Scan 300
A dictionary of music and musicians (A.D. 1450-1889), 1890
124 lines. Read by computer on 4 September 2026, twice; the two readings disagreed in places. Printed page 284. See the scan on archive.org.
1Hill & Sons charge £15, Mr. Duncan of Glasgow £12, for their violins.
3Those who wish to purchase a new violin of the best quality ready made, cannot do better than resort to the French makers. Vuillaume, now deceased, was a few years ago at the head of the list, and sold his violins for £14: they are now worth considerably more. The sale prices of instruments by some living French makers are as follows:—
5<table>
6 <tr>
7 <th></th>
8 <th colspan="2">Violins.</th>
9 <th colspan="2">Tenors.</th>
10 <th colspan="2">Violoncellos.</th>
11 </tr>
12 <tr>
13 <th></th>
14 <th>£ s. d.</th>
15 <th></th>
16 <th>£ s. d.</th>
17 <th></th>
18 <th>£ s. d.</th>
19 <th></th>
20 </tr>
21 <tr>
22 <td>Gand & Bernardel, Paris</td>
23 <td>16</td> one of two readings
24 <td>0</td> one of two readings
25 <td>0</td> one of two readings
26 <td>18</td> one of two readings
27 <td>13</td> one of two readings
28 <td>4</td> one of two readings
29 <td>26</td> one of two readings
30 <td>13</td> one of two readings
31 <td>4</td> one of two readings
32 <td>16 0 0</td> one of two readings
33 <td></td> one of two readings
34 <td>18 13 4</td> one of two readings
35 <td></td> one of two readings
36 <td>26 13 4</td> one of two readings
37 <td></td> one of two readings
38 </tr>
39 <tr>
40 <td>Miremont, Paris</td>
41 <td>13</td> one of two readings
42 <td>6</td> one of two readings
43 <td>8</td> one of two readings
44 <td>16</td> one of two readings
45 <td>0</td> one of two readings
46 <td>0</td> one of two readings
47 <td>24</td> one of two readings
48 <td>0</td> one of two readings
49 <td>0</td> one of two readings
50 <td>13 6 8</td> one of two readings
51 <td></td> one of two readings
52 <td>16 0 0</td> one of two readings
53 <td></td> one of two readings
54 <td>24 0 0</td> one of two readings
55 <td></td> one of two readings
56 </tr>
57 <tr>
58 <td>Cherpiel, Paris</td>
59 <td>10</td> one of two readings
60 <td>13</td> one of two readings
61 <td>4</td> one of two readings
62 <td>13</td> one of two readings
63 <td>6</td> one of two readings
64 <td>8</td> one of two readings
65 <td>24</td> one of two readings
66 <td>0</td> one of two readings
67 <td>0</td> one of two readings
68 <td>10 13 4</td> one of two readings
69 <td></td> one of two readings
70 <td>13 6 8</td> one of two readings
71 <td></td> one of two readings
72 <td>24 0 0</td> one of two readings
73 <td></td> one of two readings
74 </tr>
75 <tr>
76 <td>Thibouville-Lamy, Paris and London</td>
77 <td>8</td> one of two readings
78 <td>0</td> one of two readings
79 <td>0</td> one of two readings
80 <td>8</td> one of two readings
81 <td>0</td> one of two readings
82 <td>0</td> one of two readings
83 <td>16</td> one of two readings
84 <td>0</td> one of two readings
85 <td>0</td> one of two readings
86 <td>8 0 0</td> one of two readings
87 <td></td> one of two readings
88 <td>8 0 0</td> one of two readings
89 <td></td> one of two readings
90 <td>16 0 0</td> one of two readings
91 <td></td> one of two readings
92 </tr>
93 <tr>
94 <td>Geronimo Grandini, sen. Mirecourt</td>
95 <td>4</td> one of two readings
96 <td>6</td> one of two readings
97 <td>8</td> one of two readings
98 <td>4</td> one of two readings
99 <td>6</td> one of two readings
100 <td>8</td> one of two readings
101 <td>8</td> one of two readings
102 <td>13</td> one of two readings
103 <td>4</td> one of two readings
104 <td>4 6 8</td> one of two readings
105 <td></td> one of two readings
106 <td>4 6 8</td> one of two readings
107 <td></td> one of two readings
108 <td>8 13 4</td> one of two readings
109 <td></td> one of two readings
110 </tr>
111</table>
113M. Thibouville-Lamy has all these on sale; his own instruments are highly recommended.
