Scan 20
Joseph Guarnerius, his work and his master [Andreas Gisalberti], 1906
16 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 2. See the scan on archive.org.
1outcome, simply, of the classifying tendency in the mind of man in the endeavours to discriminate between the good, bad, and indifferent, or whether during intellectual evolution "the force of nature" exerts itself in a final effort at reaching the point of culmination in producing the best of its kind, we may leave for the researches of psychological students; we have here to call attention to the facts only.
3Of all sciences, that of music, as we now understand it, may fairly be said to have been latest in its development, if not altogether begotten of thought in comparatively recent times.
5Music among the ancients was—so far as data within our grasp will allow us to judge—a sensuous addition or help only to the outward expression of the emotions stirred or excited by current events.
7It was not till the fifteenth century that the science of music, in the modern sense of the term, began to develop and give indication of what was to follow in those succeeding.
9At the end of the sixteenth the means of practically demonstrating the extension of musical ideas was notably accompanied by the introduction of the violin.
11It came as a simple, yet complete instrument from the hands of an Italian of superlative genius, Gasparo Bertolotis, more generally known among violin players since his time as Gasparo da Salo, who worked at the construction of the then new kind of instrument in the city of Brescia for many years.
13After his decease the fabrication was continued by his pupils and followers, who had, as time went on, separated into distinct schools and originated different styles of workmanship and individualities of tone.
15The violin by this time was universally recognised as an instrument possessing dual functions, that of pleasing the cultured in the properties of artistic fine design, form, and colour, while sustaining its position as an instrument of exceptional character and potent help in the onward march of musical art.
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