The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1880-08-10
Violin Making.

The question whether violin making Is q
lost art is answered in the negative by 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, romance
and superstition than tile violin. Not that
the old masters did not produce some grand
instruments. But it is a mistake to sun.
pose that they worked by rulo, system or
secret. which invariably gave good results;
that violin is excellent simply because it
bears the name of Da Salo, Magsini, Amati.
Stradivarius, or Guarnerius, or Tint the
best productions of these masters can never
again bo equalled. Stradivarius, for in
stance. made more poor than good yiolins.
and made more bad ones than any other
maker OF the great period. lie is said to
have turned out 1000 Instruments, but only
twelve really fine Cnes of his make are now
known to be in existence. Da Salo and
blaggini each made less than 500 instru-
mcnts, but only about Il dozen of each
maker are extant. In n recent work on the
subject, Charles Goffric, after an examna-
ton OF the Cremonas in the collections of
Plowden, elliott, Villaume, Bojour, aid
others, says that he 'sfound that they were
decidedly hard in tone, resembling new in
struments." And Prof. LIE Brun, who
played III the same concerts with Paganlni,
and had in his hands nearly all the noted
Cremonas f1fty and sixty years ago says
that the Guarnerius from which that great
Ylollnlst drew such wonderful tones would
have attracted little attention in the hands
OF an ordinary professional. Mr.. Chaplin's g
conclusion is that ''the old makers made
some Instruments as good as can be
made, but cmphutically no better. Also,
they made some Instruments as good as can
DC made now, but the larger number made
ny them arc not up to the present standard
OF power, and the few that arc I'D TO this
standard arc IN the hands of artists or in
collections, and entirely out of the market.
a large number OF good vi0lins have been
made since the great period, and It Is safe
TO say that large number Of instruments
bearing the marks of tho old makers and
accredited to them were never near Gre
MONA" The old insti uments do not np
pear 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 concern
ing their construction. MIR. Chaplin tells
us that he has owned two of the masters
instruments of The great period and tlfty
instruments of the best rcputed imitators,
has examined moro than 1000 other vlolns
OF various grades and patterns, and has read
what has been published on the subject,
but that lie has failed to find "cvcn how
long to make the f's in given sized ins,ru-
mont to say nothing Of where they should
be placed" Hcgivcs certain ratios, meas
urements, and directions for constructing
violin in accordance with the laws of sound,
and remarks that instruments made to
demonstrate this theory can be seem"
Vlolins, he claims. can and should be made
on scientific principles, as other musical in
struments are. AS good vloins can be
produced here as have been made in Gre
mona, and the Chief reason why this is not
done, he says, is that the people will not
pay for them.