Books › The Hawley Collection of violins, 1904 › scan 173
Scan 173
The Hawley Collection of violins, 1904
17 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 99. See the scan on archive.org.
1FRANÇOIS TOURTE, BOW-MAKER
3that at first he made his bows out of barrel staves. In a few years, however, he adopted pernambuco as the proper material for violin bows, and since his time that wood has been the preferred material.
5The date that François entered upon his career is a matter of uncertainty. In fact, so little is known of his early days that the world must always mourn the absence of a chronicler. It is probably, however, quite within the truth to state, by 1772-3 he had established himself as a bow-maker of repute, for the evolution of the modern bow began about 1775. Our admiration for the character of this young man must increase as we ponder on what an immense amount of patient experimenting was necessary to solve the hidden problem of his profession. The question was not to improve on the old, but to invent a new bow which would reveal the true beauties of violin tone. What he accomplished is summed up in the bow as we know it to-day. His great problem involved the solution of the following minor problems:
71. The Proper Length of the Bow. This he found to be between 29 1-32 and 29 13-25. Until his time there was absolutely no standard.
82. Strength and Lightness. These he obtained by the proper selection and treatment of the wood pernambuco, and the adoption of an inward instead of an outward curve to the stick.
93. Elasticity. This he obtained by an original system of graduation.
104. Balance. This he obtained by the successful solution of the foregoing problems, by which the different kinds of staccato, as well as all other forms of expression, were made possible.
115. The Perfection of the Frog and the Substitution of the Screw. By this means the hair might be tightened to any extent desired instead of being held by the stationary frog, or the ratchet fastening which only permitted of the hair being pulled back and retained by certain notches cut in the stick at the back of the frog.
126. The Pearl Slide. This with the ferrule by which the hair is spread, and the manner of fastening it in the frog, were all original, and all of these devices are to-day in use, and have not been improved upon.
14It will be seen, therefore, that François Tourte was the author of the bow as we know it. It was in 1782 that the artist, Viotti, after his Russian and London successes, settled in Paris, and by his very valuable advice aided Tourte in his work. Later Viotti introduced the new bow into use with such instantaneous success that Tourte's bows soon crowded those of other makers completely out of the market. Tourte thus became the founder of a school of bow-making in Paris, and that city speedily became as famous for its bows as Cremona had been for its violins. Among Tourte's pupils were several (notably Dominique Pecatte) who approached him, but none succeeded in producing bows having the tonal qualities or the exquisite finish of Tourte's work. In respect to the quality and quantity of tone drawn, the bows of Tourte stand absolutely in a class by themselves. That characteristic broad, rich, free tone of a Tourte, the writer has never found absent in his bows or present in the bows of any other maker. It is impossible to procure from a Cremona violin its choicest notes without the use of a Tourte.
16By what means did Tourte attain these results? is often asked. It was an art of his own, his by birthright as well as by training, and he alone possessed the secret.
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