Violin - a musical instrument - history, photo, video.

Happy is the house where the singing of the violin guides us on the path
and gives us hope, the rest is somehow.
Happy is the instrument, pressed to the angular shoulder,
by whose blessing I fly through the sky ...

It is difficult to meet in our time a person who has no idea about the violin - the main musical instrument belonging to the bow family. The violin is one of the most noble, widespread and perfect musical instruments of our time. The queen of music - this is how this musical instrument, amazing in its beauty of sound, is most aptly characterized. Enormous performance possibilities, richness, expressiveness and warmth of its timbre ensured this instrument, together with its relatives - viola, cello and double bass, a leading position in symphony orchestras, in various kinds of ensembles, in solo performing practice and in folk musical life.

History of the violin

Information on the history of bowed musical instruments is not very rich and detailed, as we would like. From the history of India, Iran and other states, one can draw some information about the existence of these instruments over two millennia ago. It can be assumed that the first bowed instruments appeared among the Eastern peoples.
The most ancient bowed instrument, apparently, was the ravanostrone. It consisted of an empty cylinder made of mulberry wood, one side of which was covered with the skin of a broad-scaled water boa. A stick attached to this body serves as a neck and neck, and holes for two pegs are made at the upper end of the stick. The strings were made from the intestines of a gazelle, and the bow made of bamboo wood, curved in an arc, was equipped with hair. The sound of the ravanostron is weak, muffled, but pleasant. According to legend, the ravanostron was invented by Ravana, the king of Ceylon, 5000 BC. e. Ravanostron has been preserved to this day by the wandering priests of the Buddha.
The following ancient bowed instruments include the rebab. The rebab (rebebe, rebek) had a body made of four wooden plates that made up a frame, on which two pieces of parchment were stretched, forming the lower and upper decks. The neck has the shape of a cylinder and together with the head is one whole. The leg is an iron twig attached to the neck, which passes through the entire instrument and serves as a support during playing. In the 9th century, in writings about the music of the Middle Ages, the bowed musical instrument lyra is mentioned - a single-stringed instrument with a stand, a fingerboard and horseshoe-shaped holes in a wooden soundboard (this is not the lyre that is usually depicted in ancient Greek mythology).
In the XIII-XIV century, another type of bowed musical instrument appeared - the fidel, which was the prototype of the viola. The body of the fidel was built according to a different principle than the lyre. The body consisted of an elongated frame, upper and lower decks. The top deck had cutouts. In this form, the body of the fidel looked like a guitar, and later moved to the form of a viola.
Already in the 14th century, a large number of types of viols appeared, and in the 17th century there were already dozens of them. The following were most widely used: a very large viola - bass; a large bass viola de gamba (gambami (from the Italian gamba - foot) were called all the instruments that were held between the knees during the game, while viola de braccio (from the word "hand"), in contrast to the gamba, were called all instruments that held in hands during the game.); small bass viola de gamba in five tuning options; tenor viola and alto viola de gamba, each in two tunings; cant-viola de gamba in four versions; viola bastard in five versions; viola de braccio in four versions. Of these varieties of viols, the double bass, cello, viola and violin - the violin - developed further. The last instrument was formed from the viola by means of a decrease in volume (violina is a diminutive of the word "viola").
Violina - a violin or a real treble violin has existed since the first half of the 16th century. Her homeland is Northern Italy. The invention of the violin as we know it is attributed to the Italian master of German origin, who lived in Bologna, Gaspard Duifopruggar (1467-1530), who first made violas and lutes. The oldest violin, made in 1510 by Gaspard Duifopruggar and preserved to this day, is kept in the Niedergey Collection and the city of Aachen. This violin was made for King Franz I.
Bowed instruments were further developed in the 16th-17th centuries in the cities of Northern Italy - Brescia and Cremona. The most prominent masters in Brescia were Gaspar Bertolotti (1540-1609) and Paolo Magini, in Cremona - Niccolò Amati, Antonio Stradivari and Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesu. At that time, the most common bowed instruments were violas, so Bertolotti and Magini made mainly these instruments. But the violins of their work are also known. Particularly prized are the violins of Paolo Magini, who made him famous as the greatest master of the Brescia school. The Magini violins were played by Berio, Vietanne, Marto and other famous violinists.
Andrea Amati (1535-1612) was the founder of the Cremonese school of violin makers. However, violins of his work are now rare. Amati's sons, Antonio (1555-1640) and Jerome (1556-1630), worked on the model of their father, and yet the forms of their violins already indicated significant progress. The son of Jerome - Niccolò (1596-1684) ends the line of masters of the Amati family, who enjoyed worldwide fame for a century and a half. They are rightfully considered the founders of the Cremonese school, but they were not destined to bring the violin to the highest perfection. This was done by the greatest master of all time, the student of Niccolo Amati - Antonio Stradivari, whose name is known not only to any educated musician, but in general to any cultured person.
Antonio Stradivari was born in 1644 and, according to some information, it can be judged that at the age of 13 he began to practice violin making. By 1667, Stradivari had completed his studies with Amati and from that time on he began to make bowed instruments on his own. The first independent works of Stradivari, although they bore clear signs of the influence of a teacher, were already distinguished by the elegance of forms and powerful sound. The period of creative search, during which Stradivari developed his own model, lasted about 30 years. Despite the fact that until the end of his long (93 years) life he remained an experimenter, since 1695 there were no significant deviations from the models developed by him.
