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Scan 502
Grove's Dictionary of music and musicians, 1927
22 lines. Read by computer on 5 September 2026. Printed page 438. See the scan on archive.org.
1wood (Duguetia quitarensis) or of snake-wood (Brosimum aubletii); it is cut straight, following the grain of the wood, and afterwards slightly bent by exposure to heat. Although many trials have been made, no wood has been found to possess the necessary qualities in the same degree as those mentioned.
3The nut (c, Fig. 9) is made of ebony, ivory or tortoise-shell. For violin, tenor and violoncello bows white horse-hair is used; for double-bass bows, black. The hair (b) is inserted in the head (e) and the nut of the bow, and can be made tighter or looser by turning the screw (d).
5The violoncello bow is a trifle shorter than those used for the violin and tenor, which are of the same length or nearly so, the tenor bow being rather heavier, and the nut and top of the bow slightly deeper. The top and nut of the violoncello bow are deeper still.
7The old double-bass bow was of a rude pattern, made of beech or other common wood, and having the primitive arched form. The tone was elicited less by pressure, as in the case of the smaller instruments, than by a sort of 'ripping' or sweeping touch, partaking of the nature of the pizzicato, the bow being held under-hand, i.e. with the wrist depressed and the hair inclined towards the nut, a survival of the method common to all instruments of the viol family. Concurrently with the change from the old three-stringed double bass, tuned by fifths, to the modern orchestral one tuned by fourths, the Paris double-bass players resolved about 1830 on the adoption of a double-bass bow of the ordinary length, but made on the principle of the violoncello bow, though larger, and having a similar nut. This bow, which was employed by Dragonetti, is used over-hand, the hair being inclined towards the bridge, in the same way as a violoncello bow. It produces its effect by pressure rather than by 'ripping,' and is now universally used.
9The bow is strung with horse-hair, which is specially adapted to this purpose by its numerous dentiform protuberances; these, aided by resin, act upon the string like the teeth of a saw. After much playing they wear away; the hair then becomes useless, and must be renewed. A bow used for four hours daily would require rehairing at least once a month. The task should only be entrusted to a competent workman, as no other is able to get a sufficient number of hairs into the bow (there ought to be about 120), or to wedge them evenly in the top and nut. Bow-making is now a manufacture rather than an art, as the bows of Tourte are everywhere more or less accurately copied. Bows are now made either cylindrical or octagonal in section; the old fluted bow may be seen in museums, but has entirely gone out of fashion.
11BOWEN, YORK (b. Crouch Hill, London, Feb. 22, 1884), pianist and composer.
13He received his musical education chiefly at the R.A.M., where he spent 7 years (1898–1905) in studying composition and the pianoforte. Since then he has won distinction as a composer of decided originality and a pianist of remarkable brilliance.
15He has written many works for the piano, including 3 concertos, of which the first and third were produced at Queen's Hall Promenade Concerts in 1904 and 1908 respectively, and the second at a Philharmonic Concert in 1906. His 'Symphonic Fantasia' for orchestra was played under Dr. Richter in London and at Manchester in 1906. A symphony in E minor made a considerable impression when it was produced at Queen's Hall by Landon Ronald (1912), and a strikingly effective violin concerto given at the Promenade Concerts (1920) must also be reckoned among his major achievements. Bowen has also written for the viola as a solo instrument, prominent among such works being his concerto in C minor and his sonata for piano and viola. But his smaller piano works, including several suites, and pieces bearing such titles as 'Miniature,' 'Humoresque,' 'Romance,' are, besides being his best-known works, those in which his skill and fancy most happily display themselves. (For list see B. M. S. Ann., 1920.)
17BOWING. This term is used in two senses corresponding to the two German terms (1) Bogenführung and (2) Strichart. (1) Designates in a general way the action of the bow on stringed instruments, and in that sense we speak of a style and method of bowing, or of the bowing of a player. (2) The particular manner in which a phrase and passage is to be executed, and the signs by which such a manner is usually marked.
19Each is here briefly considered. (1) The act of moving the bow to and fro across the string, or strings, in such a way as to draw tone from the instrument—in this sense we speak of a 'style and method of bowing.'
21The great masters of the 18th century, Corelli and Vivaldi, were the first to recognise the possibilities of the art of bowing, and their successor, Tartini, persuaded the bow-makers of his time to improve upon the shape and elasticity of the bow itself. From the time of Tartini onwards a gradual and continual improvement took place, until finally the modern bow was evolved by the great bow-maker of Paris, Tourte (q.v.). This invention enabled
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