The Violin: Some Account of That Leading Instrument and Its Most Eminent Professors, from Its Earliest Date to the Present Time; with Hints to Amateurs, Anecdotes, etc.Dubourg, George
History
The Violin: Some Account of That Leading Instrument and Its Most Eminent Professors, from Its Earliest Date to the Present Time; with Hints to Amateurs, Anecdotes, etc.
Dubourg, George
Violin; Violinists -- Biography
The excitement produced by the first public display of these powers in
our metropolis was fully sustained on the subsequent occasions. It would
fill a volume of itself, were I to treat, “avec circonstance,” of the
successive concerts at theatres and other places, in which the Genoese
genius electrified attending mortals
“With heav’nly touch of instrumental sounds.”
With no intention to be thus particular, I must beg permission,
nevertheless, to extract a few more passages of contemporary notice. The
celebrated _Capriccio_, in which he introduced the air from the
_Carnaval de Venise_, merits a separate description:—
“On reaching his position in the centre of the stage, he seemed at once
to lose all consciousness of the presence of mortals, and to live and
breathe for his violin alone. He touched its strings lightly and
trippingly, as if to awaken it, and then, after having given it three or
four of those sweeping, switching strokes, which almost justify the
expression that he thinks to lash it into submission to his spirit, he
threw off a most singular mutilation of the Venetian Air, “Oh! come to
me!” in which, while he appeared to retain only the sad part of the
original, he communicated to it an odd wailing character. On this
subject he _capriccio’d_ some four or five variations, all in a
consistent style, in which he introduced most of his peculiar movements
of hand and bow. At the end, he was rapturously applauded, and he
retired as he had entered. The applause, however, being continued, mixed
with some cries of _encore_, he came forth again, but without his
violin, and, making a most eloquent bow, retired once more. The plaudits
were, however, now redoubled, and the wicked audience, having got the
crotchet into their heads, pretty unanimously vociferated _encore_;
when, after some delay, the good Signor absolutely did make his
appearance with his second self—or his _pickaninney_—his violin; and did
vouchsafe two little variations more, of the wizard strain:—the last was
altogether performed by the hand which held the instrument, and without
the aid of the bow. On the whole, so strange, so whimsical an
outpouring of melancholy we never heard before, and probably never
shall again:—one really did not know whether to laugh or cry at it.
Nothing upon record, that we know of, comes near it, with the exception
of _Corporal Trim’s_ pathos in the kitchen.”
In the region of the harmonic notes, which was before (comparatively
speaking) almost a “terra incognita,” Paganini may claim the undoubted
merit of having made extensive discoveries:—
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account