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
In the year 1714, he came to England, where his exquisite powers, as a
solo performer, commanded universal admiration, and excited, among the
nobility and gentry, a contention for the honor of patronising such
rare abilities. The German Baron, Kilmansegge, was then chamberlain to
George the First, as Elector of Hanover, and a great favorite of the
King. To that nobleman Geminiani particularly attached himself, and,
accordingly, dedicated to him his first work—a set of Twelve Sonatas,
published in 1716. The style of these pieces was peculiarly elegant; but
many of the passages were so florid, elaborate and difficult of
execution, that few persons were adequate to their performance; yet all
allowed their extraordinary merit, and many pronounced them superior to
those of Corelli. They had, indeed, such an effect, that it became a
point of eager debate, whether skill in execution, or taste in
composition, constituted the predominant excellence of Geminiani; and so
high was the esteem he enjoyed, among the lovers of instrumental music,
that it is difficult to say, had he duly regarded his interest, to what
extent he might not have availed himself of public and private favor.
Kilmansegge, anxious to procure him a more effective patronage than his
own, represented his merits to the notice of the King, who, looking over
his works, became desirous to hear some of the pieces performed by their
author; and soon after, accompanied, at his own earnest request, by
Handel on the harpsichord, Geminiani so acquitted himself, as at once to
delight his royal auditor, and to give new confirmation of the
superiority of the violin over all other stringed instruments.
In 1726, he arranged Corelli’s first six _Solos_, as _Concertos_; and,
soon after, the last six, but with a success by no means equal to that
which attended the first. He also similarly treated six of the same
composer’s _Sonatas_, and, in some additional _parts_, imitated their
style with an exactitude that at once manifested his flexible ingenuity,
and his judicious reverence for his originals. Encouraged, however, as
he might be considered, by the success of this undertaking, to proceed
in the exercise of his powers, six years elapsed before another work
appeared—when he produced his own first set of _Concertos_; these were
soon followed by a second set; and the merits of these two productions
established his character as an eminent master in that species of
composition. The opening Concerto in the first of these two sets is
distinguished for the charming minuet with which it closes; and the last
Concerto in the second set is esteemed one of the finest compositions
known of its kind.
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