orlando Gibbons (about 1620-1630) composed nine Fantasies, four for treble viols. These fantasies are in fugal style. He also published Madrigals, Motets, etc., ‘apt for viols and voices.’ From 1654 we have reference to a work, which, if correctly described, would be the earliest string quartet by an English author. It is a ‘Set of Ayre for two violins, Tenor and Bass,’ by Dr. Benjamin Rogers. According to Burney these pieces were never printed. In 1657 Matthew Lock published the ‘Little Consort of three parts containing Pavans, Courants, Sarabandes, for viols and violins.’ In 1659 Chr. Simpson published ‘The Division violinist or an introduction to the Playing upon the Ground. Divided into two parts, the first directing the hand, with other preparative instructions, the second laying open the manner and method of playing extempore, or composing division to a ground. To which are added some divisions made upon grounds for the Practise of learner.’ This title clearly shows the content of the work. Roger L’Estrange, the licenser of that time, addressed the reader in a second edition with the following words: ‘the book certainly answers the pretense of the title, both for matter and method, to the highest point of reasonable expectation.’

John Lentor, a member of William and Mary’s state band, published ‘The Gentleman’s Diversion, or the Violin explained.’ A second edition was issued in 1702 with the title ‘The useful Instructor on the Violin.’ In 1676 Thomas Mace published ‘Musick’s Monument, or a Remembrance of the best practical music,’ etc., where we find many interesting particulars relative to viols.

In 1669 John Playford published ‘Apollo’s Banquet.’ It contained ‘Short Rules and Directions for Practitioners of the Treble Violin with a collection of old Century Dances.’ In a preface, that Playford calls ‘Advertisement,’ we read: ‘Several persons coming often to my Shop for Books of tunes for the Treble-Violin, to accommodate each I have made public this collection of Choice Tunes; and also of tunes of the newest French Dances: All which are very useful to those who use the Treble-Violin. Some will object, many of these tunes were formerly printed at the end of the Book, Entitled, the Dancing Master: I grant they were, but some which were choice I would not omit in this collection.’ E. K.

FOOTNOTES:

[42] _Cf._ Vol. VIII, Chap. I.

[43] See Vol. I, Chap. VII.

[44] The various ‘positions’ in violin playing indicate the positions which the left hand occupies in reaching the different parts of the fingerboard. The first position is that in which the thumb and first finger are at the extreme end of the instrument's ‘neck.’ With the usual tuning the compass controlled by the first position is from a to b".

[45] Leopold Mozart (father of Wolfgang Amadeus) referred to it in his method for the violin (1758) and sharply condemned it. ‘Some teachers,’ he remarked, ‘in their desire to help pupils, label the names of tones upon the fingerboard or make marks upon it by scratching. All these devices are useless, because the pupil who is musically talented finds the notes without such aid, and persons who are not thus inclined should learn how to handle the ax instead of the bow.’

[46] George Hart: ‛The Violin and Its Music.’

[47] Parry in ‘Grove’s Dictionary,’ Vol. 4.