The art of music, Vol. 07 (of 14) : $b Pianoforte and chamber music
History
The art of music, Vol. 07 (of 14) : $b Pianoforte and chamber music
Music -- History and criticism; Musicians
Besides Marini there were others who seriously endeavored to write in
a distinctive violin idiom. Before considering them we may mention here
Paolo Quagliati, who in his _Sfera armoniosa_ (1623) made the violin
accompany the voices and used it also as a solo instrument with the
accompaniment of the theorbo in a toccata of the same opus. The violin
part usually consisted of sustained tones that were to be embellished
by the players according to the custom of the time. Quagliati himself
was not a violinist and this fact serves to explain the simple
technique of his violin parts.
Four years later Carlo Farina, a Saxon chamber virtuoso and concert
master, who may be termed the founder of the race of violin virtuosos,
published a composition for the violin, called _Capriccio stravagante_.
Here he strove toward new and unusual violinistic effects. The very
title, ‘an extravagant caprice,’ explains his object. While the piece
shows little improvement in form, the technique is noticeably advanced.
Farina goes to the third position and points out how the change of
position should be executed. Besides broadening violin technique Farina
was among the first to venture into the field of realistic ‘tone
painting.’ For he tried to imitate the whistling of a soldier, the
barking of a dog, the calling of a hen, the crying of a cat, the sound
of a clarinet and the trumpet. Farina’s experiments in tone-painting
were, however, rather the product of a desire for sensational novelty
than of a legitimate seeking after artistic expression. He lacks the
genuine qualities of a true artist.
Although Farina did not use the G string, and did not go further than
the third position, he recognized the power of expression latent in
the violin. Besides rapid figures of sixteenth notes and considerable
variety in bowing there are double stops:
[Illustration: Music score]
and a series of consecutive chords with the instruction that it should
be executed with the stick of the bow:
[Illustration: Music score]
It was also his idea--not at all a bad one--to mark double stops with
figures:
[Illustration: Music score]
The fact that he found it necessary to give instruction for the
execution of double stops and tremolos, and the production of the
required effects in his imitations indicates that these devices were
entirely new in violin playing.
According to Gerber he published besides the Capriccio, a collection of
‛_Sonatas_’ and ‛_Pavanes_’ (1628), which, if they existed at all, are
entirely lost. Of his other compositions (Dances, Arias) we possess the
first violin parts containing the melody. He used the G clef and the
term ‘violino.’
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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