Books › The violin: its famous makers and their imitators. : With several wood engravings from photographs of the works of Stradiuarius, Guarnerius, Amati, and others, 1880 › scan 275
Scan 275
The violin: its famous makers and their imitators. : With several wood engravings from photographs of the works of Stradiuarius, Guarnerius, Amati, and others, 1880
2 lines. Read by computer on 29 August 2026. Printed page 257. See the scan on archive.org.
1To describe the character and beauties of Bach's Violin writings belongs only to the deeply learned in the science of music. To enter upon so critical a subject is neither within my province nor capacity. As an amateur Violinist and an observer of all that relates to the Violin, I may refer, however, to the vast amount of good which the compositions of Bach have exercised upon the cultivation of Violin playing, and the marvellous development that they have received at the hands of many of our leading Violinists. To this happy state of things we are largely indebted to the incomparable Herr Joachim; but for him these treasures might have remained hidden behind a cloud of airs variés, fantasias, and what not, for many a year to come. Herr Joachim has made the Sonatas of Bach familiar to thousands who a few years since scarcely knew of their existence. The difficulties which abound in these solid writings could only have been written by a master perfectly acquainted with the capabilities of the instrument. Many a tyro who plunges into the stream of Bach's crotchets and quavers soon finds himself encompassed by a whirlpool of seeming impossibilities, and is frequently heard to exclaim that the passages are impracticable. Vain delusion! Bach was himself a Violinist, and never penned a passage the rendering of which is impossible. The ease and grace with which a Joachim makes every note heard and felt, induces many a one to wrestle with Bach, the more so when it is found that the great author has confined himself to the lower positions of the instrument. Vain delusion number two! Bach exacts more on terra firma than many later writers have claimed in their wildest aerial flights.
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.