Bow & Bridge Violin and bow makers, as the old books printed them

Books › Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 1928 › scan 640

Scan 640

Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 1928

11 lines. Read by computer on 12 September 2026, twice; the two readings disagreed in places. Printed page 574. See the scan on archive.org.

1demand for old Italian instruments, his own original work was at a discount. Instead, however, of fighting against the prevailing demands, Vuillaume turned them to good account by placing on the market a Stradivarius-model violin of extraordinary merit, bearing the master's label within, in facsimile. For this instrument he charged 300 frs. This speculation proved a complete success. Orders poured in, and there is little doubt that in the desire to meet his clients' demands he adopted the practice of baking the wood from which he made some of his fiddles, improving their immediate appearance, but proving fatal to them as time went on. So brilliant was the success of Vuillaume's venture that he was soon able to put a 500 frs. violoncello on the market, which found equal favour, and this was the foundation of his fortunes. The fidelity of his copies increased, so that even experts found it difficult to distinguish between the copy and the original when they were placed side by side. Vuillaume was an inventor as well as a dealer and maker. A ponderous and eccentric steel bow, of which apparently but a solitary specimen survives, is in the Victoria and Albert Museum. In 1885 he introduced a new model for the tenor, constructed on the scientific principles of Dr. Felix Savart, so built that the mass of air contained within gave the note F 341.33 vibrations to the second. But the instruments hardly recommended themselves to players on account of their bulk. His mute, patented under the name of the sourdine pédale (Paris Exhibition, 1867), was an ingenious combination of mute and tail-piece, allowing the player to mute the instrument by a push with the chin, without ceasing from playing. A copy of his huge double-bass, known as the octobasse, the large proportions of which necessitated a complicated but ingenious invention of machinery for tuning, is in the Musée of the Paris Conservatoire. He also invented a machine for regulating the manufacture of gut-strings in such a manner that false strings should be entirely done away with. In 1827 Vuillaume was awarded a silver medal at the Paris Exhibition; he obtained another in 1834 and in 1839, and in 1844 two gold medals. At the London Exhibition of 1851 he obtained the 'Council medal,' for his perfected octobasse and a magnificent quartet of stringed instruments, receiving in the same year the cross of the Legion of Honour. Finally in 1855 at the Exposition Universelle in Paris, Vuillaume carried off the 'grand médaille d'honneur,' and from that moment he was pronounced hors concours. During the latter part of his career Vuillaume established himself in the Rue Demours No. 3, aux Thermes. Here many violins were made by his workmen which passed through his hands for supervision only. These bear the label 'St. Cécile des Thermes,' with the date and number. Vuillaume is said to have issued from his workshops no less than 3000 instruments before his death, which took place at Rue Demours. One of his daughters married Delphin Alard. Vuillaume's brothers, Nicolas, Nicolas François, and Claude François, all became luthiers.
3The first of these three—(2) NICOLAS (b. Mirecourt, 1800; d. 1871)—worked with Jean Baptiste for ten years, but returned to Mirecourt in 1824, establishing a successful business there in cheap violins. (3) NICOLAS FRANÇOIS (b. May 13, 1812; d. Brussels, Jan. 14, 1876) likewise served an apprenticeship in his brother's workshop, and eventually settled in Brussels at No. 30 Rue de l'Évêque. He was appointed luthier to the Conservatoire, and several medals were awarded him. He was made Chevalier of the Order of Leopold. (4) CLAUDE FRANÇOIS VUILLAUME (b. Mirecourt, 1807; d. 1862) was a pupil of his father. He made fiddles for some years, but finally gave himself up entirely to organ-making. His son, (5) SEBASTIAN (b. Paris, 1835; d. Nov. 17, 1875), was an excellent violin-maker, who had a workshop for many years at No. 27 Boulevard Bonne Nouvelle in Paris. He also gained several medals, and was the possessor of the unique machine for bending bows invented by his uncle Jean Baptiste Vuillaume. (See TARISIC.)
5BIBL.—SIMOUTRE, Un Progrès en lutherie; LA FAGE, Quinze visites musicales à l'Exposition Universelle; GALLAY, Les Instruments à archet; FOLEGATTI, Storia del violino (2nd part); VON LUTGENDORFF, Die Geigen- und Lautenmacher; FÉTIS, Notice sur Nicolo Paganini; HAWEIS, Old Violins; POUGIN, Supplement to Fétis's Biog. des Mus.; ANON. (Hill & Sons), The Salabue Strad; ANON. (Volckmann), Was Gaspar Duifoprugcar really the first Violin maker?; VIDAL, Les Instruments à archet. one of two readings
6BIBL.—SIMOUTRE, Un Progrès en lutherie; LA FAGE, Quinze visites musicales à l'Exposition Universelle; GALLAY, Les Instruments à archet; FOLEGATTI, Storia del violino (2nd part); VON LUTGENDORFF, Die Geigen- und Lautenmacher; FÉTIS, Notice sur Nicolo Paganini; HAWEIS, Old Violins; POUGIN, Supplement to Fétis's Biog. des Mus.; ANON. (Hill & Sons), The Salabue Strad; ANON. (Volckmann), Was Gaspar Duiffoopoucar really the first Violin maker?; VIDAL, Les Instruments à archet. one of two readings
8E. H.-A.
10VULPIUS, MELCHIOR (b. Wasungen, Henneberg territory, c. 1560; d. Weimar, Aug. 7, 1615), became cantor at Weimar from 1602–15, and held this position till his death (he was buried on Aug. 7, 1615). He composed some Chorals, notably 'Jesu Leiden, Pein und Tod,' 'Christus der ist mein Leben,' and 'Weltlich Ehr und zeitlich Gut,' (see CHORALE); but accomplished much more in harmonising tunes for many voices, in which he showed himself a sound contrapuntist. His chief works are 'Cantiones Sacrae cum 6, 7 et 8 vocibus,' Jena, 1602; 'Cantiones Sacrae 5, 6 et 8 vocum,' 2 pts., Jena, 1603–04; 'Kirchengesänge und geistliche Lieder D. Lutheri und Anderer mit 4 und 5 Stimmen,' Leipzig, 1604, of which the second enlarged edition bears the title 'Ein schön geistlich Gesangbuch,' Jena, 1609, and has the melody in the discant, whereas most of his settings have it in the tenor; 'Canticum B.V. Mariae 4, 5, 6 et pluribus vocibus,' Jena, 1605; wedding hymns to Latin words, 1608, 1609 and 1614; 'Opusculum novum,' 1610; two books of 'Deutsche Sontägliche Evangelische Sprüche,' for the whole year (1612 and 1614), and a Passion oratorio (St. Matthew) (1613), in which the narrator has a tenor voice.

The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.