115Instruments of good quality are made in this country by W. E. Hill & Sons, 73 Wardour Street; Charles Boullangier, 16 Frith Street; G. Chanot, 157 Wardour Street; Szepessy Bela, 10 Gerrard Street; Furber, Euston Road, all in London: G. A. Chanot, of Manchester, and George Duncan, of Glasgow, are also excellent makers. Among foreign makers, the following may be mentioned—in Vienna, Zach, 1 Kärnthner Strasse; Bittner, 1 Kärnthner Strasse; Lembök, Canova Strasse; Voigt, Spiegel Gasse; Gutermann, Maria-Hilf Strasse; Rampfli, Burggasse, Munich; Sprenger, 34 Garten Strasse, Stuttgart; Hammig, Leipzig; Lenk, Promenade Platz, Frankfort-on-the-Maine; Liebich, Breslau; Mougenot, Brussels; Hel, Lille; Marchetti, Milan; Guadagnini Brothers, Turin; and Ceruti, Cremona.
117Old instruments, however, are generally preferred by purchasers, especially those by the old Italian makers. Among these, the best instruments of Stradivari and Guarnieri del Gesu form a distinct first class; their prices range from £200 to £500. Inferior instruments by these makers can be bought at from £100 to £200. The very best instruments of second-class makers often realise over £100: but ordinary instruments by second and third-rate makers can generally be bought at prices ranging from £20 to £50: while old Italian fiddles of the commonest description are considered to be worth from £10 to £20. Fair instruments by old French, German, and English makers can be bought at still lower prices, ranging from £3 to £10. Red instruments, other things being equal, will generally fetch somewhat more than yellow or brown ones. The principal English dealers in old violins are Hill & Sons, G. Hart, G. Chanot, and Withers.
119Old violins may be divided into two classes, those made on the 'high' and the 'flat' model respectively. The latter, which is characteristic of Stradivari and his school, including all the best modern makers, is undoubtedly the best. The 'high' model, of which Stainer is the best-known type, was chiefly in use with the German and English makers before the Cremona pattern came to be generally followed in other countries. It is, in fact, a survival of the Viol, for which instrument the high model is the best: even Stradivari used the high model for the Double Bass and the Viola da Gamba. But a high-modelled violin, however handsome and perfect, is practically of little use. The tone, though easily yielded and agreeable to the player's ear, is deficient in light and shade, and will not 'travel.' The flatness of the model, however, must not go beyond a certain point. Occasionally a violin is met with, in which the belly is so flat as to have almost no curvature at all. The tone of such violins is invariably harsh and metallic.
121The question is often asked, are old Italian violins really worth the high prices which are paid for them, and are not the best modern instruments equally good? In the writer's opinion the prices now paid for old Italian violins, always excepting the very best, are high beyond all proportion to their intrinsic excellence. The superiority of the very best class indeed is proved by the fact that eminent professional players will generally possess themselves of a full-sized Stradivari or Giuseppe Guarnieri, and will play on nothing else. There can be no doubt that these fine instruments are more responsive to the player, and more effective in the musical result, than any others; and as their number, though considerable, is not unlimited, the purchaser must always expect to pay, over and above their intrinsic value, a variable sum in the nature of a bonus or bribe to the vendor for parting with a rare article, and this necessarily converts the total amount paid into a 'fancy price.' But when we come to inferior instruments by the great makers, and the productions of makers of the second and third class, the case is widely different. Such instruments are seldom in request by the best professional players, who, in default of old instruments of the highest class, use the best class of comparatively modern violins; and the prices they command are usually paid by amateurs, under a mistaken idea of their intrinsic value. No one with any real idea of the use of a violin would pay £100 for instruments by Montagnana, Serafin, or Peter Guarnerius, when he could buy a good Vuillaume, Pressenda, or Lupot for from £20 to £30: yet the writer has constantly known the first-named price realised for Italian instruments of decidedly inferior merit.
123Though Tenors and Violoncellos of the highest class are as valuable as Violins, Tenor and Violoncello players can usually procure moderately good instruments more cheaply than Violinists. Not only are the larger instruments less in demand, but while old English Violins are useless for modern purposes, the Tenors and Violoncellos which exist in large numbers, are generally of very good quality, and many players use Banks and Forster Tenors and Basses of these makers by preference. Double Basses by the great makers are rare and not effective in the or-
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