Violin

The violin is an instrument which is a part of the family of bowed string musical instrument, it is the
highest sounding, the smallest and the most important instrument in an orchestra.

The violin has a lovely, albeit short history, but because of the quality of sound that it manages to
replicate, it means a lot.

History of the violin

The violin, known under this name, has a 400 year history - a short time compared with the history
of Man and music, but it remains one of the most impressive musical instruments because of its
rapid development and the fact that over a short period it has managed to bewitch the listeners’ ears
and the hearts of composers.

The violin was born in Cremona of research experiments and advancements made by the hands of
skilled craftsmen. There are ancestors of this authoritative instrument like "rebab, which was
brought to Europe in the VIII-th century by the Moors, or" ribeka ", up to “viola da braccio” or “lira
da braccio”, but only in 1523 first clue appears of the violin, as it is today. It was during this year in
the archives of Savoy treasury, that the term “violin” appeared for the first time.

Medieval and Renaissance masters through the ages have worked on improving this instrument.
Initially, the violin was a different instrument than that which we know today, it has been called
"baroque" and then slowly reached a balance between form, convenience and sound and moved to
the "modern" violin, which is more convenient for the performers and has more powerful sound.

We know that by mid-19th century the violin was held free, but with the inventing of the chinrest,
which appeared for the first time in 1830, the position adopted by musicians has become one that is
closest to our times or in other words, between chin and shoulder.

The violin begins its ascent from the second half of the 17th century and during the 18th century

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thanks to the work of two great Italian families of luthiers from one side and the other for special
attention and released famous composers and performers. Amati and Stradivarius were leading
luthiers of the period and with them the development of violins reached the peak of perfection, while
composers like Vivaldi and virtuosic performers as Paganini later led the audience to admire this
instrument to such an extent that today it is considered first voice in classical music and an
instrument for virtuosos by definition.

Brief history of the classical period

The names creating the Golden Age of the Violin

Amati Family

The origin of the violin is still shrouded in mystery, although some documents it appeared about 500
years.

Cremona immediately attracted attention thanks to the work of one family - Amati, who made
instruments of high quality and value in order to satisfy the Italian and foreign royal houses.

It could be argued with certainty that the founder of Cremona Luthiers School is Andrea Amati,
founder of the family who was born in 1505. The most compelling evidence for the glory of the art of
Amati, in the second half of the 16th century, is the contract for making of full set of instruments for
the entire orchestra in the French Royal Court. When completed, they are characterized by
maximum sophistication, adorned with allegorical symbols and drawings that depict the coats of
arms of the King of France, Charles IX. Thanks to this event Andrea Amati achieved huge
commercial success and after his death left his sons, Antonio and Dzherolamo a well-developed
enterprise.

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They work together long and therefore their instruments are labeled with the names of both
brothers and now are known as "Amati brothers”.

If the father Andrea imposed rules on what exactly should be the instrument "violin" creating norms
and characteristics that are valid today, then his sons have the great merit to have continued the
case, working in close contact with musicians, thus improving the acoustic qualities, while
continuing to produce instruments with excellent technical and visual characteristics.

After the death of Antonio (1607.) and Dzherolamo (1630.), the business was taken over by Nicolo,
son of Dzherolamo who for years, thanks to their experience and skill, became the most recognized
experts in the world and unrivalled as regards the construction of instruments with exceptional
qualities. After his death in 1684., his son Dzherolamo, although a capable luther, failed to achieve
the successes of his predecessors.

Dynasty of Guarnieri

Since that time domination of the luthiers craft in Cremona, and throughout the world, passed into
the hands of another family dynasty, that of Guarnieri, whose father was the founder, and Andrea
Guarnieri (1623.-1698.), disciple of Nicolo Amati.

This luthiers family operated more than half a century in Cremona and in other cities in northern
Italy, thanks to Andrea's two sons – Pietro the eldest and Giuseppe, called "son of Andrea. While
Pietro continued crafts learned from his father, opening the studio in Mantova, Giuseppe inherited
father's studio where he produced instruments, characterized by extremely high technology.

Giuseppe had a son by the same name (1698.-1744.), which is considered the most famous in the
family, known as the "Jesus". Giuseppe, heir to the famous father and grandfather, was trained in the
workshop of the family and over time developed original techniques and style that distinguish it from
Cremona tradition. After 1740. Giuseppe Guarnieri, driven by the desire to improve the acoustics of
their instruments, made several violins with an original appearance and structure such as the
famous "Cannon" by Paganini. At this time he gained the nickname "Jesus", which comes from a
print representing the cross on which are inscribed the letters IHS (it's probably a sign of his
admiration for Jesus Christ) that they put on the labels on their instruments. After his death his
works were forgotten, only to be known and appreciated again later in the Age of Romanticism.

Antonio Stradivari

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Almost simultaneously with the activity of the last of the family Guarnieri -more accurately - in
1680., Antonio Stradivari acquired a large and luxurious building in the same neighborhood in which
Amati and Guarnieri lived and worked.

The origin of Antonio Stradivari is unknown, as is where he studied the craft, probably born in
Cremona in 1644. Or maybe he, like Andrea Guarnieri was a disciple of Nicolo Amato. That is why it
seems he has appeared suddenly on the Cremona market where, for a short time, he extracted the
glory of being the best in producing exceptional musical instruments. The output of his studio is
decisive in terms of quantity and it can be easily assumed that quickly has replaced that of Amati. A
lot of nobles turned to him to order a luxury instruments with exclusive features for small orchestra
of the Royal Houses.

This type of output refers to the first period of his active life and is made according to the norms and
patterns of Amati. Meanwhile, however, he introduced some innovations, such as lengthening the
resonator box on the violin. Later, aged almost 60 years, Stradivari further changed its model and
technique and style to complete the instrument. Instruments made during this period are considered
key instruments in the history of the violin and played a major role in training and development of
many luthiers.

Antonio Stradivari made also cellos, applying some fundamental innovation here. He reduced the
size of the resonating box, thereby making the tool easier to transport, and this contributed to its
spread and it being used as a solo instrument and to accompany other instruments.

In the workshop of Antonio Stradivari his sons worked - Francesco, born 1671. and Omobono, born
1679. When in 1737. Antonio Stradivari died, his sons, who were then 58 and 66 years, inherited a
huge fortune and did not feel the need to continue operations. This led to a strong reduction in the
quality of their manufactured instruments that never can be compared with the instruments of their
father. The sons died shortly after their father, one after another: Omobono in 1742. and Francesco
in 1743.

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Decline of the Golden period and occurrence of late

Year 1744, with the disappearance of the family Amato, Stradivari and Guarnieri, being considered
now an ending of the great luthiers School of Cremona, but in reality, exploring the events that
follow, we can see that it is rather a gradual decline rather than a sudden end. The reasons for this
decline are various, but one of the key reasons is associated with increased demand for stringed
instruments by the ever-growing social stratus of the middle class and the beginning of industrial
production.

Increased market demand could not be effectively met by the old, slow and very high quality
manufacture production in the small master workshops. Industrial production in turn can meet the
increased demand, but at the expense of lowering quality. While striving to replicate the best
instruments left by the old masters, because of its principle of production and the objectives pursued
(meet growing demand) industry is not able to keep the old, typical for the manufacture quality of
the craftsmanship and attention to detail. As a result, and within less than a century valuable
knowledge was lost, as well as the skills and techniques specific to the high quality instruments of
the old masters.

Increasing competition is likely prompting more luthiers to the development of instruments that are
no longer distinguished by a special selection of materials and coatings, and perhaps their only
concern is how to reduce costs to the studios and the prices of their instruments.

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