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Scan 200
An Encyclopedia of the Violin, 1925
20 lines. Read by computer on 28 September 2026. Printed page 172. See the scan on archive.org.
1This incorrect accentuation rarely occurs in movements written in 4/4 time, as for instance:
3Concerto. Mendelssohn
5At every moment the question of the logic of certain bowings arises. As regards the following example, for instance, violinists are very much divided as to which bowing should be used. Many play with the bow on the string, others use a spiccato:
7Rondo Capriccioso. Saint Saëns
9In my own opinion, the rather sprightly movement of this famous Rondo in itself indicates that a spiccato should be used at this point, since the phrase would be rendered heavy and clumsy if played with the bow on the string. Paganini's celebrated "Moto Perpetuo," the most famous of all perpetual movements owing to its superb verve and its lofty musicality, contains numerous passages, however, which are played with the bow on the string, especially at the close of sections.
11The spiccato is an essentially violinistic effect, and is ravishing when it is properly played.
13The bow should not jounce or bound too much on the strings, and the less leaping the bow does the more clear and limpid the resulting tones will be.
15THE TRILL AND GRACE NOTES
17The birds, no doubt, were the first to call the attention of the musician to this charming ornament, and the violinist should endeavor to imitate the nightingale and other feathered songsters whose harmonious trills are model instances of what a trill should be.
19A perfected trill has always been much coveted by artists, even the greatest, and it actually plays a great rôle in the virtuoso's technical equipment, in that of the singer as well as of the instrumentalist. Sarasate's trill could stand comparison with those of Patti, Melba and other famous prima donnas, and actually made the impression of being an uninterrupted succession of triplets, which I consider the highest point of perfection to be attained in trilling. The trill on two notes:
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