Stradivari created the ideal of the violin, both in form and sound quality. Stradivari also has the honor of completing the formation of the cello in the form in which it has survived to this day.
The most capable student of Antonio Stradivari was Carlo Bergonzi (1686-1747), whose violins have much in common with the teacher's instruments. One of Stradivari's contemporaries and his rival was Bartolomeo Giuseppe Guarneri, the grandson of the founder of the dynasty of violin makers Andrea Guarneri. Giuseppe Guarneri was given the nickname "del Gesú" because he put a badge on the labels of his instruments, reminiscent of the emblem of the Jesuit monastic order. There is almost no information about the life of Guarneri. For a long time there was a legend that he spent his last years in prison and made violins there, and the jailer sold these instruments at great profit for himself. However, the reliability of this legend is highly questionable.
Guarneri instruments differ from Stradivari violins in a flatter soundboard and are covered with lacquers of the most diverse shades - from golden yellow to cherry. The sound of violins is strong and rich, especially when played in large concert halls. In this regard, Guarneri's instruments were especially popular in the 19th century, when violins went beyond the cramped chamber spaces.
There were other violin schools in Italy in the 17th-18th centuries - Venetian, Milanese, Neapolitan, Florentine and others. However, these schools did not acquire the same importance as Cremona and Brescia.
Other countries also contributed to the development of violin making. The violin appeared in France later than in Italy. One of the first violin makers in France was Caspar Tiefenbrucker (1553-1571), aka Dunfopruggar, a resident of Lyon. However, the violins of his work have not survived to this day. Currently only viols made by Tiefenbrucker are known.
Nicolas Lupo (1758-1824) is considered the most outstanding of a number of other French masters. Lupo comes from a family that has been making violins for generations. He worked first in Orleans and then in Paris. In his works, Lupo relied on models of Stradivari violins. However, his instruments, although distinguished by a loud sound, were inferior to Italian samples in richness of timbre.
Of the French masters of the 19th century, Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume (1798-1875) won worldwide fame. In 1819, Vuillaume came to Paris and there he began to make instruments for the violin maker François Jeannot, who designed an original model of a violin without corners and, in connection with this, had a temporary great success with his innovation. Under the guidance of the highly educated Jeannot Vuillaume, he intensively studies the samples of instruments of famous Italian masters, and then intensively copies the models of Guarneri, Stradivari, and so skillfully that his works are mistaken for originals. William was the greatest connoisseur of ancient instruments, a huge number of which passed through his hands. He was incredibly hardworking: he made about 3,000 tools. William was an unsurpassed master of bows, his cellos had excellent concert qualities.
Tyrolean violins gained great fame. Tyrol is a small mountainous country in the Alps, whose inhabitants have long been engaged in wood carving, as well as the manufacture of musical instruments. The most important violin maker, who was extremely popular in Western Europe in the 17th century, was Jacob Steiner (1621-1683). Steiner's violins were similar in shape to those of Niccolò Amati, but featured higher soundboard vaults; the sound of Steiner's instruments has a soft, lyrical character. There was a time when Steiner violins were valued several times more than Stradivari instruments. Genuine instruments of Steiner's work are currently very few. Violins with Steiner labels found today are nothing more than a fake, which was made by Tyrolean masters - Steiner's followers.
Of the German masters who followed the models of Stradivari, Bachmann, Hunger, Ernst and some others, who worked at the end of the 18th and the first half of the 19th century, achieved outstanding success.
In England, the works of Italian masters were recognized and appreciated much later. English masters copied Steiner, and later the violins of Magini, Amati and Stradivari. Famous English masters Barack Norman (1678-1740), Richard Duke (worked from 1750 to 1780), Bejamin Banke (1727-1795). Duke's follower was Dodd, whose remarkable bows were widely known.
Of the Dutch, the most famous is Henbrik Jacob, who worked in Amsterdam from 1690 to 1712, a student of Niccolò Amati. Most of Jacobs' violins have long been labeled with Amati's name and are marketed as authentic instruments by this maker.
In Poland in the 16th century, the remarkable craftsman Martini Groblich (1555-1610) worked, probably a student of Magini, who followed her patterns. Groblich's instruments are excellent and are now full-fledged concert instruments. In addition to violins, Groblich made many viols, which, in terms of technique, elegance of form and wonderful sound, are masterpieces of world significance. Other well-known violin makers in Poland include the names of Jan Dakkvart and Groblich Jr. (first half of the 18th century), Mikołaj Savitsky (1792-1850), Kpuczynski (late 19th - early 20th century).
In Czechoslovakia, violin making is a common profession. The first violin makers came to the Czech Republic from Tyrol and Bavaria at the end of the 16th century. The most talented masters of the Czech Republic are Tomas Edlinger (1662-1729), Ulrik Eberle (1699-1768), a native of Tyrol, who in 1725 founded his own workshop in Prague. At one time, Eberle was considered the best master of Central Europe; Kašpar Strnad (1759-1823) worked on Stradivari models. His violins are famous far beyond Czechoslovakia. From the Prague masters of the XX century. we can name Franz Shpidlen (1867-1916), his son Otakar Shpidlen (1895-1938), a talented highly educated master and toolmaker.

