Performing Arts Research Assignment: The History Of Violin

History of ViolinNameInstitutional AffiliationDate
History of Violin
Violin is a descendant of the Viol family of instruments. The viol family of instruments includes any of the stringed instruments that are fretted or bowed. Some of the common predecessors of the violin music instruments include the fiddle, rebec and lira da Bracco CITATION Che91 \l 1033 Invalid source specified.. A common assumption that is made is that the three string violin was in existence by at least 1520. This is due to the paintings that are available from that era that shows the three-stringed violin. In fact, by the year 1550, one of the top E string had been added, and the Viola and Cello had emerged as part of the family of the bowed instruments that are used up to date.
It is also thought that many of the violins went through their greatest transformation in Italy from the year 1520-1650. Some of the famous violin makers such as the Amati family were pivotal in establishing the basic proportions of the violin, viola, and the cello. The contribution of the family to the art of making violin was evident not only in the improvement of the instrument itself but also in the apprenticeships of the subsequently gifted makers that include Andrea Guarneri, Francesco Ruggeri and Antonio Stradivari.
One of the greatest makers of violin in history was Stradivari. He is the one who went on to finalize and at the same time refine the form and symmetry and violin. The makers of the violin instrument such as Stradivari continued with the experiment on the instruments through the 19th century with the arching’s, overall length, the angle of the neck and the bridge height. The instrument had to evolve so that it can be able to meet the requirements of the soloist and the larger concert hall as the violin repertoire became more demanding. The various types of changing styles in the music played off in the advancement of the way through which the instrument was played and vice versa.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the modern violin became established. The modern bow was invented by Francois Tourte between the year 1747 and 1835. The weight, balance, and length made it more balanced, and it allowed the player to produce power and brilliance in the higher ranges. The invention of Louis Spohr of the chin rest at around 1820 made it possible for the player to hold the violin comfortably and play it in the higher positions. The invention of the chinrest by Spohr also lead to the significant advancement of the playing technique, and it also allowed the violin repertoire to reach its virtuoso level. The advent of the shoulder rest was also an important contribution that eased the way in which violin was played.
The Tourte bow rendered the older bows to become obsolete, and there had no commercial value, and as a result, they do not exist today. However, the older violins were carefully preserved even though apart from the rare exceptions, they usually opened and it was easier to alter the modern fittings and adjust the neck, fingerboard, bridge, bass-bar, sound post, strings, chinrest, and the E- tuner. Due to the lower extension, the old bar bass was shorter and also lighter while the sound post was thinner. The early convex bows varied greatly regarding their shape, and the modern flag was predated by the various attempted solutions to holding the narrower ribbon of hair in place. The modern Tourte bow with an inward curvature cannot be pressed too deeply in the middle, or the wood cannot be scraped by the strings. The baroque bows did not have the problem though the degree of curvature began to decrease at the end of the 17th century.
In the early 16th century, the advantages of combining from its predecessors had become a greater sonority, and the easier and the more efficient the playing and tuning of the musical instruments, the more sensible fingering were discovered. The new instruments were easier to carry at the dances, weddings and the mummeries which were the theatrical productions that included the masked figures. The sound was also carried well, and it was important for the dancing. Most of the musicians played both the old and the newer instruments, and the technical practices were borrowed from the old.
The early Baroque violin music seldom ventures beyond the third position. Also, there is little known about the early Baroque violin music, and in the last 20 years, it is not idiomatic. One of the first written music that was designated with a violin part is that of a Royal French wedding in the year 1581. The lute players were encouraged to play beyond the frets, and the short, fat neck of the violin did not encourage playing in the upper positions. It also made it more difficult for the fourth finger since the momentary robustness of the open strings was not uncommon.
The animated style of dancing and the short bows were made for an articulated style, unlike the endless bow that is an idea of the modern practice. The vibrato as not continuous but it used expressive ornamentation. The wide and continuous vibrato would have been disruptive. There were no fingerlings that have been found before 1600 even though such simple music still exists. Playing violin in the higher positions seemed to be unlikely considering the way that the instrument was held in the dance music. From the modern point of view, the second position is more convenient to use particularly when one is playing the sequential passages.
