Antonio Stradivari: His Life and Work (Dover Books on Music) by W. H. Hill & Francis A. Davis

Author:W. H. Hill & Francis A. Davis [Hill, W. H.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dover Publications
Published: 2014-05-05T03:00:00+00:00

* * *

* “Life of Mozart”: Otto Jahn, vol. i., p. 360.

* It is figured in Grove’s “Dictionary of Music,” art. ‘Stradivari.’

CHAPTER VI.

Stradivari’s Material.

MOST writers who have touched upon the subject of the wood from which Stradivari constructed his instruments would have us believe that he possessed a knowledge of acoustics, which, when brought to bear upon the selection of his material, helped him largely to achieve that wonderful excellence of tone possessed by his instruments; in fact, we are told that the marvellous acoustic qualities of this magic wood form the chief element in the success of Stradivari. Now, from such views we differ strongly. That the material from which an instrument is made is of great importance we would be the last to deny; but it is not more important than are suitable and consistent dimensions, model, general construction, and varnish—which last, as stated in our chapter on the subject, more or less completes and improves or injures the good qualities of the instrument. Even with faulty—we do not say absolutely bad—material, if construction and dimensions are right, and good varnish is successfully applied, a fairly good instrument will result; but though the wood, and also construction and dimensions be perfect, the result will be astonishingly bad if the instrument be badly varnished. Hence we are disposed to classify the relative importance of material, dimensions and construction, and varnish, as follows:—Ist, varnish; 2nd, construction and dimensions; 3rd, material.

The early Brescians used in the majority of cases for the backs, sides, and heads of their instruments, poplar or wood of a kindred nature, such as lime, pear, and even cedar; for the bellies, pine—often of an exceptionally hard variety, and cut the slab way of the grain (figs. 37, 38). As time passes on, and we arrive at the period of Maggini and of the early Amatis, we find that maple had all but supplanted the softer woods hitherto employed for the backs (figs. 39, 40), sides, and heads. This was because the makers had discovered that it gave a better all-round result; it permitted of the model back being worked out thinner, while retaining equal power of resistance to the sound-post; it tended to produce a brighter tone, and it was infinitely more pleasing to the eye—i.e. when handsomely figured All our information goes to prove that this wood used by the Brescians and the Cremonese makers up to the time of Stradivari was of local growth, and no difficulty could have been experienced in obtaining it. The demands of a few cabinet and fiddle makers could not absorb the produce of many trees, and it must therefore have been both easily and cheaply procurable. As for pine, then as now, it abounded at no very great distance from Brescia; and if we judge by the free use the Milanese cheap-jacks* made of pine of the finest quality, often for their commonest productions, we are forced to conclude that it could also be had there cheaply and plentifully.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.