=Reciprocal Influences of Instruments and Composition=.—The development
of the violin, of violin playing and violin music, in a certain sense
shows reciprocal influences, and went hand in hand. This was the more
certain because the composers who wrote for the instrument were also
players, in almost every instance the virtuosi of their times. During
the polyphonic period, composers were singers or organists; during the
period when the violin dominated instrumental composition, composers
in that form were usually violinists. In the next period, when the
pianoforte was coming to the front, the representative composers were
clavier composers. And since then with but few exceptions the great
composers have also been pianists.
=Earliest Violin Compositions=.—In the music of the viol period no
demands were made upon the instrumental player except that he should
double the voice part, which was simple, viewed from the standpoint of
modern violin playing. Even later when music was written for quartets
of viols the parts were vocal in character and did not exceed voices
in range. The earliest known solo composition was published in 1620,
by Marini. It demands but little from the executant. The next work
of importance was in 1627, when Carlo Farina, an Italian living at
Dresden, published a collection of pieces which show quite an advance
technically, including variety of bowing, double stopping and chords.
The names applied to violin compositions were: _Sonate_, _Canzone_
and _Sinfonia_, the principle of the first named being an alternation
of slow and quick movements. About 1650 the term Sonata comes into
general use, and a further distinction is made between _Sonata da
Chiesa_ (church sonata) and _Sonata da Camera_ (chamber sonata), the
former consisting of three or four movements varying in tempo, the
latter being really a suite of dances, with slow and quick movements
in alternation. The Church, always ready to make use of the fine arts,
soon discovered the capabilities of the violin and its music, and
adopted it as one of its musical forces, not merely for assisting in
accompaniments but for independent performances. As a result of this
patronage, the violin sonata, the only form of serious composition for
the instrument, took on the severer character of the church sonata,
giving an impulse toward the establishment of sonata form.
=Composers of the 17th Century=.—Among those who prepared the way for
the great ones to follow was =Giovanni Battista Vitali= (1644-1692),
who shows in his chamber sonatas the tendency to adopt the form of
the church sonata. His name is best known in violin literature by a
Chaconne with variations, which makes no inconsiderable demands on the
technic of a player, and must have marked him out as a conspicuous
player in his own time. This is a worthy forerunner of Bach’s great
work in a similar form. In Germany the significant name is =Heinrich
Biber= (1644-1704), who had a highly developed technic for that period,
for his works carry the player up to the sixth position and introduce
difficult double stopping and arpeggios. The next name to be noticed
is =Giuseppe Torelli= (1660-1708), who lived many years in Bologna as
leader of a church orchestra. He is credited with having been the first
to apply the principles of construction as shown in the church sonata
to concerted music, which later developed into the Concerto.
[Illustration: ARCANGELO CORELLI.]
=Corelli=.—In any great movement one man seems to sum up the best
of the work of his predecessors. The name associated with putting
violin music and playing on a firm foundation is that of =Arcangelo
Corelli= (1653-1713), eminent both as composer and player. He was
a contemporary of Guarnerius and Stradivarius, who brought the
instrument to perfection. Of Corelli’s early life little is known. He
traveled in France and was also in Munich for some years. In 1681 he
returned to Italy, making his home at Rome. As a teacher, he acquired
great fame and pupils came to him from all parts of Europe. The most
eminent violinists who were under his instruction were Geminiani,
Locatelli, Somis, Baptiste, and Castrucci. Corelli did not invent new
forms of composition or of technic—in the latter respect he did not
equal certain of his contemporaries—he was a reformer rather than
an innovator. He had, however, a keen sense for effects that were
specially suited to the instrument, and his conservatism put the art
of playing the violin on a solid basis upon which others were able to
add newer and more difficult technic. His works included forty-eight
three-part sonatas for various combinations, twelve two-part sonatas
for violin and cembalo, nine for two violins and cembalo, and six
concertos for two violins and ’cello with a quartet accompaniment.
The violin being so preëminently a singing, a melody instrument, it
is singular that Corelli and his contemporaries did not grasp the
principle of using clearly defined melodic themes. This fact shows that
the influence of the church sonata and its rejection of a formal tune
as unsuited to serious art was still strong. Therefore, while Corelli’s
works do not show themes such as are characteristic of the next period
of the sonata, his construction is logical and his handling of his
form-material is concise and clear. The student of Form in music will
find the germs of sonata-form in Corelli’s works.
=Corelli’s Pupils=.—Among Corelli’s pupils must be mentioned =Francesco
Geminiani= (1680-1762), who spent part of his life in England. He
published the first work of a pedagogic character, a “Method for Violin
Playing,” in London, in 1740. He also recommended holding the violin on
the left side instead of on the right, as was customary in his time.
