Did baroque violinists use vibrato?
During the Baroque era, vibrato was used sparingly, for emphasis on long, accentuated notes in pieces with an affect or character to which it was suited. Continuous vibrato is a 20th-century phenomenon.
How are baroque violins different?
The real difference between the two instruments is the way they’re played. The modern violin sounds forceful and declamatory in comparison with its baroque ancestor. Baroque violin playing has a gentler tone with hardly any vibrato. The complex nuances of bowing give it a sort of swelling-fading sound.
What is a baroque style violin?
A Baroque violin is a violin set up in the manner of the baroque period of music. The term includes original instruments which have survived unmodified since the Baroque period, as well as later instruments adjusted to the baroque setup, and modern replicas.
What is the difference between baroque and modern bows?
In simplest terms, the Baroque bow wood was a flat or convex shape and shorter than the modern bow, which is longer and has a concave shape. Baroque bows performed best at the era’s dance music, where the first beat of the music was heavier and the second beat light. You can’t modernize a bow.”
What are Stradivarius violins made of?
The woods used included spruce for the top, willow for the internal blocks and linings, and maple for the back, ribs, and neck. There has been conjecture that the wood used may have been treated with several types of minerals, both before and after construction of a violin.
Why do baroque bows hold?
It’s not so much that the wrist is being held much higher, but that the bow is being held much closer to the tips of the fingers and the fingers are very relaxed. The result is the fingers draping lower and the bow being lower relative to the wrist than in a modern Franco-Belgian bow grip.
Did Stradivarius make baroque violins?
The violin had attained its present shape essentially by the middle of the 16th century, so instruments from the baroque era look at first glance almost identical to modern violins. In fact, most of the most highly prized modern violins were built during the baroque era by makers like Amati, Stradivari, and Guarneri.
Why do Baroque bows hold?
Why do old violins sound better?
One thing that might explain why older instruments are perceived to sound better is natural selection. In the case of instruments this means that only the instruments which sounded good in the first place ever made it to old age. The good sounding instrument were worthy of expensive repair and restoration efforts.
How is the violin played in the Baroque style?
Typically, a Baroque violin is played in a “historical manner”, using a technique and musical style intended to resemble actual baroque performance as far as possible. Because this style had fallen out of use long before recording technology was invented, modern performers rely heavily on documentary evidence to recreate a Baroque-style technique.
What was the use of bows in the Baroque period?
Bows underwent more changes within the Baroque period than did violins. Bows of the earlier 17th century were used interchangeably between violins and viols. They were particularly short and light, and well-suited for dance music.
What was the proper way to play the violin?
Merck (Augsburg, 1695) “One should hold the violin nicely straight under the left breast, leaving the arm free, not resting against the body/belly” Speer (Ulm, 1697) “The remainder, how one holds the violin correctly in the hand, rests it on the breast, leads the bow that a trusted teacher must show his student”
What was the time period of the violin?
We are looking at over one and a half centuries – if we define the baroque period as extending from 1600 to around 1761 (the date of our “last” source, that of L’Abbé le fils). During this time the violin, its music and its technique developed beyond recognition. And are we talking about the violin in France, Italy, Germany or England?