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Scan 692
Groves Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 1918
4 lines. Read by computer on 11 September 2026. Printed page 626. See the scan on archive.org.
1with paper, with the result that the tone was immediately diminished, and the note given by the contained mass of air was flattened. A similar effect is produced when the holes are too small; but when they are too large the vibratory note of the air rises. Practically the proportions of the ff holes must depend upon the dimensions, thickness, height, etc., of the instrument, and they must be cut in strict relation to these conditions.
3Although an established form and position of the sound-holes did not exist until the latter half of the 16th century, still there are evidences that sound-holes were employed in very early times. The monochord attributed to Ptolemy (circa A.D. 139) was apparently provided with a circular sound-hole, like some of the guitars depicted in ancient Egyptian frescoes, which show small sound-holes pierced in the upper table, on either side of the strings. Today those presumptive descendants of the original inhabitants of Egypt—the Berbers—monopolise a musical instrument called the 'kissar,' considered to be of very ancient origin, which has a circular sound-hole placed in the now generally adopted position. In the 9th century we find a figure from the MS. found by Gerber in the Monastery of St. Blasius in the Black Forest, and copied by him, which shows (Fig. 1) C-shaped sound-holes well placed, but from that time to the 16th century pictorial and sculptural representations afford evidence that the various small predecessors of the viol properly so called depended entirely upon the whim of their makers for the shape of their sound-holes. Some of the viol's forerunners had as many as six sound-holes pierced in their diminutive bodies, others had four, and others two, but none among them approached the f form finally adopted by the violin-makers proper. At the beginning of the 16th century, makers began to show more dexterity in cutting the sound-holes, and even in the previous century some Italian makers had already come very near to realising their correct position. A glance at Fig. 2, reproduced from an early woodcut representation of a seven-stringed viol which ornaments the front page of the 'First Book of Songs' by 'Aurelius Augurellus Ariminensis' (Verona, 1491), a copy of which is in the library of the British Museum, will corroborate this statement. During the first half of the 16th century the woodcut illustrations of bow instruments which appeared in the works of Sebastian Virdung (Musica getutsch, 1511), of Martin Agricola (Musica Instrumentalis, 1528), and of Hans Gerle (Musica Teusch, 1532), show rebeccas with the C-shaped sound-holes on either side of the strings—sometimes turned inward and sometimes outward; also viols with a 'rose' in the centre and the C-shaped sound-holes set high up in the upper bouts. Far in advance of the German work was that of the contemporary Italians as revealed by Ganassi del Fontego (Venice, 1542), in his Regola Rubertina, wherein graceful viols with large f-shaped sound-holes appear, and later in the century the still more elegant curves portrayed in Domenichino's bass, in his picture of St. Cecilia (Fig. 3). Another form of sound-hole prevalent among viol-makers and extensively employed by them for the viola da gamba is that shown in Fig. 4, known as the 'flaming sword.' Generally speaking, the true era of the f-shaped sound-hole began with Andreas Amati (Cremona, about 1520-80) and Gasparo da Salò (Brescia, 1542-1609), and was the outcome of the ceaseless pursuit of perfection which marked the period
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