=Pietro Locatelli= (1693-1764) greatly influenced the development
of violin technic. =Giovanni Battista Somis= (1676-1763) lived at
Turin, was the teacher of Pugnani, the instructor of Viotti. =Antonio
Vivaldi= (1675-1743) devoted himself to virtuosity and influenced the
Concerto from this point. He was fertile and ingenious in making new
combinations and devising new effects. J. S. Bach arranged his works,
sixteen for the clavier, four for the organ, and one as a concerto for
four claviers and a quartet of stringed instruments. Still another name
is to be mentioned, that of =Francesco Maria Veracini= (1685-1750),
who greatly influenced Tartini by his playing. He was a player full of
temperament, which made his playing powerfully expressive. His sonatas
are bold in harmonic and melodic treatment, and well constructed. Their
technical difficulty is considerable. (His lifetime coincides with
Bach.)
[Illustration: GIUSEPPE TARTINI.]
=Giuseppe Tartini= (1692-1770) is one of the commanding figures of
musical history. He was intended for the profession of law by his
parents but, fortunately for music, did not fall in with the plan.
A hasty marriage with the niece of an archbishop brought him into
trouble, and he fled to a monastery, where he spent two years, devoting
the greater part of his time to musical studies. At the end of this
time he was allowed to rejoin his wife, and went to Venice, where he
learned to know Veracini, with whom he studied to correct the faults
he had acquired through pursuing his studies undirected. Again he went
into retirement and gave himself up to the study of violin technic.
Among other things he made some improvements in the bow, increasing
the range of effects. His contemporaries ascribe to him “a fine
tone, unlimited command of fingerboard and bow, perfect intonation
in double stops, a most brilliant trill and double trill as well,
which he could execute equally well with all fingers.” His celebrated
composition “_Il Trillo del Diavolo_” (“The Devil’s Trill”) shows his
skill in embellishments. A technical work “_Arte dell’ Arco_” (“The
Art of Bowing”) gives a clear idea of his method in that branch of
the violinist’s art. In his compositions he shows advance on Corelli
and Vivaldi, for his melody is broader, his phrases more developed
and clearer, his harmonies richer and better contrasted, with many
passages of a strongly emotional character. He wrote a great number
of pieces, sonatas and concertos. In addition to his work as player
and composer, Tartini devoted himself to teaching. His school at Padua
was the Mecca of violinists from all Europe. In those days there were
no instruction books; Tartini’s pupils looked to him for everything,
and his character as a teacher can be learned in a letter addressed by
him to a pupil.[12] Tartini’s contribution to music also includes work
of a theoretical character. He discovered the so-called combinational
sound, by which is meant the sounding of a third sound when two tones
are sounded together.[13] He published a treatise on the subject.
Two pupils of Tartini’s who deserve mention are =Pietro Nardini=
(1722-1793) and =Gaetano Pugnani= (1726-1803), who was also a pupil of
Somis, thus uniting in himself the teachings of the two great masters,
Tartini and Corelli, which he transmitted to later generations through
his great pupil, Viotti.
With Tartini the violin sonata of the old type lost its place, being
succeeded by the sonata for the piano which was being developed by
composers, giving rise to a form that was later to be the basis of
a new sonata for violin and piano in which each instrument filled
an equal place. In the earlier days the tone of the clavichord and
harpsichord, weak and thin, was not suited save for accompanying the
full-toned brilliantly effective violin; but after Tartini’s time
the instrument gained in power and sonorousness and formed a worthy
helpmeet for the violin.
[Illustration: GIOVANNI BATTISTA VIOTTI.]
=Violin playing in France= was largely influenced by Italian players.
Lully, the opera composer, was a violinist, but the Italian school
had not developed when, as a lad, he left his native country. The
Corelli principles were carried to France by =Leclair= (1687-1764), who
received his training from Somis, a pupil of Corelli. His treatment of
the bow showed the lightness and agility that later became distinctive
of the French school. =Pierre Gaviniés= (1726-1800) lent strength to
the establishment of an independent French school of playing. He is
best known today by a set of difficult studies. =Giovanni Battista
Viotti= (1753-1824), an Italian by birth, greatly influenced violin
playing in his day. As a lad of seventeen he traveled through Europe
with Pugnani, his teacher, winning great success. Later he located in
Paris, teaching and composing, giving regularly private performances at
which he brought out his concertos. His themes have a marked singing
character, and all his writing is eminently suited to the instrument.
In his concertos he used the elaborated sonata-form as developed by
Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, and in his accompaniments draws fully
on the resources of the orchestra. His works include a fine set of
duets for two violins. His most eminent pupils were =Pierre Rode=
(1774-1830) and =Pierre Marie François de Sales Baillot= (1771-1842)
who with =Rodolphe Kreutzer= (1766-1831) were teachers in the Paris
Conservatoire, for which they prepared the famous “Méthode de Violin.”
