Books › An Encyclopedia of the Violin, 1925 › scan 218
Scan 218
An Encyclopedia of the Violin, 1925
28 lines. Read by computer on 28 September 2026. Printed page 190. See the scan on archive.org.
1composition in accordance with the traditions handed down to them, and have developed the abbreviations in such a way that they may be played by the generality of musicians, and the latter has supplied a valuable note, which will be found on page 40 of the edition in question.
3"As is generally known, these Caprices are in reality solo cadenzas of flourishes, which usually stop on a suspended chord; but the editor, with all due respect for the tradition established by the composer, has nevertheless thought proper, in order to rest the ear of the player, to add a single chord at the end of each Caprice.
5"It is also a matter of common knowledge that in these older compositions the last sharp or the last flat was often dropped from the clef, hence one should not be surprised to find various ones among the Caprices engraved in this manner. Again, in many cases, to nullify one of the sharps given in the key signature, it was customary to place a flat before a note in the course of the composition, where a natural should actually be played; and in the same way a sharp was used to invalidate a flat when a flatted note was to be played as a natural.
7"An analysis of these Caprices shows quite plainly that they were intended to be played with accompaniment.
9"In general, one should not gain a false idea of the musical value of these Caprices. Their value is above all a documentary one. The numerous wonderful works written by Locatelli offer such eloquent testimony of a creative genius superior to these compositions, that they must be considered far inferior to his other works.
11"An example of the monotony which becomes so evident in connection with Caprice No. 2 is here given:
13Caprice No. 2 – Locatelli
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17"Later on we meet with abbreviations which are troublesome; in Caprice No. 5 a phrase of this kind is set down in the following manner:
19Caprice No. 5 – Locatelli (1)
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23"This phrase should be played as follows:
25Caprice No. 5 – Locatelli (2)
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