Introducing the baroque violin: The difference between ‘baroque’ and ‘modern’
People often ask me what the real difference is between the baroque and the modern violin. Is it the bow? The strings? The way the instrument is built? In my opinion all of these factors can help you to create a sound that will bring baroque music alive, but you can also come a very long way simply with an informed and passionate approach to the music, no matter what instrument you play on. In this blog, I´ve tried to provide some context for anyone who is interested to start their own personal journey to discover the world of the baroque violin.
A vielle, an ancestor of the modern violin, appears in a 1330 fresco (Museum of Navarra, Pamplona)
The first violins were created by Brescian craftsmen around 1550. In the 16th century, instruments were made expressly to please the eye as well as the ear, and since the shape of the violin has not changed since it’s birth, the violin is still one of the most beautiful instruments visually, and throughout history its form has often been compared to that of a woman’s body.
Made by Andrea Amati for the French king Charles IX, this violin dates to 1564. It is considered to be one of the oldest surviving examples of a modern violin. Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, England.
Violins were not originally intended for the upper classes. Whereas noblemen played gentile instruments such as the lute or viola da gamba, only ‘professionals’ – those who had to earn their own living - played the violin, and originally mostly to accompany dancing at weddings, feast days, or parties. The status of the violin soon rose however, as it’s beauty and great expressive potential was realized, and by the late 17th century was an intrigal component of any court or church musical establishment, and the repertory was expanding. Now the violin was no longer simply an instrument to accompany a dance or song, but composers were writing pieces especially for the violin.
In the baroque period, the ideal sound quality was considered that of the trained human voice. All instrumentalists strove to compete with the best castrati or sopranos who were then the absolute stars of the musical arena, especially since the invention of opera around 1600, and its staggeringly rapid growth in popularity throughout Europe.
The violin started gaining real popularity around this time as opera was really beginning to flourish and became the instrument ‘par excellence’ of the Baroque. It had great appeal to the new generation for it could mimic the range of the human voice; from the low tones of the bass, to the high notes of the soprano. It could sing like an angel, and play like the Devil!
Veracini Francesco Maria Veracini (1690 -1768): One of the greatest virtuosi of the late baroque period. Frontspiece to his Sonate accademiche à violino solo e Basso (1744)
Rhetoric or the art of public speaking, was the other aspect of the human voice that was considered an important part of an nobleman’s education. This too was carried over into the musical arena, and singers and instrumentalists alike used the principles derived from rhetoric to enhance their musical performance, and communicate better with their audience. You may notice, for example that the phrasing in baroque music is often shorter. These short ‘sentences’ in the music usually ‘answer’ one another, building up a ‘story line’ or ‘argument’. As well as this, when used correctly the baroque bow which is shorter, lighter, and more agile that today’s version (which was invented in the 19th century ) has a vast range of articulations. From the ‘consonants’ at the beginnings of some notes which sound like a ’t' or a ‘ch’, to bow vibrato on one single note in a slow movement. The bow could be considered the mouth and tongue of the baroque violin.
The violin by now had infiltrated all levels of society, from the lowest tavern fiddlers, to the great virtuoso violinists who were vied for by Kings and Emperors in the courts of Europe. Musicians were still however considered tradesmen, and the property of their aristocratic employers, no matter how much they were paid – it was not until the early 19th century that musicians were really able to break away from the patronage system and make a freelance living as independent ‘artists’.
A typical day for three musicians in the Medici Court. This portrait, of three unnamed musicians, was painted circa 1687.
The music we play today from the baroque period is mainly from the court musicians, as they were the ones who were able to actually write down their music, or even get it published. (The tavern fiddlers and the like relied on aural tradition, and in fact some of that can still be seen in the gypsy violin bands of Eastern Europe.) This music was therefore played either in palatial saloons (or beautiful, intimate drawing rooms) or in churches during the mass or other religious ceremonies. The wonderfully rich acoustics of paneled rooms, or stone churches combined with the sumptuous elegance of the surroundings created a holistic experience which was intended to move or at least alter the mood of the audience in some way. And it did – many great kings and leaders relied heavily on music to inspire, console, invigorate, or help them think. Frederick the Great, for example, would get up at 5am daily to practice the flute for a couple of hours and even took his musicians to war!
The position of musicians in society changed after the French revolution. Mozart was one of the first to break away from aristocratic patronage and take his chances as a freelance musician at the whim of the fickle Viennese public. By the time of the Industrial Revolution, the middle classes had firmly established a tradition of home music-making, helped along by the invention of the piano and it’s widespread popularity since the beginning of the nineteenth century By the middle of the 19th century, all respectable young ladies could sing and play the piano, and the vast and growing music-loving public meant that huge concert halls were being built to accommodate them.
Violinist Lisa Batiashvili plays at the Royal Albert Hall
With the huge concert-halls, and ever more popularistic audience, the music and instruments had to change. Great virtuosi such as Paganini on the violin and Liszt on the piano were now acclaimed heroes and artists, not merely good tradesmen, and they needed instruments and music that would dazzle even Tom the clerk sitting in the last row of the 2000 seat newly built Royal Albert Hall. So the violin changed – the number one priority was now to be more powerful, and brilliant. To achieve this, more tension need to be applied to the strings, so the neck was angled back slightly, and the instrument was tuned to a higher pitch. The bow was also redesigned to be heavier and violin technique adapted to these changes and to the new demands of a more heroic style of music. But the most important thing to remember is that these changes really did come about because of a change in society which led to a different style of music played in different venues.
It is important to remember this when considering music that came before the French revolution, i.e. Baroque and early classical music, and how we present music from the baroque era to bring out the magic in it. This music came from a fundamentally different world and I believe fares best when played in the manner and setting in which the composers imagined it to be performed. This not only extends to the instrument itself, the technique, or even the appropriate interpretation of the music, but also to the physical environment of the performance – the venue. Just think of the elaborate clothes, wigs and manners of the baroque as well as the architecture and painting. This world was one of artifice and man-made beauty, and a musical performance was part of that world in all respects, including the visual elements. The halo of a beautiful acoustic of a gorgeous room or church and the effect of the visual element contributes great to the overall experience and effect of the music. This music was composed to ‘affect’ or ‘move’ the listener – to ‘engage the soul`. The power of the music is still there – it only needs the approach and setting to be released, and I believe that key to be time travel with our minds through historical insights, combined with a generous portion of musical imagination and passion!!