It can also be noted that there was no more violin music than the extant pieces indicate. So much money was spent on the fine instruments, and it is not compatible with the idea of primitive instruments and technique. The Orchestral and the Chamber parts were not required to go above the third position, but the virtuoso pieces were another matter. Some of the advance technique may have been lost since it was considered a professional secret.
The Baroque music has the sonata that occurs in three movements. The movements are Grave, Allegro, Moderate and all the three movements are imitative. It means that the slow and serious opening notes phrases in the cello are answered rhythmically and melodically by the violin in the measures of 8-11. The imitate faculty is then repeated on beat apart in the 16th notes at the measures of 17, 24 and 26. The practice is also continued in the second part of the opening phrases repeated by the violin in the measures of 35, 49 and 48. Even though diminution and effete may certainly have been included in the moments, as they are suggested by the score, they are specifically suggested in the movement by the fanfare-like configuration of the measures 59-72.
The Baroque ideal is an arch of sound that is well sustained and well proportioned. For the Baroque music to get airborne, then, the line must soar. The bow can be likened to the breath of the singer. Donington said that the phrases go to a peak note which is though not to be always the highest note and then it relaxes so that it can give a note at the end. There is also the unit that much and no less nor more in the phrase and it is upon our musicians to recognize the fact. As a way, if achieving this, the modern violinist with a modern instrument would have to slow down the bow and use less of it and also play the string with the hair a little flatter and also near the bridge.
Bibliography Annotation
Peter, B., Donald, J., & Claude, P. (2014). A History of Western Music (9th Edition ed.). W.W Norton and Company Publisher.
A History of Western Music is a book that had been authored by three authors, and it talks about the History of Music in Western World. The book contains the information how western music began and how it became spread. The book was very useful in writing my research paper since it contains information about the beginning of violin music and its later developments. IT also contains how violin music was played in the Church and how it later became to be played outside the church. The book has also mentioned the different people who are associated with the discovery and spread of violin. As such it shades more light on the other aspects that are not found in the other books. However, due to the broad topics that are covered in the book, the information that is contained about violin is shallow.
David, B. (1990). The History of Violin Playing from Its Origins to 1761 and Its Relationship to the Violin and Violin Music. Clarendon Press
The volume presents a comprehensive history of the performance of violin against the background of the evolution about evolution and the music that was written for it. Boyden focuses on the various techniques that were used in playing the violin during the past centuries. It also discusses the practical questions such as the development of the bowing disciplines, use of vibrato, the meaning of the performing actions, the notation, and performance of the double stops, rules of scordatura playing and the sound of violin in the early times. The book presents a practical aspect of a violin which is essential in learning about the history of the violin. Also, the boom compares how violin was performed in the past years and how it is performed in the present times. Therefore, the book creates a good understanding of the topic.
Robin, S. (n.d.). Violin Technique and Performance Practice in the Late Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries. Cambridge Musical Texts and Monographs.
The volume examines in detail the violin treatises of the late eighteenth and the early nineteenth centuries. The book provides a scholarly historical and technical guide during the violin pedagogical method, technique and performance practice during the critical period in the history of the instrument. There are translation extracts from the most significant and authoritative sources are presented with introductions, commentary, illustrations, extensive musical examples and a glossary of specific ornaments. The book was a good source in my research since it also contains numerous sources where you can find information about the violin. It can also be used by the students, performers, and historians. One of the limitations of the source is that it concentrates more on what is found in the other sources and the author does not provide adequate information about what he knows about the topic.
Georg, M. (2001). Georg Muffat on Performance Practice.
The volume is a translation of the work of the author. It contains the texts of Muffat along with the variants from his editions in the other languages. The material is useful in tracing the history of the violin as it evolved in the different geographical area and how the people in those areas received the performance of violin. The book goes further to highlight the differences that exist between the French and German practice of violin. There are also differences in pitch, ornamentation, bowing and the other aspects.
Thomas, D. R. (2010). The Science of String Instruments. Springer Publishers.
The volume ta...