Scan 231
The violin: its famous makers and their imitators, 1884
19 lines. Read by computer on 28 September 2026. Printed page 65. See the scan on archive.org.
1may be expected, is not graceful. M. Vieuxtemps, some years ago, possessed himself of a Storioni Violin, now belonging to Mr. Proctor, and, having carefully regulated it, succeeded in bringing forth its great powers. His hearers were so delighted that attention was speedily directed to this neglected maker. These instruments are highly thought of in Italy. The varnish is not of the Cremonese description, but partakes of the Neapolitan character. The purfling is unusually narrow, and roughly worked; the scroll is stiff, and the absence of finish is observable. The material he used was invariably good in point of acoustical properties, though not handsome. Storioni does not appear to have made many Tenors or Violoncellos—the latter are rarely met with. Storioni died in 1799. He lived at the house No. 3, Contrada Coltellai, which was afterwards occupied by G. B. Ceruti.
3STRADIVARI, Antonio, Cremona.
5"The instrument on which he played
6Was in Cremona's workshops made,
7By a great master of the past,
8Ere yet was lost the art divine;
9Fashioned of maple and of pine,
10That in Tyrolian forests vast
11Had rocked and wrestled with the blast;
12Exquisite was it in design,
13A marvel of the lutist's art,
14Perfect in each minutest part;
15And in its hollow chamber, thus,
16The maker from whose hands it came
17Had written his unrivalled name—
18'Antonius Stradivarius.'"—Longfellow.
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