Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1882-11-03

Sun correspondent dropped in he was
contemplating his instrument with 8
dissatisfied air. The amber yarnish on
the violoncello shone with its wonted
mellow luster. its LONG neck was firmly
erect, its carved head thrown back in
true Stradivarius pose, and the strings,
as they were fretted by. the virtuoso'
fingers, emitted sonorous notes.
aWhat is the matterp'' was asked.
IL can't tell exactly" was the reply.
at is tired and needs rest. If lay il
aside for a week or SO, it will regain its
perfection of tone, without anything
else being done to it. tits q hard thing
to explain, and it is q fact familiar to
every artist. If you use an instrument
too much it loses its tone-not enough,
perhaps. for the average auditor to per-
ccive. but the artist knows it."
May be the trouble is then with the
artist himself-losing the precision OF
his touch from over-practice, said the
caller.
''That is the explanation which most
naturally occurs to one. but it is not
good. The trouble is with the instru-
ment. Every artist meets with it. and
has to keep more than one in use.
Wilhelmi has TO lay his Stradivarius vio-
lin aside occasionally. and use his
Gemunder until the Stradivarius is rest
ed. Every. man who uses razor
knows that 1t gets tired from too much
use. and regains its temper from being
laid aside for while, and it is the same
with musical instruments. Tone is q
,>..-,lo o,x,l,ovv AferooE l., tho halIsr
Of violin or cello you might think
would be fatal to tone from its intercept
ton of sound vibrations, but sometimes
cracks seem to cause an improve
ment Instruments that are well treat
ed improve by age. 1t may be that
the rich tones of fine Stradivarius or
Guarnerius are due largely to their age.
and the exquisite mellow quality which
we find in them is the acquisition
of years. Guillaume, who was, in
his time. a celebrated Paris maker.
is now in disrepute because the fine
tone he impaired to his instruments
was not lasting. HS had some process
for medicating the wood of his instru-
ments that gave them strength and
softness of tune. but age, instead of
them, impaired their quality.
Then, again, the tune of instruments
seems to result from happy chance ad-
justments of their parts which cannot
be repeated with any certainty. The
of the Cremona school
now in existence may be strokes of good
fortune that the old makers themselves
could not always certainly effect. You
see that the bridge of my cello here is
not particularly fine-looking bit Of
wood. Some time ago when hap
pened to drop into an instrument
shop, he said: 81 have got
splendid piece of maple one hundred
and fifty years old, Just the thing to
make you new bridge" Well. no
made the bridge and II looked right.
and seemed to fit right, but when tried
i the strings didn't sound right.
worked with 1t some time, but finally
had TO give it up. Then the bow has
great deal to do with the tune. Its
wood must be strong, and at the same
lime slender and light; it must be firm
without being rigid, and must have per-
iect eyenness Of texture, SO as to give
he same quality of percussion from
whatever point Il may be applied to the
strings. There are celebrated makers
If bows as well as OF instruments. The
.upot bow Is famous. The maker il a
'renchman who flourished in the first
of this century. lie got hold Of
fine lot of Pernambuco wood, and all
lis bows were made of selected pieces
good Lupot bow is worth one hundred
lollars. An ordinary bow. which would
ook as il il were Just as good, can be
Fought for five dollars.
at Is n hard thing 10 get hold of fine |
Id instrument" the virtuosa went on,
he cello strings now sounding in mel
ncholy chords under his straying
ingcrs. IL believe told You that VIII
leimi PLAYS a Stradivarius. Remenvi |
las quite a collection. but generally |
,lays an Amati. Ole Bull had a large |
'iolin by one of the earliest makers OF /
he Crcmona school, Gaspard de Salo.
'ome fine instruments are in the hands
4 amateurs. Assistant-Secreiary- /
tate Hunter has violonccllo of Stradi-
arius tone. II not of that make. Ex-
Iayor Havemcyer. of New York. al
hough not himself cello player, be-
eve. paid about ~. 800 for a Gular-
eerius. II is the rich amateur who runs
D the price of such instruments until
iev are out of reach of the poor artist
here is a manufacturer of garden tools
, Hartford who has n splendid collcc-
ON OF violins. and vet. SO far as hisown
laying l. concerned. an ordinary fiddle
'ould do him lust as well as a Stradi-
arius. Tn his collection is the famous
.iny Joseph Guarnrius violin. II is
'onderful instrument. | can't describe
, Won the power. softness. and sweet
ess of its tones They are exquisite.
suppose he could get $4,000 or 5000
n that violin at any time. II is
most impossible to appreciate the
alue of such an instrument He has a
,llecfjon of fifteen bows thai would
r;ng from S1. 500 10 5000 No in
ruments could be better cared for
IAN those al his collection. but.
ms with a mania for Collecting ipsfru-
enfs who don't know how 20 take care
them when they get them i lnew
Baltimore collector who had xioIins
/ over bis bouse. often in fl,ces where
'ev were liable 10 he broken At aux
me-. was up-sfairs in his house
zee. and was going 10 sit down on q |