Scan 250
The violin: its famous makers and their imitators, 1884
2 lines. Read by computer on 28 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1the great master, in the possession of the Marquis Dalla Valle there are some items which appear to be connected with this most interesting letter: I refer to the designs for a case or cases for a concerto of instruments dated 1684, which Stradivari himself describes as being for the Grand Duke of Florence. The date upon these designs is indicative of the order for the Violins and the Violoncellos having been given in that year (1684) by the Marquis Ariberti, who at the same time gave certain instructions as to cases and armorial designs. The completion of the order, however, appears to have been delayed, and the instruments were not delivered until 1690. The instructions given in the above letter to Stradivari to complete the concerto by making the Tenors (the patterns of which are among those in the possession of the Marquis Dalla Valle signed and dated, 1690), and the existence of the Violoncello and one of the Tenors at Florence, dated 1690, both of which are included among the illustrations of this volume, are confirmatory of the opinion that the order was executed in 1690. The following inscription, under the left shoulder or side, is in the Tenor: "Prima 20 Ottobre 1690 per S. A. Da Fiorenza." It is interesting to find that the Grand Duke also possessed a Stradivari Violin, dated 1716, which is in Florence, together with connection with sacred music in parts. These compositions were called Church Concertos. Towards the end of the 17th century compositions were introduced for instruments called Chamber Concertos.
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