Scan 74
Violin master works and their interpretation, 1925
21 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026, twice; the two readings disagreed in places. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1with its serious and most important content, it should begin slowly and the passages should not be unduly hurried, especially the scales in octaves at the close.
3In Paganini's Concerto No. 2, in B minor, the concluding movement of the work, the famous "La Clochette" ("The Bell"),* holds its own in the concert repertoire. It owes its name to the fact that the composer—though the movement originally was written in B minor—tuned his violin up a whole tone when playing it in order to emphasize its tone color; so that while the orchestra was playing in B minor, he was playing in A minor. This made it possible for him to secure quite unusual tonal effects on the violin in general, and especially with regard to his harmonics, which were the marvel of those who heard them. Until the following measures of "La Clochette":
5119.
7[Musical notation] one of two readings
9Ic. IIc. one of two readings
10(no line here) one of two readings
12which suggest the chiming of a little bell, are reached, neither the Principal Theme not any secondary motive offers anything in any way suggestive of a bell or of the bell-tone.
14I am very much inclined to doubt that the Glockenspiel (or jeux de clochettes, as the French say) was used in the orchestra in Paganini's day and supported him while playing as is customary in our own time in order to emphasize the "bell" effect.**
16As a whole "La Clochette" or, if one prefer the Italian title "La Campanella," is in no wise remarkable, either as music or considered from the standpoint of violin technique. It is a composition of medium difficulty which the majority of good violinists can master. In fact, the attention the piece has excited was due in first instance to its title and also, probably, to the extraordinary impression it made on its auditors when the composer himself played it.
18* Niccolo Paganini. "La Clochette," Op. 7. Revised and edited by Fritz Kreisler.
20** Berlioz very rightly says that "bells were introduced in orchestration to secure dramatic rather than musical effects;" and though Mozart employed the Glockenspiel in "The Magic Flute," this does not imply that the bells were used in symphony orchestras.
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.