Istrian violin in Russia

Bowed instruments appeared in Russia, apparently, at a very distant time. The fact of the existence of such instruments in the 11th century is confirmed by the image on the fresco of the Kyiv Sophia Cathedral of the figure of a musician holding a bowed instrument at his shoulder, like a violin. The first literary mention of the violin in Russia was in 1596 in the dictionary of Lavrenty Zizania, and one of the earliest images that have come down to us is in 1692 in Karion Istomin's Primer. It can be assumed that the violin, already in a form close to the classical type, appeared in Russia by the beginning of the 16th century. Some literary sources presumably indicate that the predecessor of the violin was a kind of bowed instrument called the suna. Such an instrument existed in folk performing practice until the second half of the 19th century.
Suna has the body of a violin and, in terms of its structure, it can be attributed to the predecessor of the violin - the bowed lyre. But if the lyre had eleven or more strings, then the suna, like the violin, had only four strings. Bowed instruments were most widely used in the south of Russia - Moldova, Ukraine, as well as in Belarus and the Volga region.
Although violins and other bowed instruments were widely used among the people, these instruments penetrated the environment of the ruling classes only in exceptional cases. This is explained by the constant hostility on the part of the church, which considered these instruments as "demonic games." It is not surprising that the Russian folk violins of the 16th and 17th centuries, like other instruments that preceded them, have not survived to this day. It was only in the 18th century that bowed instruments became widespread.
In the 18th century, outstanding Russian violin-concertists appeared, among them the remarkable artist and composer Ivan Evstafievich Khandoshkin. At the same time, masters for the manufacture of bowed instruments appeared. At first, these are foreigners invited to Russia, and then Russians. Among the Russian masters of the 18th and 19th centuries there were many serfs serving the orchestras of their masters. The materials from which these craftsmen made their instruments were local. Along with spruce, pine was used for the upper decks. For the manufacture of lower decks, maple, birch, alder, linden were used. Among the works of serf masters there were also very successful instruments, but the names of these Russian craftsmen remained mostly unknown.
One of the first known talented Russian masters is Ivan Andreevich Batov (1767-1841), a serf of Count Sheremetev. At the age of 17, Batov was sent to study with the Moscow instrumental master Vasily Vladimirov. Already in 1789, after training in the states of the Sheremetev fortress theater, violin maker Ivan Batov was listed. Before the Patriotic War of 1812, Batov was not widely known. She came to him only in 1814, when Batov presented Alexander I with a violin of his work and received an award of 2000 rubles for it. In 1822 Ivan Batov made a cello highly appreciated by the famous cellist of that time B. Romberg. Batov brought this instrument to Count D.N. Sheremetev and received a free license for her, along with his family. In 1829, Batov presented his instruments to the St. Petersburg exhibition and received a large silver medal for violin and cello. Batov did not tolerate haste in work. There is evidence that he, working daily in the most intense way, spent about three months making a violin and about five months making a cello.
Considering that one of the most important conditions for the sound quality of instruments is the presence of old seasoned wood, Batov spent a lot of money on its acquisition. Until the last days of his life, Batov retained a supply of wood, harvested by him during the reign of Catherine 2. During his life, Batov produced a relatively small number of instruments: 41 violins, 3 violas and 6 cellos, not counting those that he made for the Sheremetev orchestra. In addition, Batov made several double basses, and also made excellent guitars. Unfortunately, genuine Batov instruments are very rare. Most of the instruments attributed to Batov are fakes. Taking advantage of Batov's popularity, some masters later pasted labels with the name of the famous Russian master into various, most often into instruments of foreign origin, and thus caused considerable confusion in defining his work.

violin construction

- curl

Heel

Top deck

shells

bottom deck

Stand

Subvulture

A wonderful instrument, the violin belongs to the bowed family and originates from the distant seventeenth century. Since that period of its birth, the violin has firmly taken the place of a solo instrument. It is used in various musical genres, both in classical, and in folklore, jazz. Scientists are still arguing among themselves which instrument served as the beginning of the creation of the violin. Musical history tells about bowed instruments that existed long before the advent of Christianity.

Part of the historical community is strongly convinced that the violin had its ancestors in the East, which was directly the rebab - this bowed instrument was very popular among the Arabs. During the Crusades, the rebab also appeared in European expanses. It was the crusader musicians who brought it to Europe. Many scholars are not inclined to this version of the origin of the violin and prefer to believe that it originated from the newer Fideli bowed instrument. And this version suits most scientists, because outwardly these two tools are very similar to each other.

But in order to reach a consensus, scientists still continue to study the history of the emergence of such a musical instrument as the violin, and who knows, maybe they will be able to discover something new, prove one of the theories or refute them and offer a new version.

In appearance, the violin is very similar to the viol, which also became one of the versions of the emergence of this musical instrument. Some historians have tried to prove a direct connection between the violin and the viola de gamba, but due to many differences, this version has not taken root. Another version is the affinity of the violin with the manual lyre. Such an assumption arose in connection with the study of paintings by the artist Raphael, who in 1503 painted a picture where, among other things, a certain object of musical origin called a hand lyre was depicted, this instrument is very similar to a violin, only the violin does not have five strings.

But all as one scientists are sure that the birthplace of the violin is Italy and the name of the violin came from the Italian word "violin". The first memory of the violin was found in Italian writings in the early years of the seventeenth century. In the Russian Empire, they met her only at the beginning of the eighteenth century.

The history of violin music is full of many talented violinists who were distinguished by their ardor and virtuosity. The ranks of these musicians are headed by Amati, Stradivari, Guarneri, who also came from Italy. Their wonderful works still give incredible pleasure to the listeners, and many modern musicians consider it an honor to perform such great works with musical orchestras and solo.

The sound that the violin gives is incredible and filled with a huge amount of experiences, emotions, it does not require words, it is a silent cry of the soul. Every performer and every composer tried to bring something new and unknown. This is how the terrifying sounds of Paganini appeared in the world, and the breathtaking works of Vivaldi. All this gave our world a violin.

"Family tree" of the origin of the modern violin. Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th ed.

The progenitors of the violin were the Armenian bambir, Arabic rebab, Spanish fidel, British crotta, the merger of which formed the viola. Violin forms were established by the 16th century; famous violin makers, the Amati family, date back to this century and the beginning of the 17th century. Their instruments are of excellent shape and excellent material. In general, Italy was famous for the production of violins, among which the Stradivari and Guarneri violins are currently highly valued.

The violin has been a solo instrument since the 17th century. The first works for violin are considered: "Romanesca per violino solo e basso" by Biagio Marini () and "Capriccio stravagante" by his contemporary Carlo Farin. Arcangelo Corelli is considered the founder of artistic violin playing; then follow Torelli, Tartini, Pietro Locatelli (-), a student of Corelli who developed the bravura technique of violin playing.

