Viotti And The Tourte Bow By PAMELA GOLDSMITH

Viotti. His legendary reputation was estab- Andre Robberechts (1797-1819) --

On March 17, 1782, a twenty-nine- lished quickly and persisted well into concertmaster at Vaudeville, orchestra
year-old Italian, Giovanni Baptista the nineteenth century in spite of his
Viotti, made his debut in Paris at the relatively short career as a performing of Opera-Comique and Opera.
Concerts Spirituels. "His triumph was violinist, his moves to and from Eng- An interesting family tree of violinists
complete, one of the most brilliant land, his unsuccessful careers as wine showing the large percentage of fa-
debuts, if we can trust contemporary merchant and theater direction;" mous performers who trace their line-
reaction, which had ever been pre- Charon and Fayolle's Dictionnaire his- age back to Viotti has been given bv
sented to Paris. By one performance, torique des musiciens, published in Marc Pincherle in the Encyclopedic de
he virtually established himself in the 1811, twelve years after Viotti's last la Musique et Dictionnaire du Con-
eyes of the Parisian public as the fore- public appearance, still calls him "le servatoire.
most violinist of Europe." He had premier violiniste du sicclc" (the lead- The three most important men to
been a student of Pugnani, from a line ing violinist of the time). His influence establish the Viotti method were
of violinists extending through Somis was greatest in two areas: (1) upon Pierre Baillot (1771-1842), Jacques
to Carelli, yet there was something ex- his students and disciples, and (2) Rode (1774-1830), and Rudolph»
traordinary and different about his through his compositions, especially Kreutzer (1766-1831).
playing. If we read contemporary reac- the violin concerti: The three men form a group which was
tions to his performances, we are im- The popularity of Viotti's music ap- closely cemented, not only by Viotti'
pressed with the emphasis on his ex- proached fanaticism. The Conserva- influence upon them (though Rode
pressivity, his fire, his tone: toire for many years used only his was the only actual pupil of Viotu
A strong full tone. indescribable concerti as "prize pieces" to be per- among the three), but by their similai
fluency. purity, precision. shadow and formed publicly in the annual competi- activities as colleagues at the Con-
light. it tions and even the players of the con- servatoire. They were about the same
The ease and clarity with which he trebasse played his concerti on their age and their careers were con-
performed the most difficult passages. 3 instrument,' 1 temporaneous,'?
He performs both expressive and The master's teaching took the form The influence of these men on scores
difficult passages periectly> of guidance and inspiration rather than of violin students cannot be overesti-
An accurate performance, an ex- formal lessons, and he did not accept mated. A contemporary account of the
quisite polish, and an admirable qual- money from his students. The style of efficacy of the method is revealing:
ity of tone in the adagio." Viotti spread rapidly all over Europe Formerly, the string players of an or-
What energy and what grace com- by means of these students, and a list chestra were individually accomplished
bined! What polish in the adagios! with some notes about their careers is players, but everyone had a different
What brilliance in the allegros!" self-explanatory: method of bowing. . . . The result was
Nothing could be more exquisite Paul Alday (1764-1835) - 1791 to a totally different method of attacking
than his tones in the second move- England. 1806 conductor at Edin- the sring and thus an inevitable lack
ment." burgh, 1809 to Dublin, taught at the of finish and perfection in execution.
His power over the instrument Musical Academy. Today these drawbacks are erased:
seems unlimited . . . he awakens emo- Louis Julien Castels de Labarre Messrs. Rode, Kreutzer, and Baillot,
tion, gives a soul to sound, and leads ( 1771-after 1799) - wide reputation who are the principal professors at the
the passions captive:" as a fine virtuoso, went to Italy dur- Conservatoire, have certainly each an
What a great artist Viotti must have ing the French Revolution. individual method of bowing; but cs
been to make such an impact on his Jean Baptiste Cartier (1765-1841) - a whole their methods resemble great-
listeners. We can only imagine how violinist to Marie Antoinette, solo and ly that of their great master V iotti. . . .
