The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1899-04-28
Old vioIins.


for the violin among the women
students music of throughout thu
country, and the earnestness of theiI
work crowned with success, has
created a wonderful and ever grow
ing interest in fine cd violins.
Real musicians, in tae artistic
sense, are extremely sensitive toI
differences in the touch, tone OF
quality OF their instruments. ToI
the uneducated, or those lacking a
real soul for violin music, there i
certainly not the difference of sew
eral thousand dollars between al
fairly good modern instrument and
a grand Stradivarius. Just IA il i
safe to say that while all enjoy How
err, to bat he few is given the &c
stacy of the searcher when il comes
upon tse e,delweis or a rare, much
sought orchid; yet this minority OF
real soul-passionates gather irresist-
IDLY about them disciples, and, lol
in little while their enthusiasm
has spread TO thousands. How for
tunate now that the comparatively
few lovers of the violin in the past
have kept in trace the wonderful,
unequaled work of the early violin
masters, and can tell of the where
abouts of all old violins Of real
worth; Just who has owned o. still
possesses them. So tender has been
this regard for fine violins that they
are internationally known, many Of
them by especial names, such as
"Mes -iah, T" Ludwig" Spanish
Strad,n Canon or king JOS
eph,n and one passing ont Of exist
ence would be as sincerely mourn
I'd as the burning of Raphael or
the breaking Of a great statue.
The reward for the study of the
violin is SO great that il is small
wonder that many American fami-
lies are today following the custom
current in Germany for several gen
erations past of seeing to it that at
least one of the children is given a
Thorough course of study upon the
violin. Fox the violin must ever be
the Alpha and Omega of the orches-
ira. With few god violins in
amateur circles all things are posi-
Bile; without them all the subsidiary
orchestral instruments are valueless.
The violin shares with the from
bone alone the honor Of being per-
feet musical instrument no won
der then that its study brings a re-
finement of musical feeling quite
beyond the ken of players Of instru-
meuts of coarser fibre. The con-
stantly increasing number of young
women carrying violin eases To and
fro in our streets must then be
taken as one of the most encourag-
ing signs of real musical growth in
America. The multitude of real
musical conservat ,ries today where
the violin classes vie with the piano
in popularity Is another indubitable
mark of the ever growing favor Of
the king of instruments, and the
higher musical life that i stands
for. Lastly, the facility with which
fine Old violins may be obtained in
our own country speaks yolum IS
No longer Is it necessary for violin
student either to struggle along with
an inferior instrum mt or else to
attend some stuffy sale in London
and to pay oul fabulous sum. Ex
cellent ollinstrumrnts of undoubted
genuineness are to be had in the
United States at prices within the
reach of all. Comparatively lately,
too. several noteworthy private col
lections of old violins have been
formed in America. Take it all in
all, the subject Of old violins, using
the term old in a generic way, a.
signifying instruments worthy Of
place among art treasures, is an ex
tremely fascinating one. .-Ex.