Since the 2nd half of the 19th century, it has become widespread among the Tatars. Since the 20th century, it has been found in the musical life of the Bashkirs.

The structure of the violin

The violin consists of two main parts: the body and the neck, along which the strings are stretched.

Frame

The body of the violin has a specific rounded shape. In contrast to the classical form of the case, the shape of the trapezoidal parallelogram is mathematically optimal with rounded notches on the sides, forming a "waist". The roundness of the outer contours and the "waist" lines ensures the comfort of the game, in particular in high positions. The lower upper plane of the body - decks - are connected to each other by strips of wood - shells. They have a convex shape, forming "vaults". The geometry of the vaults, as well as their thickness, its distribution to one degree or another determine the strength and timbre of the sound. A darling is placed inside the body, transmitting vibrations from the stand - through the upper deck - to the lower deck. Without it, the timbre of the violin loses its liveliness and fullness.

The strength and timbre of the sound of the violin is greatly influenced by the material from which it is made, and, to a lesser extent, the composition of the varnish. There is an experiment with the complete chemical removal of varnish from a Stradivarius violin, after which its sound did not change. The lacquer protects the violin from changing the quality of the wood under the influence of the environment and stains the violin with a transparent color from light golden to dark red or brown.

The bottom soundboard (a musical term) is made from solid maple wood (other hardwoods), or from two symmetrical halves.

The top deck is made from resonant spruce. Has two resonator holes - efas(they resemble the Latin letter (f) in shape. A stand rests on the middle of the upper soundboard, on which the strings mounted on the string holder (sub-neck) rest. largely providing the strength of the top deck and its resonant properties.

The shells unite the lower and upper decks, forming the side surface of the violin body. Their height determines the volume and timbre of the violin, fundamentally influencing the quality of the sound: the higher the shells, the muffled and softer the sound, the lower, the more piercing and transparent the upper notes. The shells are made, like the decks, from maple wood.

The darling is a round (spruce wood] spacer that mechanically connects the soundboards and transmits the tension force of the strings and high-frequency vibrations to the lower deck. Its ideal location is experimentally found, as a rule, the end of the darling is located under the leg of the stand on the side of the E string, or next to it. is rearranged only by the master, since its slightest movement significantly affects the sound of the instrument.

The neck, or string holder, is used to fasten the strings. Previously made from hardwoods of ebony or mahogany (usually ebony or rosewood, respectively). Nowadays, it is often made of plastics or light alloys. On the one hand, the neck has a loop, on the other - four holes with slots for attaching strings. The end of the string with a button (mi and la) is threaded into a round hole, after which, by pulling the string towards the neck, it is pressed into the slot. The D and G strings are often fixed in the neck with a loop passing through the hole. Currently, lever-screw machines are often installed in the neck holes, which greatly facilitate tuning. Serially produced are light alloy necks with structurally integrated machines.

a loop of thick string or steel wire. When replacing a strand loop larger than 2.2 mm in diameter with a synthetic one (2.2 mm diameter), a wedge must be inserted and a hole with a diameter of 2.2 must be re-drilled, otherwise the point pressure of the synthetic string may damage the wooden sub-neck.

A button-head of a wooden peg inserted into a hole in the body, located on the opposite side of the neck, serves to fasten the neck. The wedge is inserted into the conical hole corresponding to it in size and shape, completely and tightly, otherwise cracking of the shred and shell is possible. The load on the button is very high, about 24 kg

The stand affects the timbre of the instrument. It has been experimentally established that even a slight shift of the stand leads to a significant change in the instrument's tuning due to a change in the scale and to some change in timbre - when shifted to the neck, the sound is muffled, from it - brighter. The stand raises the strings above the top sounding board to different heights for the possibility of playing on each of them with a bow, distributes them at a greater distance from one another on an arc of a larger radius than the nut.

Vulture

Fretboard (detail of a musical instrument) of a violin - a long board made of solid hard wood (black ebony or rosewood), curved in cross section so that when playing on one string, the bow would not cling to adjacent strings. The lower part of the neck is glued to the neck, which passes into the head, consisting of a peg box and a curl.

The nut is an ebony plate located between the neck and the head, with slots for the strings. Slots in the nut distribute the strings at equal distances from each other.

The neck is a semicircular part that the performer covers with his hand during the game. Attached to the top of the neck vulture And nut.

Peg box - part of the neck, in which a slot is made frontally, two pairs are inserted from both sides pegs, which are used to tune the strings. The pegs are conical rods. The rod is inserted into the conical hole in the peg box and adjusted to it - failure to comply with this condition may lead to the destruction of the structure. For tighter or smoother rotation, the pegs are pressed in or pulled out of the box, respectively, and for smooth rotation they must be lubricated with lapping paste (or chalk and soap). The pegs should not protrude much from the pegs box. The tuning pegs are usually made of ebony and are often decorated with mother-of-pearl or metal (silver, gold) inlays.

The curl has always served as something like a trademark - evidence of the taste and skill of the creator. Initially, the curl rather resembled a female foot in a shoe, over time, the similarity became less and less - only the “heel” is recognizable, the “toe” has changed beyond recognition. Some craftsmen replaced the curl with sculpture, like a viol, with a carved lion's head, for example, as Giovanni Paolo Magini (1580-1632) did. Masters of the XIX century, lengthening the fretboard of ancient violins, sought to preserve the head and curl as a privileged "birth certificate".

strings

The strings run from the neck, through the bridge, over the surface of the neck, and through the nut to the pegs, which are wound around the headstock.