different he must have sounded from assistant concertmaster of the Opera, The students of these three masters all
his contemporaries. The difference played in the Royal orchestra under have a broad and energetic approach;
seems to have been in the bowing, if Paisiello, wrote L'Art du Violon, 1798. the result is such a unity of execution
we can judge from those qualities of Auguste Frederic Durand (Duranow- in the symphonies that, from far away,
his playing which are emphasized in ski) ( 1770-past 1834) - toured one could think that there were only
the reviews. Italy and Germany, concertmaster at one violin to each part. IS
Viotti became recognized as a great the theater in Strassbourg, Whatever individual differences there
master and was acknowledged as the Philippe Libon (1775- 1838) - vio- might have been between Viotti and
founder of a new school of violin play- linist in the chapel orchestra at Lis- his students, it is obvious that the
ing: bon, Portugal, also at the court in Viotti style became the focus of at-
It is well known that the most out- Madrid. tention, the ruling factor in violin play-
standing characteristics of this school Nicolas Mori (1796-1839) - studied ing all over Europe in the time of
stem from the following principles: a for six years with Viotti in London, Beethoven.
big, strong, full tone is the first; the member the Royal Academy of Music, Paris was the center of fine per-
combination of this with a powerful, first professor of violin. formance; its advanced and high stand-
penetrating. beautifully singing legato Friedrich Wilhelm Pixis (1786-1842) ard was promulgated through the Con-
is the second; as the third, variety, - court musician of the Elector Pala- servatoire. The Conservatoirc's violin
charm, shadow and light must be tine at Mannheim, concertmaster at teaching methods were preserved in
brought to the performance through Prague and professor at the conserva-
the diversity of bowing," tory. (Continued on page 21)
20 AMERICAN STRING TEACHER
two publications, the Methode de tip, set the length of the hair at 65
Violon by Baillot-Rode-Kreutzer, 1802 centimeters (25.59 inches), and the
or 1803, and the more detailed center of gravity at 19 centimeters SHORT-STOP
LAr! Du Vio'on by Baillot alone, from the frog. What Francois himself (Adjust-O-Viol)
circa 1830. Unfortunately, we have did not "invent" was the screw
no method book by Viotti himself. mechanism and ferrule which were "FITS THE INSTRUMENT
BailIot mentions in his preface a present on earlier bows, and the con- TO THE CHILD"
"traite didactique" by Viotti. Marc cave curve, known as the cambre,
Pincherle says 14 that this long-lost work which was probably created by his $2.50 any size. A
is actually given in Franz Habeneck's father. "Tourte pere". Francois experi- small price to make
Methode Theorique et Pratique de mented with differently shaped heads, an instrument useable.
Violon, Paris, c. 1840. According to from a modified swan-like design (be-
Pincherle, the information given is of a fore 1790), to a more rounded shape, Aids in teaching higher positions.
very elementary nature, and bowing in- to the final shape, more angular Solves the a rm-Iength problem.
structions are limited to the admonition "hatchet head". Makes easy change-over to school
to practice slowly, whole bows, on open An interesting factor is the work of violas (usually too large).
strings, being careful to touch only one John Dodd in England. Just as Establishes good 13ft hand position.
