Books › An Encyclopedia of the Violin, 1925 › scan 237
Scan 237
An Encyclopedia of the Violin, 1925
19 lines. Read by computer on 28 September 2026. Printed page 209. See the scan on archive.org.
1CHAPTER XVI
2THE GLISSANDO OR PORTAMENTO
4This name is given to one of the most important violin effects and, in fact, purity of intonation in violin playing and seriousness of style are based on the glissando. A serious artist is at once recognized by the manner in which he conceives the bearing that one tone has on another. The various theories regarding this subject have never been thoroughly threshed out, and many violinists have not even taken the pains to apply principles of any kind to the practical development of this important branch of their art.
6I myself am a believer in the principle of direct action, as shown herewith:
8Glide with the first finger to a fourth below the principal note and not in the principle of indirect action, as illustrated by:
10This procedure, which cannot be commended, consists in gliding with the fourth finger from the fourth succeeding to the first note.
12Sarasate had one great quality amid a number of others; he practiced the glissando with circumspection.
14Many violinists of undoubted talent absolutely spoil their playing as a consequence of the poor taste which they display in this respect, and which results in particular from a wrong use of the portamento. It would be easy to find excellent examples which might be submitted to the violinist desirous of cultivating artistic good habits, and with a higher outlook than that of captivating the common herd.
16The Third Violin Concerto by Saint-Saëns, for instance, is a work from which we may glean an abundant harvest of excellent examples for study, for this Concerto is one of the most finished from the standpoint of virtuosity allied to genuine musicality.
18At the very beginning, we have the following two measures:
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