The violin has four strings:

• first("fifth") - upper, tuned to mi of the second octave. The metal solid string "mi" has a sonorous, brilliant timbre.
• second- tuned to la of the first octave. Veined (intestinal or from a special alloy) solid "A" has a soft, matte timbre.
• third- tuned to D of the first octave. The vein (intestinal or artificial fiber) "re", entwined with aluminum thread, has a soft, matte timbre.
• fourth("bass") - lower, tuned to the salt of a small octave. Vein (intestinal or artificial fiber) "salt", entwined with a silver thread, harsh and thick timbre.

Accessories and accessories

The bow is an accessory for continuous sound production. The basis of the bow is a wooden cane, passing from one side into the head, on the other, a block is attached. A ponytail hair is pulled between the head and the block. The hair has keratin scales, between which rosin is impregnated when rubbed, it allows the hair to cling to the string and produce sound.

Chinrest. Designed for the convenience of pressing the violin with the chin. Lateral, middle and intermediate positions are selected from the violinist's ergonomic preferences.

Bridge. Designed for the convenience of laying the violin on the collarbone. Mounted on the bottom deck. It is a plate, straight or curved, hard or covered with a soft material, wood, metal or plastic, with fasteners on both sides. The metal structure often hides the necessary electronics, such as a microphone with an amplifier. The main brands of modern bridges are WOLF, KUN, etc.

Sound pickup devices. Required to convert the mechanical vibrations of the violin into electrical ones (for recording, for amplifying or converting the sound of the violin using special devices).

• If the sound of a violin is formed due to the acoustic properties of the elements of its body, the violin is acoustic.
• If the sound is formed by electronic and electromechanical components, it is an electric violin.
• If the sound is shaped by both components to a comparable degree, it is a semi-acoustic violin.

Case (or wardrobe trunk for violin and bow and additional accessories.

The mute is a small wooden or rubber "comb" with two or three teeth with a longitudinal slot. It is put on top of the stand and reduces its vibration, due to which the sound becomes muffled, "socky". More often mute is used in orchestral and ensemble music.

"Jammer"- heavy rubber or metal mute, used for homework, as well as for classes in places that do not tolerate noise. When using a jammer, the instrument practically ceases to sound and emits barely distinguishable pitch tones, sufficient for perception and control by the performer.

typewriter- a metal device consisting of a screw inserted into the neck hole, and a lever with a hook that serves to fasten the string, located on the other side. The machine allows you to make finer tuning, which is most critical for mono-metallic strings with low stretch. For each size of the violin, a certain size of the machine is intended, there are also universal ones. They usually come in black, gold, nickel or chrome, or a combination of finishes. Models are available specifically for gut strings, for the E string. The instrument may not have machines at all: in this case, the strings are inserted into the neck holes. Installation of machines not on all strings is possible. Usually in this case, the machine is placed on the first string.

Recording and performance

Recording

The violin part is written in the treble clef. The standard violin range is from the salt of the small octave to the fourth octave. Higher sounds are difficult to perform and are used, as a rule, only in solo virtuoso literature, but not in orchestral parts.

Hand position

"Franco-Belgian" way of holding the bow.

The strings are pressed with four fingers of the left hand to the fretboard (the thumb is excluded). The strings are led with a bow, located in the right hand of the player.

By pressing with a finger, the length of the oscillating region of the string decreases, due to which the frequency increases, that is, a higher sound is obtained. Strings not pressed with a finger are called open and are denoted by zero when specifying the fingering.

From touching the string with almost no pressure in certain places, harmonics are obtained. Some harmonic sounds go beyond the standard violin range in their pitch.

The location of the fingers of the left hand on the fretboard is called fingering(from the word applicate). The index finger of the hand is called the first, the middle - the second, the ring - the third, the little finger - the fourth. position called the fingering of four adjacent fingers, spaced from one another by a tone or semitone. Each string can have seven or more positions. The higher the position, the more difficult it is to play cleanly in it. On each string, excluding fifths, they go mainly only up to the fifth position inclusive; but on the fifth or the first string, and sometimes on the second, higher positions are used - up to the twelfth.

There are at least three ways to hold the bow:

• The old ("German") way, in which the index finger touches the bow stick with its lower surface, approximately against the fold between the nail phalanx and the middle one; fingers tightly closed; the thumb is opposite the middle; the hair of the bow is taut moderately.
• New ("Franco-Belgian") way, in which the index finger touches the cane at an angle with the end of its middle phalanx; there is a large gap between the index and middle fingers; the thumb is opposite the middle; tightly taut bow hair; inclined position of the cane.
• The newest ("Russian") way, in which the index finger touches the cane on the side with a fold between the middle phalanx and metacarpal; deeply covering the cane with the middle of the nail phalanx and forming an acute angle with it, it seems to direct the conduct of the bow; there is a large gap between the index and middle fingers; the thumb is opposite the middle; loosely taut bow hair; straight (not inclined) position of the cane. This way of holding the bow is the most appropriate for achieving the best sound results with the least expenditure of energy.

The violins also make up a significant part of the orchestra, in which the musicians are divided into two groups, known as the first and second violins. Most often, the melodic line is dedicated to the first violins, while a group of the second ones perform an accompanying or imitating function.

Sometimes the melody is entrusted not to the whole group of violins, but to the solo violin. Then the melody is played by the first violinist - accompanist. Most often, this is necessary to give the melody a special color, delicate and fragile. The solo violin is most often associated with the lyrical image.

The string quartet in its original form, consists of two violins (musicians playing the parts of the first and second violin), viola and cello. Like an orchestra, most often the first violin plays the leading role, but in general, each instrument can have solo moments.

