Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1880-08-19
VIOLIN MAKING.

The question whether violin making is
lost art is answered in the negative by u. l..
Chaplin, who has been an enthusiastic student
of the subject for thirty years. Nothing re-
lating to music, he says, has been more fruit
full of silly legends, romance and superstition
than the violin. Not that the old masters
did not produce some grand instruments.
But it is mistake to suppose that they work
ed by a rule, system or secret, which invarla.
bly, gave good results that violin is excel
lent simply because it bears the name Of Da
Salo, Maggini, Amati, Stradivarius, or Guar
nerius, or that the best productions of these
masters can never again be equalled. Sfradl'
varius 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 1000 instruments, but
only twelve really fine ones Of his make are
now known to be in existence. Ds Salo and
Maggini each made less than 500 instruments,
but only about, dozen of each maker are
extant. In recent work on the subject,
Charles Gofrie after an examination OF the
Cremonas in the collections of Plowden, Gil
lott, Vilaume, Bojour, and others, says that
he ''found that they were decidedly hard in
tone, resembling new instruments" And
Prof. LIE Brun, who played in the same con-
certs with Paganini, and had in his hands
nearly all the noted Cremonas fifty and sixty
years ago, says that the Guarnerius, from
which the great violinist drew such wonderful
tones would have attracted little attention
in the hands of an ordinary professional.
Mr.. Chaplin's conclusion is that "the old
makers made some instruments as good as
can be made, emphatically no better. Also,
they made some instruments as good ss can
be made now, but the larger number made
by them are not 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 to
say that large number of instruments bear.
ing the marks of the old makers and &C.
credited to them were never near Cremona."
The old instruments do not appear to have
been made according to any fixed rule or
principle, but on the "cut and try" plan.
Nor is there any uniformity in their make, or
published directions concerning their con.
struction: Mr. Chaplin tells US that be has
owned.two of the masters instruments OF the
great period and fifty instruments Of the best
reputed imitators, has examined mere, than
1000 other violins of various grades an d pat.
terms, and has read what has been published
on the subject, but that he has failed to
find "even how long to make the rs in
given sized instrument, to say nothing OF
where they should be placed" He gives GER
tain ratios, measurements, and directions tor
constructing violin in accordance with the
laws of sound, and remarks that instruments
made to demonstrate this theory can be seem"
Violins, he claims, can and should be made
on scientific principles, as other musical in
struments are. As good violins can be pro-
duced here as have been made in Cremona,
and the chief reason why this is not done, he
says is that the people will not pay for them.