ORCHESTRAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. jgj 



most noted of early American makers. He was in the field in 

 1820, The first makers of instruments of the violin family were 

 Benjamin Chrehore, of Milton, Mass., spoken of in connection 

 with pianoforte-making, also Clement Clans, of New York, who 

 came from London in 1790. Samuel Long, of Hanover, N. H., 

 won considerable notoriety from 1812 to 1825 in that field; while 

 Abraham Prescott, of Concord, N. H., took the place of the latter 

 and became equally esteemed. Among the most famous were 

 Warren A. White, of Boston, and Calvin Baker, of Weymouth, 

 Mass., both more recent makers than Long and Prescott. Nearly 

 all the violins turned out by those domestic violin-makers men- 

 tioned went among amateurs and into unpretentious orchestral 

 circles. The professional musicians had always a preference for 

 old instruments, and these of necessity came from abroad. 



But within the past thirty years American violins fully equal 

 to the best European instruments of modern times have been pro- 

 duced, some of which will be ranked with the finest examples of 

 the Cremona masters in future years. These have come from the 

 workshops of the Gemunders. George Gemunder is a native of 



Fig. 3.— Improved Flfte, Boeiim Model. 



Germany, where he was born in 1810, but he has lived here since 

 1847, almost a half-century, and is the only American violin-maker 

 that exhibited in the musical instrument department of the fa- 

 mous World's Fair in London in 1851. He learned the art of violin- 

 making from his father, and at nineteen became a pupil of Voil- 

 laume, in Paris, where he stayed four years. He began business 

 in Boston in 1847, and in 1851 removed to New York, where he 

 has since been located. August Gemunder is equally a renowned 

 maker, his instruments being in the hands of some of the leading 

 soloists. He was also born in Germany, but has been here since 

 early manhood. Lesser makers in various cities produce good 

 violins, while nearly all manufacture violcis, violoncellos, and 

 basses as well. 



The modern transverse flute, passing over its precursors, was 

 invented in Germany in the seventeenth century ; hence the term 

 " German flute." It was first used by Handel in orchestral scores, 

 and speedily achieved a leading place, although up to recent 

 years a very imperfect instrument. In its present perfected state 

 it is very satisfactory, and capable of producing excellent artistic 

 effects. The piccolo, a smaller species, has also come into being, 

 and is employed in conjunction with the other in orchestras and 

 bands. The latter is capable of producing the sharpest and high- 

 est tones known in the compass of any instrument. The flageolet 