Famous violinists

17th century

• Arcangelo Corelli (-) is an Italian violinist and composer, considered the creator of artistic violin playing. Contemporaries called him Columbus in music.
• Antonio Vivaldi (-) - Venetian abbot. Composer, violinist, teacher, conductor. Creator of the violin concerto as a musical form. One of the most famous works is a cycle of 4 concertos for violin and orchestra "The Seasons".
• Giuseppe Tartini (-) is an Italian violinist and composer. He improved the design of the bow, lengthening it, and developed the basic methods of conducting the bow, recognized by all contemporary violinists of Italy and France and included in general use.

18th century

• Ivan Khandoshkin (-) - Russian virtuoso violinist, composer and teacher. Founder of the Russian violin school. The first violin virtuoso in Russia. During his lifetime, he was popular in wide circles of Russian society.
• Giovanni Battista Viotti (-) is a famous Italian violinist of the generation that preceded Niccolò Paganini. Apart from the ten piano concertos, all of Viotti's works are written for string instruments, the most important of which are the 29 violin concertos.

19th century

• Niccolo Paganini (-) - Italian violinist and virtuoso guitarist, composer. One of the brightest personalities in the musical history of the XVIII-XIX centuries. Recognized genius of world musical art.
• Henri Vietain (-) - Belgian violinist and composer, one of the founders of the national violin school. Vieuthan is the author of numerous works for violin, which are still very popular: seven concertos with orchestra, a number of fantasies, variations, concert etudes, etc.
• Henryk Wieniawski (-) is a Polish virtuoso violinist, composer and teacher.
• Leopold Auer (-) - Hungarian, Russian violinist, teacher, conductor and composer. He is the founder of the so-called Russian violin school.
• Eugène Ysaye (-) is a Belgian violinist, conductor and composer. He wrote 6 violin concertos, variations on a theme by Paganini and others.

20th century

• Jascha Heifetz (-) is an American violinist of Jewish origin. Considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century.
• David Oistrakh (-) - Soviet violinist, violist, conductor and teacher, professor at the Moscow Conservatory, People's Artist of the USSR.
• Leonid Kogan (-) - Soviet violinist, teacher, professor at the Moscow Conservatory, People's Artist of the USSR.
• Yehudi Menuhin (-) is an American violinist and conductor. He also left a mark in philately, one of the philatelic awards is named after him.

XXI Century

• Itzhak Perlman (August 31, 1945) is an American violinist, conductor and teacher.
• Vadim Repin (31 August 1971) is a Russian violinist.

Famous violin makers

• Giovanni Paolo Maggini (-) is an Italian violin maker. The instruments of his work are distinguished by a soft sound, similar to the viola, and are highly valued. His son, Pietro Santo Magini, also made excellent violins, violas and basses.
• Nicola Amati (Nicola Amati, -) is one of the most famous masters of the Amati family. Creator of many stringed instruments, including cellos. Teacher of renowned string makers such as Jacob Steiner, Antonio Stradivari and Andrea Guarneri.
• Jacob Steiner (c. -) - the first known Austrian master, the most famous representative of the so-called Tyrolean school.
• Andrea Guarneri (or -) is a famous manufacturer of bowed instruments. Andrea was a student of the famous master Amati and lived in Cremona in the 17th century.
• Antonio Stradivari (Antonio Stradivari, -) - the famous master of string instruments, a student of Amati. Completed the formation of the violin as a construction in detail. Any modern violin is essentially a Stradivarius violin. About 650 instruments of his work have been preserved.
• Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù (Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù, -) - the grandson of Andrea, gained the greatest fame. Giuseppe's instruments are valued on a par with those of Stradivarius. On Guarneri's violin "Il Cannone Guarnerius ( English)" was played by Niccolo Paganini.
• Ivan Andreevich Batov (-) - the first famous Russian master in the manufacture of musical instruments.
• Jean Baptiste Vuillaume (1798-1875) was a French violin maker. In 1828 he opened his own workshop in Paris. From 1835 he was engaged in imitation of ancient Italian instruments (mainly Stradivari and Guarneri). He made over 3000 instruments.

The most famous works for violin

• A. Vivaldi. Seasons for violin and orchestra
• J. S. Bach. 3 sonatas and 3 partitas for violin solo
• J. Tartini. Sonata "Devil's Trills" for violin and piano
• W. A. ​​Mozart. 5 concertos for violin and orchestra
• L. Beethoven
• L. Beethoven. 10 sonatas for violin and piano
• I. Brahms. Concerto in D major for violin and orchestra
• I. Brahms
• F. Mendelssohn. Concerto in E minor for violin and orchestra
• E. Grieg. 3 sonatas for violin and piano
• N. Paganini. 24 caprices for solo violin
• N. Paganini. Concerto in D major for violin and orchestra
• S. Frank. Sonata for Violin and Piano
• C. Saint-Saens. "Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso" for violin and orchestra
• G. Venyavsky. 2 polonaises for violin and orchestra
• P. Sarasate. Fantasy on the themes of the opera "Carmen" by G. Bizet
• I. Sibelius
• P. Tchaikovsky. Concerto for violin and orchestra
• E. Izai. 6 sonatas for solo violin
• S. Prokofiev
• D. Shostakovich. 2 concertos for violin and orchestra

Literature

• K. Flash, The Art of Violin Playing (vol. 1)- Music, M., 1964.
• K. Flash, The Art of Violin Playing (vol. 2)- Classics-XXI, M., 2007.
• L. Auer, Violin Playing as I Teach It(1920); in Russian per. - My violin school, L., 1933;
• V. Mazel, Violinist and his hands (right)- Composer, St. Petersburg, 2006.
• V. Mazel, Violinist and his hands (left)- Composer, St. Petersburg, 2008.

• A. Tsitsikyan "Armenian bow art", Yerevan, 2004

Links

• Violin alphabet, history of the violin, sheet music, books and films about the violin, violin in literature, painting, animation, etc.

