Books › The violin and its music, 1881 › scan 367
Scan 367
The violin and its music, 1881
8 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 333. See the scan on archive.org.
1the Italian dramatic composer, and Minato, the Italian lyric poet. The famous Violinist, Biber, a Bohemian, born about 1638, was another of Leopold's protégés. Biber, like his contemporary Walther, and the few German Violinists of that period, followed almost entirely a section of the Italian School of playing, and of composition anterior to Corelli. Biber's writings for his instrument display no small amount of ingenuity; double stops are greatly used, and a dexterous right hand is needed to execute the bowings.*
3Soon after the restoration of peace, the Emperor Leopold again turned his attention to the humanising arts, and more particularly that of music. Fully alive to the superiority of Italian music at this date, to Italy he looked for that aid which he felt was needed to develope the art among his people.
5Leaving Leopold, the lover of Italian music, we will turn to its eminent hater, Prince Frederick (afterwards Frederick the Great), in whose time Violin playing in Germany was started on its true national path. Music was regarded by Prince Frederick's father as a most unnecessary appendage
7* Biber supplies us with an early instance of departure from the usual system of tuning the Violin. In one of his Sonatas the G and D strings are raised to A and E, with the E string lowered to D. His published Violin music comprises, Six Sonatas with Bass, dated 1681; a set of Sonatas, 1676; "Fidicinium sacro-prafanum," being twelve Sonatas in parts; "Vesperae longiores ac breviores," for four voices, two Violins, two Tenors, and three Trombones ad lib.
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