Violin

Violin history

The violin first emerged in northern Italy in the early 16th century. While no instruments from the first decades of the century survive, there are several representations in paintings; some of the early instruments have only three strings. Most likely the first makers of violins borrowed from three different types of current instruments: the rebec, in use since the 10th century (itself derived from the Arab rebab), the Renaissance fiddle, and the lira da braccio. The earliest explicit description of the instrument, including its tuning, was in the Epitome musical by Jambe de Fer, published in Lyons in 1556. By this time the violin had already begun to spread throughout Europe.

Related Topics:
Italy - 16th century - Rebec - 10th century - Arab - Rebab - Lira da braccio - Lyons - 1556

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It is said that the first real violin was built by Andrea Amati in the first half of the 16th century by order of the Medici family, who had asked for an instrument that could be used by street-musicians, but with the quality of a lute, which was a very popular instrument among the noble in that time. Andrea Amati, one of the famous luthiers, or lute-builders, in that time decided to use the technique of applying a mould to build the instrument very precisely. In addition to that, he made the instrument vaulted, for he knew that that would provide for a much greater tone than was common until then. Needless to say that the violin immediately became very popular, both among street-musicians and the noble, which is illustrated by the fact that the French king Charles IX ordered Amati to build a whole orchestra in the second half of the 16th century.

Related Topics:
Andrea Amati - 16th century - Medici - Lute - Luthiers - Amati

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The oldest surviving violin, dated inside, is the "Charles IX" by Andrea Amati, made in Cremona in 1564. Perhaps the most famous, and certainly the most pristine is the "Le Messie" (also known as the 'Salabue') made by Antonio Stradivari in 1716 and never used. It is now located in the Ashmolean Museum of Oxford.

Related Topics:
Andrea Amati - Cremona - 1564 - 1716 - Ashmolean Museum

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The most famous violin makers, called luthiers, between the late 16th century and the 18th century included:

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• Amati family of Italian violin makers, Andrea Amati (1500-1577), Antonio Amati (1540-1607), Hieronymous Amati I (1561-1630), Nicolo Amati (1596-1684), Hieronymous Amati II (1649-1740)
• Guarneri family of Italian violin makers, Andrea Guarneri (1626- 1698), Pietro of Mantua (1655-1720), Giuseppe Guarneri (Joseph filius Andreae) (1666-1739), Pietro Guarneri (of Venice) (1695-1762), and Giuseppe (del Gesu) (1698-1744)
• Antonio Stradivari (1644-1737) of Cremona
• Jacob Stainer (1617-1683) of Absam in Tyrol

It is still believed, perhaps erroneously, that at the beginning of the 18th century, the violin was built in a way that can be expressed as "perfect", as the instruments built by, for example, Antonio Stradivari, when played by a skilled player, can provide a constant, firm and expressive tone, from the depths of the G-string until the highest note, some four octaves higher. It is commonly asserted that "Never since that time has a major improvement been made to the instrument", but changes have occurred, including:

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• the fingerboard was made a little longer to be able to play even the highest notes,
• the fingerboard was tilted a little more, to produce even more volume as larger and larger orchestras became popular.
• nearly all old instruments were modified, including lengthening of the neck by one centimeter, in response to the raising of pitch that occurred in the 19th century.
• the bass bar of nearly all old instruments was made heavier to allow a greater string tension.
• the classical luthiers nailed and glued the instrument necks to the upper block of the body before gluing on the soundboard, while later luthiers mortise the neck to the body after completely assembling the body.

The result of these changes are instruments that are significantly different in sound and response from those that left the hands of their makers. Regardless, most violins nowadays are built superficially resembling the old instruments even in completely non-functional details such as the decorative scroll at the top of the neck.

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The violin in classical music

Since the Baroque era the violin has been one of the most important of all instruments in classical music, for several reasons. The tone of the violin stands out above other instruments, making it appropriate for playing a melody line. In the hands of a good player, the violin is extremely agile, and can execute rapid and difficult sequences of notes. Indeed, the violin seems to lend itself to virtuosity more than any other instrument (its only plausible rival is the piano), and top violinists have amazed their audiences with their wizardry since the 17th century.

Related Topics:
Baroque - Classical music - Piano

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The violin is also considered a very expressive instrument, which is often felt to approximate the human voice. This may be due to the possibility of vibrato and of slight expressive adjustments in pitch and timbre. Many leading composers have contributed to the violin concerto and violin sonata repertories.

Related Topics:
Violin concerto - Violin sonata

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Violins make up a large part of an orchestra, and are usually divided into two sections, known as the first and second violins. Composers often assign the melody to the first violins (who are often given more technically difficult music), while second violins usually play harmony. A string quartet similarly has parts for first and second violins, as well as a viola part, and a bass instrument, such as the cello or, rarely, the bass.

Related Topics:
Orchestra - String quartet - Viola - Cello - Bass

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Jazz Violin

The earliest references to jazz performance using the violin as a solo instrument are documented during the first decades of the 20th century. The first great jazz violinist was Joe Venuti who is best known for his work with guitarist Eddie Lang during the 1920s. Since that time there have been many superb improvising violinists including Stéphane Grappelli, Stuff Smith, Ray Perry, Ray Nance, Claude "Fiddler" Williams, Leroy Jenkins, Billy Bang, Mat Maneri, Malcolm Goldstein, and others.

Related Topics:
Jazz - Joe Venuti - Eddie Lang - 1920s - Stéphane Grappelli - Stuff Smith - Ray Perry - Ray Nance - Claude "Fiddler" Williams - Leroy Jenkins - Billy Bang - Mat Maneri - Malcolm Goldstein

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The violin in folk music

Like many other instruments of classical music, the violin descends from remote ancestors, cruder in form, that were used for folk music. Following a stage of intensive development in the late Renaissance, largely in Italy, the violin had improved (in volume, tone, and agility), to the point that it not only became a very important instrument in art music, but proved highly appealing to folk musicians as well. As a folk instrument, the violin ultimately spread very widely, sometimes displacing earlier bowed instruments, and ethnomusicologists have observed its use in many locations throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

Related Topics:
Folk music - Ethnomusicologists

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In many traditions of folk music, the tunes are not written but are

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memorized by successive generations of musicians and passed on in

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both informal and formal contexts.

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See the immediately following section on the fiddle for more information.

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