It will not be considered out of place in the course of a biographical
account of the principal makers of violins, to give a short notice of
some eminent persons without whose labours, the violin itself would
never have been developed as it has been, to wit, violin bow makers.
Much of the elegant finish and refinement of tone and style which
distinguish the great players of the violin, if not due altogether to
the bow, by which the tone is produced, is at all events greatly aided
by it. A Paganini will have a Tourte bow, and so will every other great
master, if he can get one. There must be something therefore in the
bow, as well as in the violin, more than meets the eye of a casual
observer. We have not here space to enter into the subtle niceties
which distinguish the bows of Tourte of France, of Dodd of England, and
others. Suffice it to say that whoever boasts of an excellent violin
should match it with a superior bow. One is incomplete without the
other. There are many excellent makers, but we must content ourselves
with briefly noticing the most prominent. Suffice it to say in the way
of advice and warning that whether the amateur buy an old or a new bow,
let him see that its flexibility, which is its great merit, is perfect,
and that it is still strong though light and straight. Mr. Bishop in
his edition of Otto says the finest bows are those of Vuillaume! He
does not even mention any others. Tourte and Dodd do not deem to be
worthy his remembrance! There must be nevertheless something in the
bows of these makers which commands great respect, for any performer of
skill will give (if he can get one, that is the difficulty,) ten or
twelve times the amount for a perfect Tourte, which will buy a
Vuillaume! There is no doubt that Vuillaume manufactures good bows--but
to rank them highest is so palpable a misrepresentation that we have
thought it necessary to enter a protest against it.
TOURTE, FRANCIS, Paris, born 1747, died 1835. This is conceded, by all
the best judges, to be the greatest maker we have ever known, in fact
the Stradiuarius of the bow. His father and grandfather were
instrumental in improving the bow, but Francis Tourte brought it to the
greatest perfection. His bows are light and flexible, yet straight.
They are highly finished and made of the finest Brazil wood. He himself
sold his bows mounted with gold, at 12 louis, (L11 4s. 6d.) each; with
silver 3-1/2 louis (L3 5s. 6d.) It is said the reason of his charging
so much was that he found so great a difficulty in getting wood fine
enough to satisfy his critical judgment, and that he also made no
scruple to break any which did not reach his standard of perfection; he
was therefore compelled to charge those sums for such as he permitted
to go forth. Whoever wishes to match his cherished Cremona with an
equally fine bow will get a Tourte if he can.
LUPOT, of Paris, was another excellent maker. His bows are not quite so
light as those of Tourte, but they are in all other respects highly
esteemed.
DODD, EDWARD, born at Sheffield, and died in London, at the age of 105
years, in 1810, was distinguished as an improver of the bow in England,
about the same time that the Tourtes were founding their great
reputation in France. The great maker of this name, however, and who
has achieved the honourable title of the Tourte of England, is
DODD, JOHN, the son of Edward. The best bows of this maker are highly
esteemed, and partake of all the excellencies of those of Tourte. Some
of them, however, are rather short, which is perhaps their only defect.
After these come the bows of Panormo, Pecatte, Tubbs, Vuillaume, and
other English and Foreign artistes, whose best bows are much esteemed.
As between old and new bows, we would observe that in general modern
bows are nearly us useless as new violins. The wood of which most of
them are made is very inferior to that of the older artistes, and there
is always a doubt whether they will stand continued use and remain
straight and flexible. With an old bow, if it is straight, there is no
fear, with ordinary care, of its remaining so. A good bow is as
important as a good violin.