string at a time. scientific discoveries arc made simul-
Viotti and Tourte. The greatest of taneously in separate parts of the world a patented product from
all bow makers was Francois Tourte, by people working independently, so PLASTICS PHAN'TAS'TliCS
who lived and worked in Paris during also were innovations of the bow pro- 2490 Washington
the years 1775-1835. It seems plausi- duced by Dodd in England at the same EUGENE, OREGON 97405
ble that Viotti, who came to Paris in time as Tourte in France. Dodd was free sample on request
1782, influenced Tourte, not only be- only five years younger than Francois
cause of the violinist's fame and in- TOUTte, and had probably been hearing
Iluence in Paris at the time, but be- the same sort of complaints from Eng- A Community
cause the style of his playing de- lish players that TOUTte had been hear- Symphony Handbook
manded such an improved stick. If we ing from French performers. The in-
think back those characteristics of his creasing subtleties and substaining This new neatly presented publica-
style so vividly described, we remem- power demanded of the players by the tion is available from its author. Rob-
ber he had a "big", "strong", "fuli" developing compositional styles, the ert T. Taylor, 1009 Placer Street,
tone, a "powerful" approach to the in- popularity of the "Peril and Rescue" Butte, Montana 5970 I. The handbook
strument, the legato was "admirable", operas with their dramatic contrasts, is based upon the author's experience
"penetrating", "singing", "exquisite". the heautiful long singing lines of as the manager of a small community
All these factors are better and more Mozart, the heavy sforzandi of a orchestra and chorus and upon a ques-
easily produced with a Tourte model Haydn, all these musical factors con- tionnaire sent to the managers of 110
bow than with any kind of earlier bow. tributed to the demand for a bow with community symphonies, to which
The "diversity of bowing", the "shad- more power, clarity, facility, and sub- forty-seven responses were received.
ow and light" are subtleties much more tlety. Cost - $1.75 each.
available to the player with a Tourte It is impossible to state exactly when (Paris: Valade, 18~II~ 410:---
how. the new bow came into general use, 7. Morning Chronicle (London: Feb-
but it must have been by the time of ruary 11, 1794) in Robbins Landon,
Beethoven's works, around 1790. It is The Symphonies of Joseph Haydn
Unfortunately, we have uncovered no
surprising that we have no con- (London, 1955), p. 508.
documentary evidence which connects
unv contemporary violinist with Tourte temporary comments about such an 8. Ibid. (March 12, 1794), in ibid.
ulthougli "tradition" credits Viotti for outstanding innovation. hut there 9. Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung,
were all sorts of transitional model XIII, No. 28 (July 3, 1811), Col.
suggestions he supposedly gave Tourte
hows incorporating one or another of 452.
lind their names have ever been inti-
the new features. To a violinist of the 10. For more information on the life
ntately associated."
time, the TOUTte model bow was just and activities of Viotti, see Arthur
one more better tool rather than as we Pougin, Viotti et l'ecole moderne de
All we can say definitely is that the see it in retrospect, an important mile- violon (Paris: Maison Schott, 1888)
Vietti style and the Tourte model bow stone. and White, op. cit.
rose concurrently, around 1785-1790, 11. Paul Gelrud, "A Critical Study of
lIlld together they established the the French Violin School 1782-1882:
modern bowing techniques. 1. E. Chappell White, "Giovanni (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Cor-
1\"1 us look for a moment at some de- Baptista Viotti and His Violin Con- nell University, 1941), p. 91.
101 ils about the bow itself: certos" (unpublished Ph.D. disserta- 12. Gelrud, op, cit., p. 174.
'l'hc Tourte bow, when unstrung, is tion, Princeton, 1957, p. 8. 13. Decade Philosophique (Geneve,
III01 t hematically found to form a 2. Berliner Musikzeitung (June 29, 1799), in Boris Schwartz, "French Tn-
logarithmic curve . . . Tourte also 1794), in White, p. 36. strumental Music between the Revolu-
settled on Pernambuco ... as the best 3. Journal de Paris (March 23, tions (1789 to 1830)" (unpublished
material from which a light, yet strong 1782), in White, p. 34. Ph.D. dissertation, Columbia Uni-
und clastic bow could be constructed.?" 4. Mercure de France (April 6, versity, 1950), p. 38.
'I'ourte standardized the length of the 1782), in ibid. 14. Marc Pincherle, "Le Methode de
how at 74-75 centimeters (29.134 to 5. Memoires Secrets (March 20, violon de J. B. Viotti", Le Monde
'i:'X inches), loaded the frog and 1782), in ibid. Musical, XXXVI, (1925), pp. 313-
screw with metal (usually silver) to 6. Albert Charon and F. Fayolle, 15. Gelrud, op. cit., p. 58.
lu-lp balance the heavier weight of the Dictionnaire historique des musiciens 16. Ibid.
WINTERj1973 21