The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1880-06-26
CONSTRUCTION of violins.

ahu Ap1 oSihAH.
Construction of Vi0lins.
New York TimeSl
The question whether violin making
is a lost art is answered in the negative
in the Medical Record by Mr.. G. L.
Chaplin, who has been an enthusiastic
student of the subject for thirty years.
Nothing relating to music, he SAYS, has
been more fruitful of silly legends, ro-
nance and superstition than the violin.
Not that the old masters did not pro-
duce some grand instruments. But it is
a mistake to suppose that they worked
by rule, system or secret which in
variably gave good results; that violin
| is excellent simply because it bears the
name of Da Salo, Magglni, Anati, Strad-
ivarius or Guarnerius, or that the best
productions of these masters can never
again be equaled.
Stradivarius, for instance, made more
poor than good violins, and made more
bad ones than any other maker of the
great period. He is said to have turned
out two thousand instruments, but only
twelve really fine ones of his make are
now known to be in existence. De Sale
and Maggini each made less than five
hundred instruments, but only about Q
dozen of each maker are extant. In a
recent work on the subject, Charles Gof
| frie, after an explanation of the Cremo.
mas in the collections Of Plowden, Gil
lott, Viilaume, Bonjour, and others, says
that he "found that they were decidedly
hard in tone, resembling new instru.
ments." And Prof. LIE Brun, who played
in the same concerts with Paganini, and
had in his hands nearly all the noted
Cremonas fifty and sixty years ago, sayi
that the Guarnerius from which that
great violinist drew such wonderful tone'
would have attracted little attention il
the hands of an ordinary professional.
Mr. r.Chapin's conclusion is that "the old
makers. made some instruments as good
as can be made, but emphatically nc
better. Also, they made some instru
ments as good as can be made now, but
| the large number made by them are moi
up to the present standard of power, and
the few that are up to this. standard are
in the hands of artists or in collections
and entirely out Of the market. A large
number Of good violins have been made
since the great period. and it is safe te
say that "a large number Of instruments
bearing the marks of the old mskers and
accredited to them were never near Gre
mona" The old instruments do not ap
pear to have been made according to any
fixed rule or principle, but OF
the "cut and try" plan. Nor il
there any uniformity in theil
make or published directions concern
ling their construction. Mr.. Chaplin
tells us that he has owned two of The
masters instruments Of the great period
and fifty instruments Of the best reputec
Iimitators has examined more than. 2, 600
other violins Of various grades and pat
terms, and has read what has been pub
lished on the subject, but that he hal
failed to find "even how long to make
the fs in given sized instrument, to say
nothing Of where they. should be placed
He gives certain ratios, measurements,
and directions for constructing a violin
in accordance with the laws of sound,
and remarks that instruments made ts
demonstrate this theory can be seen.'
Violins, he claims, can and should b,
made on scientific principles, as othel
musical instruments are. Asgood violin,
can be produced here as have been mad,
at Cremona, and the chief reason why
this is not done, he SAYS, is that the peo
pie will not pay for them.