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"KUVKI LI"

"A Brief History of the Violin"

Concertmaster

Nikitas Irina Evgenievna

Even a cursory glance at the symphony orchestra makes it clear that its main group is bow instruments. In an orchestra of 100 people, 60-70 musicians play strings. The group includes violins, violas, cellos and double basses, that is, those instruments from which the sound is extracted by movement a bow along a string. From here their name arose: stringed, or bowed.

bowed instruments were known to the peoples of all continents long before the appearance of the violin. Apparently, through the Persians and Moors, they came to Europe in the 8th century AD. In medieval Europe, wandering minstrel musicians used miniature bowed instruments - fideli And rebecca.However, even before the invasion of Europe by the Arabs, the bards (itinerant poets and singers who once lived in Ireland and Scotland) had a three-stringed instrument of Celtic origin called mole. Bowed instruments were also known in ancient Russia. In the northern tower of St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev, built in the 11th century, you can see a fresco depicting a musician playing a bowed instrument. The musician holds it at his chin, like a violin.

It is impossible not to mention another completely unusual bowed instrument, widely distributed in the XIV-XVIII centuries in European countries. This trumshite or blood clot marina(sea pipe) - an instrument taller than human growth with a single string that apparently had an unusually strong sound. English sailors played it when it was necessary to give a signal.

The favorite bowed instrument of the Renaissance was viola, rather, the family viol.The shape of the case, the number of strings, a carved curl - it was decorated with a lion's head, a female or male head - and most importantly, a muffled, quiet sound, violas were very different from modern bowed instruments. The family of viols was numerous: it included various sizes viola da gamba(foot viols), viola d'amour(love viola) and others . And only in the XVI century are the first mentions of violin.Some believe that the viola was her ancestor, others more rightly believe that the violin is a different kind of bowed string, and that it came from lira da braggo- an instrument of the lyre group.

First violins appeared in France and Italy at the beginning of the 16th century. Soon the art of making them spread widely throughout Europe: violins began to be made in Tyrol, Vienna, Saxony, Holland, and England. But Italy was famous for the best violins, namely two small, but the busiest cities in the north-east of the country: Brescia and Cremona. From father to son, from master to student, the art of making violins, the secrets of craftsmanship, now largely lost, were passed on. all this helped to rush into the world unsurpassed violins.

The masters knew the amazing secrets of making violins. In order for the instrument to sound well, its various parts must be made of a certain material. settled on the plains of Europe, for the neck - ebony, for the bow - “bee tree”, fernambuque. bark to the core, like orange slices, and only the central part of the trunk (not too close to the roots, as then the tree will be wet, and not too close to the top, because the sun dries it too much) can be considered suitable. Finally, it is preferable to take a part barrel facing south,” writes the French scientist Claude Marly. In order to protect the wood of the violin from the destructive effects of air, improve the sound of the instrument and give the color of the case a unique beauty - golden or reddish, the violin is varnished. The Cremonese artisans are said to have made the lacquer from a resin that only a few plants in the Tyrolean forests produce. Claude Marly writes “... since these plants were cut down, this resin has disappeared, or people have simply forgotten how to extract it, and the quality of the varnish has deteriorated.” Nowadays, it has not been possible to restore the secret of Cremonese lacquer, even chemical analysis could not reveal its composition.

There are many interesting things in the manufacture of strings. Claude Marly reports: “The strings used by the Italian craftsmen were made in central and southern Italy, in particular in Naples, and they were made from the intestines of seven or eight-month-old lambs. The intestines were soaked in alkaline water for a long time, after which they were dried and rolled. It was believed that the location of pastures, the time of slaughter of lambs, the properties of water affect the quality of the strings, especially their strength. Indeed, the strength of these strings is very high: after all, the four strings of the violin experience a tension of 23 kilograms.

The founders of the Brescia school in Lombardy were Gasparo Bertolotti (nicknamed da Salo) and Paolo Magini. Its heyday falls in the second half of the 16th - early 17th centuries.

The founder of the violin school in Cremona was Andrea Amati. Emerging simultaneously with the Brescian, the Cremona school for two hundred years gave the world outstanding violin makers: Andrea's grandson - Nicolo Amati, Andrea Guarneri, his sons and nephew Giuseppe Guarneri and, finally, the student of Nicolo Amati, the greatest of the greats - Antonio Stradivari.

Outstanding violinists of the world played and still play on the instruments created by the hands of these masters. Niccolò Paganini played on one of the Guarneri violins, nicknamed “del Gesu”. The life of “del Gesu” is covered with legends. One of them says that he allegedly made in prison. These instruments were called “prison violins”.

Antonio Stradivari lived a long life: he died at the age of 93 (born apparently in 1644. He died in 1737). The brilliantly gifted master was also extremely hardworking. More than 1000 instruments were signed in his name. Among them are not only violins, but also violas , cellos, double basses, as well as lutes and guitars. His monogram violins, in which the Latin letters A and S are intertwined, were often given names: the most famous of these instruments are “Rode”, “Dauphin”, “Dawn”, “Swan” (before the Second World War in America, $60,000 was paid for the violin “Swan”).

Of the 11 children of Antonio Stradivari, only two inherited his profession. Stradivari had students, but it was he who was the last great representative of Italian violin makers.

The shape of the violin was determined as early as the 16th century and since then it has changed only in details, but the nature of the sound has changed noticeably.

The violins made in Brescia were distinguished by a harsh, muffled tone, the early Cremonese violins (Amati) had a silvery but weak sound: they were designed for small rooms, aristocratic salons. Stradivari's violins combined tenderness and richness of tone.

