Books › The Hawley Collection of violins, 1904 › scan 85
Scan 85
The Hawley Collection of violins, 1904
6 lines. Read by computer on 28 September 2026. Printed page 51. See the scan on archive.org.
1but which to the student are at once recognized as being vital), brought it to that point where we have the violin of to-day. The slight variations made by the great men who shortly succeeded him did not affect the principle involved, nor change the character of the instrument. It has stood the test of centuries. Great artists, such as De Beriot, Vieuxtemps, and Leonard, have found that the violin of Maggini answers fully every requirement in the most brilliant modern composition, while in older writings—the work of Bach, Tartini, Corelli, and such as may be called sacred music—it is the instrument which more than any other, by the depth and pathos of its tone, reveals their true beauty. In the violins of Joseph Guarneri is found the culmination of the Maggini idea of tone quality raised to the seventh degree. It remained, one hundred years and more after Maggini's death, for the mighty Joseph to take up the work where he had left off, and to add to the many beautiful and soulful qualities of Maggini's tone the virility and brilliancy which many a connoisseur believes to-day to be the ne plus ultra of violin tone. To the patient research of Messrs. Hill, of London, is due the credit of bringing to light many interesting facts concerning the life of Maggini. Owing to the unfortunate circumstance that many of the records pertaining to the life of the inhabitants of Brescia of that period have been lost through the pillages of war, fire, and other calamitous events, it has been a labor of tremendous extent to unearth the facts pertaining to the early history of violin building in that city and Cremona. It has been a labor of love and not profit, and has required years of patient endeavor to accomplish. One stumbling-block was the fact that the name Maggini was not an uncommon one in that period, and is not so to-day in northern Italy.
3The parents of Giovanni Paolo Maggini appear to have been worthy people of some means, who, about the year 1588, removed to Brescia from a nearby suburb, Botticino. At this time, as shown by the records, Giovanni Paolo was seven years of age, so we find that his birth occurred in 1581. Just when he entered into his apprenticeship with Gasparo da Salò is not known, but it was probably when he was fifteen or sixteen years of age.
5Having now briefly surveyed the early events of Maggini's life, we will, with the reader's indulgence, contemplate the course of events which led up to his career, and to the inception of the violin in the city of Brescia. Brescia lies north of Cremona and west of Venice, from which it is situated about ninety miles. It lies in one of the richest portions of northern Italy, and, nestling in the famous Lombardian plain, with the beautiful Lago di Garda to the east, the indistinct panorama of the towering Alps not far to the north, and the Lago d'Iseo to the southwest, it had from the days of the Roman emperors been an important center of learning and culture, famed for the beauty of its location and the charm, culture, and courage of its people. The reputation of the blades of Toledo exceeded but little the fame of the arms of Brescia. Its strategic position induced the Romans to fortify it, and in later years it became the center around which all the furies of war battled and stormed for over a thousand years. Only in very recent times has it known security. The church was in a most flourishing condition in this rich center even when it languished in other places. Monuments to this fact are to be seen to-day in the magnificence of the mural decoration of church and cathedral throughout the surrounding country. Especially noticeable for richness are those of Brescia and Cremona, which are ver-
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.