call of the cuckoo was his chief purpose; but we would hardly recognize the cuckoo’s call, had he not in every case taken the pains to mark the imitation. In another instance, in _Hortulus Chelicus_, he endeavored to imitate the voice of some other bird. This work as a piece of art is more valuable, since here he attempted to write a duet for one violin. Another composition that is characteristic of Walter’s musical ideas is a _Capriccio_, where the C major scale is used as basso ostinato in forty-nine variations, as though the composer wanted to give as many kinds of motions and figures as he could. [Illustration] Stradivarius at Work: ANTONIO STRADIVARI. Walter was not an innovator in the art of tone painting, for Farina had tried the same devices seventy years before. Still he cannot be dubbed a mere imitator of Farina, though he was without doubt strongly influenced by the latter. Walter’s technique is much more advanced than that of Farina, but at the same time he shows little improvement in a purely musical way. IV There is an obvious advance in musical value in the _Correnti e balletti da camera a due violini_, 1666; _Balletti_, _Sonate_, 1667, 1669; _Correnti e capricci per camera a due violini e violone_, 1683, and other instrumental pieces by Giovanni Battista Vitali, ‛_sonatore di Violino di brazzo_’ in the orchestra of Bologna. Vitali’s melodies contain much more pleasing qualities than those of his contemporaries. In regard to form, his sonatas, in which rapid changes from quick to slow movements mark the various sections, show the transition from the suite to the _sonata da camera_. Vitali was one of those early inspired composers, whose greatest merit lies in their striving toward invention and toward the ideal of pure absolute music. In technique Vitali does not show any material progress. Of particular importance is Tommaso Antonio Vitali, a famous violinist of his time. Of his works, _Sonate a tre, due violini e violoncello_, 1693; _Sonate a due violini, col basso per l’organo_, 1693, and _Concerto di sonate a violino, violoncello e cembalo_, 1701, the most famous and most valuable is his _Ciaccona_, which is very often played on the concert stage by present-day violinists. The _Ciaccona_ is full of poetic moods and its short, pregnant theme shows deep feeling and genuine inspiration, qualities which we find here for the first time. The whole is a set of variations upon a short theme, constituting a series of contrasting pictures. Noteworthy are the harmony and the advanced treatment of modulation. The ornamental figures, too, are derived from the logical development of the theme, hence do not serve the sole purpose of providing the virtuoso with an opportunity to display his technical skill.