The technical capabilities of the violin are enormous: it is the most mobile and flexible instrument among the bowed ones. Niccolo Paganini especially greatly expanded the possibilities of the violin. So, Paganini mastered the amazing art of playing with double notes, chords, pizzicato, harmonics. When the strings broke during the game, he continued to play on the remaining ones. theme from Rossini's opera "Moses", written for one string, rebuilt one and a half steps higher. The features of Paganini's playing seemed so unheard of, the impact of his personality and his musical genius on the audience during the performance was so irresistible that many of his contemporaries readily believed in the then widespread rumor that Paganini sold his soul to the devil for the extraordinary art of playing the violin.

Paganini was an outstanding virtuoso. True, what is available to great soloists cannot always be performed by a mass of orchestra players. Composers, as a rule, take this into account in their works. But individual achievements of virtuosos gradually penetrate into the orchestra, and what seemed impossible to a hundred years ago, has become an ordinary phenomenon in our time. Such is the fate of flageolets, which only from the middle of the 19th century became the property of all orchestral musicians.

In the 18th century, the custom appeared to divide the entire mass of violins in an orchestra into two parts: first and second violins. The first is assigned a higher voice which can be compared to a soprano in a choir. In some cases, composers divide all violins into several parts, thus achieving a transparent and at the same time more saturated sound.

The violin can be heard not only as a soloist, and not only in an orchestra, where it seems to be a member of a large string choir. The violin, like all other strings, is an indispensable member of chamber ensembles - joint performance, in which only a few instruments participate. The violin performs in duets, trios, quartets, quintets and other ensembles.

The violin was the greatest invention of mankind. From the time of its first appearance until the golden era of Italian masters, the violin has undergone many different changes in sound and construction. The ingenious school of Italian masters created the forms and sounds of this instrument as they are to this day.

Literature:

D.Rogal-Levitsky "Conversations about the orchestra". GMI 1961

Of course, everyone knows the violin. The most refined and sophisticated among stringed instruments, the violin is a way of conveying the emotions of a skilled performer to the listener. Being somewhere gloomy, unrestrained and even rude, she remains tender and vulnerable, beautiful and sensual.

We have prepared for you some fascinating facts about this magical musical instrument. You will learn how the violin works, how many strings it has, and what works composers compose for the violin.

How is a violin made?

Its structure is simple: body, neck and strings. Tool accessories are very different in their purpose and degree of importance. For example, one should not lose sight of the bow, thanks to which the sound is extracted from the strings, or the chin rest and bridge, which allow the performer to arrange the instrument most comfortably on the left shoulder.

And there are also accessories like a typewriter, which allows the violinist to correct the system that has changed for any reason without loss of time, in contrast to the use of string holders - tuning pegs, which are much more difficult to work with.

There are only four strings themselves, always tuned to the same notes - Mi, La, Re and Sol. violins? From different materials - they can be veined, and silk and metal.

The first string on the right is tuned to "Mi" of the second octave and is the thinnest of all the strings presented. The second string together with the third "personalize" the notes "La" and "Re" respectively. They are medium, almost the same thickness. Both notes are in the first octave. The last, thickest and bass is the fourth string, tuned to the note "Sol" of a small octave.

Each string has its own timbre - from piercing ("Mi") to thick ("Sol"). This allows the violinist to convey emotions so skillfully. Also, the sound depends on the bow - the cane itself and the hair stretched over it.

What are violins?

The answer to this question can be confusing and varied, but we will answer quite simply: there are the most familiar wooden violins for us - the so-called acoustic ones, and there are also electric violins. The latter are powered by electricity, and their sound is heard thanks to the so-called "column" with an amplifier - combo. Undoubtedly, these instruments are arranged differently, although they may look the same outwardly. The technique of playing the acoustic and electronic violin is not significantly different, but you have to get used to the analog electronic instrument in its own way.

What works are written for violin?

The works are a separate topic for reflection, because the violin perfectly manifests itself both as a soloist and in. Therefore, solo concertos, sonatas, partitas, caprices and pieces of other genres are written for the violin, as well as parts for all kinds of duets, quartets and other ensembles.

The violin can participate in almost all areas of music. Most often at the moment it is included in the classics, folklore and rock. You can hear the violin even in children's cartoons and their Japanese anime adaptations. All this only contributes to the growth of the popularity of the instrument and only confirms that the violin will never disappear.

Notable violin makers

Also, do not forget about the masters of violins. Perhaps the most famous can be called Antonio Stradivari. All his instruments are very expensive, they were valued in the past. Stradivarius violins are the most famous. During his lifetime, he made more than 1,000 violins, but at the moment, from 150 to 600 instruments have survived - the information in various sources is sometimes striking in its diversity.

Among other surnames associated with the skill of making violins, the Amati family can be mentioned. Different generations of this large Italian family improved stringed musical instruments, including improving the structure of the violin, achieving a strong and expressive sound from it.

Famous violinists: who are they?

Once upon a time, the violin was a folk instrument, but over time, the technique of playing it became complex and individual virtuoso craftsmen began to stand out from the folk environment, who delighted the public with their art. Since the time of the musical Renaissance, Italy has been famous for its violinists. It is enough to name just a few names - Vivaldi, Corelli, Tartini. Niccolò Paganini was also from Italy, whose name is shrouded in legends and mysteries.

Among the violinists, immigrants from Russia, there are such great names as J. Kheifets, D. Oistrakh, L. Kogan. The modern listener knows the names of the current stars in this area of ​​performing arts - these are, for example, V. Spivakov and Vanessa-Mae.

It is believed that in order to start learning to play this instrument, you must have at least good, strong nerves and patience that will help you overcome five to seven years of study. Of course, such a business cannot do without breakdowns and failures, however, as a rule, even they are only beneficial. The time of study will be hard, but the result is worth the pain.

The material devoted to the violin cannot be left without music. Listen to the famous music of Saint-Saens. You've probably heard it before, but do you know what it is?

C. Saint-Saens Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso