Books › The Violin: How to Master It, 1880 › scan 22
Scan 22
The Violin: How to Master It, 1880
12 lines. Read by computer on 23 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1wood a peculiarly beautiful golden sheen or bronzed reflection. It is also transparent as some of the ancient deep-hued stained glass; it seems, indeed, to lie like a skin of that glass upon the surface of the wood. In a note to the writer, Dr. Dickson says:—
3"I was led to look into the subject somewhere between 1860 and 1864, and have at intervals since then given a good deal of time to the solution of the mystery. I have made upwards of 500 experiments, of each of which I have kept a short note, besides a host of others of which I have kept no record. How successful I have been is for others to say. I have compared the varnish with that on several valuable Cremonas, and they seem identical."
5New Violins as Solo Instruments.
7A new violin, however well made, is almost useless as a solo instrument. The tone is generally loose and woody; the violin does not respond readily enough in rapid runs, arpeggios, or the staccato bow; it does not carry far, and in a heated hall appears thin and weak a few yards from the platform. Not being "set" with age, it also goes much more quickly out of tune. The new violins are therefore noticed as suitable chiefly for orchestral playing, in which the finer qualities of tone are not so imperatively demanded. A hundred years hence, when they have acquired the rare qualities which only age can impart, they may command attention, even as solo instruments. Mr. Howe, however, has for sale violins adapted either for solo or for orchestral use; and has submitted to me an excellent specimen of his favorite Maggini model, which I have tested by playing a solo upon it in public. Still, an old instrument, artistically made and in good condition, is, for solo purposes, a treasure beyond price.
9The Wood of Violins.
11Even more important than having a violin covered with the Cremona varnish is having the instrument made of well-seasoned, well-chosen wood, cut at that season when there is least sap in the tree. In this the Cremona makers excelled. A writer lately asserted that if the wood of the breast were only selected coarse in fibre—that is, open in the grain—
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.