1880.] on Old Violins. 307 



a new impulse ; the human voice was (lificovcrccl to fall naturally into 

 Boprano, contralto, tenor, and bass, and viol instruments being adapted 

 to these four divisions, the violin, tenor, bass, and later contrabasso, 

 before mo, gradually separated themselves from the confused nehulce 

 of viols behind me, and shone out clearly as the true planetary system 

 of the musical firmament." 



After illustrating the qualities of the violin, tenor, double-bass, and 

 violoncello, Mr. Ilaweis alluded in detail to the schools of Brescia and 

 Cremona. " Although here is an antique Duilfoprugcar (1520), the 

 gi-eat Italian creators of the violin date, not from Mantua or Bologna, 

 but from Brescia. Gaspar di Salo, 1560-1610, brought down the 

 tubby German viol and struck a more elegant outline and proportion. 

 He was almost the inventor of violin sound; beneath his flattened 

 bellies and rounded backs the muffled sob began to vanish and the 

 tone is loud and full. Maggini, 1590-1640, carried on the flat form, 

 lowering his ribs ; his tone is somewhat crisper and sweeter than 

 Gaspar. The Maggini model passed into the hands of Andreas 

 Amati, 1520-80, who had had ample opportunity as a contemporary 

 maker of old viols to study the Brescian models, and while adopting 

 their gaping sound-holes and drooping corners, reverted to the raised 

 model, and thus retarded the triumph of the Cremona sound. It may 

 be that the new loud fiddles seemed harsh to the monks, and wanting 

 in mellowTiess after the soft old viols ; but the charm of power once 

 intuitively grasped by the Brescians, along with the flatter model, 

 only wanted the intelligence of Jerome Amati, who again brought 

 down his violin bellies, leaving his brother Anthony in the old ways. 

 Still the violins by the brethren, Jerome dominating, are highly 

 prized. Unfortunately they brought in the scoop on either side of 

 the bridge, weakening the belly, and weakening if (as it is said) 

 sweetening the tone. The later Amati, however, narrowed the 

 Brescian sound-holes, thus retaining and prolonging their vibrations. 

 Nicholas Amati, 1596-1684, who never quite shook off the scoop, 

 by inventing the 'grand' pattern, a long-shaped instrument with 

 pointed corners, paved the way for his great pupil, Antonius 

 Stradiuarius." 



After a brief account of Stradiuarius, Mr. Haweis alluded to his 

 four periods, w^hich, he said, ran into each other. " For thirty years 

 this extraordinary man was content to work under the acknowledged 

 influence of N. Amati. In 1668 he sets up for himself, but copies 

 Nicholas till 1686; from 1686-94 his form fluctuates, but inclines to 

 the earlier Brescian model (not in the corners), grows flatter, corners 

 bold and full of character. In 1687 he makes the long or rather 

 narrow model, w^hich he did not adhere to. In 1700-3 he enters on 

 his golden period after countless experiments. The last trace of the 

 Amati scoop has disappeared. Some of his finest violins of the 

 * grand' pattern were made 1720-25. They have all the grace and 

 boldness of a Greek frieze drawn by a master's hand. The arch of 

 the belly, not too flat nor too much raised, is the trae natural curve 



Y 2 