Rode and Kreutzer are famous in violin literature for their studies
for advanced players. Beethoven dedicated his great sonata for piano
and violin, Op. 47, to Kreutzer, for which reason it is known by
the latter’s name. In connection with the educational writers just
mentioned, =Federigo Fiorillo=, born 1753, in Germany, of Italian
parents, is to be noted. His thirty-six etudes or caprices rank with
the works of Rode and Kreutzer. =Antonio Lolli= (1730-1802) was a
virtuoso and nothing else. His execution was marvelous, and he was, in
many respects, a forerunner of Paganini.
=Violin playing in Germany= had its source and inspiration in the
concert tours made in that country by the great Italian virtuosi,
a number of whom lived for periods of some length at the courts of
Berlin, Dresden, Mannheim and other capitals, where they trained
pupils for the various ducal orchestras. The orchestra at Mannheim was
the most famous for its work and sent out a number of fine players
and musicians. Space does not permit the mention of these men. The
first great name in the violin world of Germany is =Ludwig Spohr=
(1784-1859), who was also one of the great composers of his time, his
activity leading him into the domain of the oratorio and opera as well
as orchestra and instrumental music. (His principal teacher was =Franz
Eck= (1774-1804), who belonged to the Mannheim school.) Later he had
opportunity to hear Rode, by whose playing he was much impressed. He
spent some years in concertizing, and in 1822 located at Cassel as the
director of the orchestra there. Here he taught many noted pupils,
the best known being Ferdinand David. While Spohr was a great player
and a great teacher, he influenced modern violin playing more by his
compositions. Some of his concertos still figure in the violinist’s
repertoire and his duos and concertantes for two violins and for
violin and viola are unsurpassed by any compositions in that style.
In 1831, he published his “Violin School,” which was a standard work
for many years. The direct successor of Spohr was =Ferdinand David=
(1810-1873), a great player and a great teacher who was associated with
Mendelssohn in the founding of the famous Leipzig Conservatorium. From
this institution David’s pupils went over all Europe into positions of
responsibility and reputation. His greatest pupil was =August Wilhelmj=
(b. 1845). After David’s death supremacy in the field of violin playing
gradually fell away from Leipzig and centred in Berlin around Joseph
Joachim, the Nestor of the present-day[14] violin world.
[Illustration: LUDWIG SPOHR.]
=The Vienna School=.—The southern Germans had certain characteristics
wherein they differed from their northern kin; they were in closer
touch with Italy and were also influenced by their Hungarian
neighbors. In Beethoven’s time considerable attention was given by
Viennese violinists to chamber-music. Four names are prominent: =Karl
Dittersdorf= (1739-1799), =Anton Wranitzky= (1756-1808), =Joseph
Mayseder= (1789-1863) and =Joseph Bœhm= (1795-1876), the latter
being the teacher of a number of famous violinists, =Hellmesberger=,
=Dont=, =Remenyi=, =Ernst= and =Joseph Joachim= (b. 1831), the latter,
representing the solid, classical style of his teacher, joined to a
mastery of the technic of his instrument that enabled him to win and
maintain the highest rank as virtuoso, quartet player and composer
for his instrument. Up to the time of his death, August 15, 1907, he
was director of the Royal High School of Music in Berlin. He was the
teacher of hundreds of players, including many celebrated artists of
the present day.
[Illustration: JOSEPH JOACHIM.]
[Illustration: NICOLO PAGANINI.]
=Paganini=.—The most unique, most startling figure in music belongs
to the violin, a law unto himself in his playing, one for whom the
violin seemed to have been perfected long years before by Guarnerius
and Stradivarius and one who seemed to have been made for the violin,
the hero of fictions innumerable, to whom was attributed in his day
all manner of occult power. This mysterious king of the violin was
=Nicolo Paganini=, born in Genoa, February 18, 1782, died May 27,
1840. Never strong in body, in his early youth he gave himself up to
dissipation to such an extent that he undermined his constitution, and
passed through the world as a spectre rather than as a man. Paganini
was self-developed, he belonged to no school and he founded none, yet
so great was his command of the technic of the violin and the bow, that
no other player so profoundly influenced contemporaries and successors
on the matter of virtuosity. He taught but one pupil, =Camille Sivori=
(1815-1894). Paganini greatly influenced the younger French violinists
of his day, among whom may be mentioned =Alard= and =Dancla=. After
these men come =Charles de Bériot= (1802-1870), who represents the
Belgian School, his pupil =Henri Vieuxtemps= (1820-1881) and third
generation in the line of pupilage, =Eugen Ysaye= (b. 1858). Others who
belong to the Belgian School are =Massart= (teacher of =Wieniawski=,
=Kreisler= and others), =Léonard= (teacher of =César Thomson=,
=Marsick=, =Musin=, =Marteau=, etc.). At the present time the centre
of interest in the violin world has shifted to Prague, where =Ottokar
Ševčík= has sent out young violinists of the Slav race who display the
most astonishing technical mastery.