Baroque Violin Research Articles

Teaching and thinking Early Music in the 21st century: an interview with Walter Reiter

In this interview granted to Marcus Held, Walter Reiter discourses on his ideas regarding the field of knowledge known as Early Music. Having witnessed and actively participated in the consolidation of this movement in the 1960's and the 1970's, the violinist, chamber musician, teacher and director talks about the challenges and the successes of teaching and thinking music from previous times in the contemporary world. Furthermore, he presents his recently published book, The Baroque Violin & Viola: a fifty-lesson course (Oxford University Press, 2020) and, in the end, narrates his experience of teaching Early Music in Cuba.

Intabulation as process and practice (Master thesis)

Research Title: Intabulation as process and practice Research questions: When it comes to the manifold surviving solo lute intabulations from around 1500, where is the line between "unwritten" and "written" intabulation? Intabulating involves the writing out of several parts into tablature, but does this twofold distinction really apply to all pieces? What was the process of appropriation of vocal polyphony for a lutenist of the early 16th century? How can we apply this to our own processes? Abstract: Intabulation refers to the arrangement of vocal pieces for what Johannes Tinctoris refers to as a “perfect instrument”, amongst which he counts such instruments as keyboards and the lute – and it implies writing out the parts of a polyphonic composition into tablature. However, after playing many surviving intabulations for several years, I had a strong feeling that there must be an “unwritten” solo lute intabulation practice behind the “written” intabulations from the beginning of the 16th century, in contrast to the more “composed” intabulations from the time after the mid-16th century. While surviving sources provide us with much information on what lutenists played, they also hide the “unwritten” practice which they did not record. We can only imagine what was happening. In this thesis, I investigate the process of intabulation by lute players from this time by analysing and comparing different versions of the same song from different sources. Through this research, I trace the transition of the changing style of intabulation, which is in turn related to the transition of lute technique from plectrum to finger-plucked and the change in style of the vocal models. Moreover, the diffusion of printed music changed the manner of the transmission of music. To conclude, I hypothesise that lute players might have listened to and copied each other’s intabulations unconsciously, and when they wanted to preserve their work, they might have made some adjustments to their intabulations. The study also suggests how to apply these ideas to actual intabulation practice, which will be presented in the Research Symposium online as a video format. Biography: The Japanese lutenist Asako Ueda studied the lute at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague with Mike Fentross and Joachim Held and completed her Bachelor's with the highest achievable mark, which gives her the opportunity to continue to the Master’s program with the Excellence Scholarship of the Royal Conservatory of the Hague. She won first prize at the Biagio Marini Competition and third prize at the International Van Wassenaer Competition. She started playing the violin at the age of five. After finishing her Bachelor’s degree with the violin in Tokyo, she continued to study the Baroque violin and composition. https://asakoueda.com

Violin Baroque Pieces on Soprano Saxophone

Name: José Benjamín Falces Vaquero Main Subject: Classical Saxophone Research Supervisor: Jarmo Hoogendijk Title of Research: Baroque Violin Pieces on Soprano Saxophone; Transcription of Caprice No. 26 for Violin Solo by Pietro Locatelli Research Question: How should a baroque violin piece be transcribed and played on a soprano saxophone? Summary of Results: There are so many baroque pieces for violin which have been transcribed for soprano saxophone, but there are even more performances of these pieces by almost all classical saxophonists. The reason is that saxophonists often need to improve their repertoire and that these pieces were already frequently transcribed during the period which were made. Also, there have been many saxophonists who have thought that this instrument can give something special to these kinds of works. Based on interviews, questionnaires, comparison of baroque transcriptions and my own experience documented through the whole process of a transcription, this research investigates what is the best way to transcribe and play violin baroque pieces for soprano saxophone. My main conclusion is when writing for these arrangements it is allowed to make many modifications from the original version but always depending on the characteristics of the instrument and the baroque transcription criteria and keeping the original intention of the composer. These results will give the saxophone world more sources of how to transcribe and play these pieces, keeping in mind the original idea of the composer in the baroque style and making it more useful for the instrument. Biography: José Benjamín Falces Vaquero has had lessons with teachers like Vincent David, Ensemble Squillante, Berlage Saxophone Quartet, Arno Bornkamp and others. He won national prizes in Torrent, Xativa and Lliria. He now collaborates with a few Young Orchestras: JOGV, IYPO and ORSAXCOVA. In 2017 he received a Scholarship from the Government of Valencia. As a jazz performer he has had lessons with teachers such as Perico Sambeat, Jerry Bergonzi, Bob Mintzer, Gregory Fritze, and recorded a CD with Big Band Talleres Sedajazz.

To be melodramatic: Writing a text to music according to the melodramatic tradition

Name: Yotam Gaton Main Subject: Baroque Violin Research Supervisor: Bart van Oort Title of Research: Writing a text to music to be performed as done in Melodramas Research Question: What are the different ways in which text and music are put together in the Romantic Melodramas? Summary of Results: I use examples from compositions of the early Romantics until those of the end of the 19th century. Ways to treat the fusion of text and music, as can be seen from the literature, are presented in the story that I wrote, a story that is meant to be narrated with early Romantic music. The Melodrama that developed in the 70s' of the 18th century, although disregarded by some critics, became - mostly in the Germanic countries, a popular genre, used by composers from Benda through Mozart and Beethoven, to Liszt and Humperdinck. In a world that constantly looked for musical innovations, melodrama gave a new meaning for that primary connection of music and text. So how is this text-music relation kept? Are there clear principals in composing music to recited text as can be learned from Melodramas in the Romantic period? Representative melodramas by early and late romantic composers are discussed. The Melodrama developed due to changes in the artistic approach to the fusion of music and text. From its early days of Rousseau and Benda and the autonomy they sought to give to each art, to the complete immersion and fusion of the two in the Melodramas of Schuman, Liszt and Humperdinck, highlighting the qualities of both arts. The core of this work is my own intake on Melodrama. I brought examples from the story that I wrote for different fusions of recited text and music. Unlike Melodramas where music is written to text, here the process is reversed and text was written to music. Biography: Yotam Gaton was chamber music oriented from an early age, performing as concertmaster and principal second violin with Israel’s finest chamber ensembles. Yotam joined the IDF and served as the leader and first violinist of the IDF string quartet where he wrote and performed series of lecture concerts. Former member and concertmaster of the European Union Baroque Orchestra, Yotam played with renowned ensembles such as Les Arts Florissants and performed in Europe's most important Early Music festivals. Both as a soloist and a group member, he collaborated with some of the greatest Early Music artists such as Frans Brüggen, Masaaki Suzuki, William Christie, Lars Ulrik Mortensen and Rachel Podger.

Apollo’s Banquet for children: Teaching baroque music to the young violinist

Name: Ryuko Reid Main Subject: Baroque Violin Research Supervisor: Johannes Boer Title of Research: Apollo’s Banquet for Children: Teaching baroque music to the young violinist Research Question: How can the baroque “rules” being used today in the field of historically informed performance practice be taught at a young age? Summary of Results: The purpose of this study is to investigate what aspects of the musical language of the baroque era can be experienced from twenty songs found in John Playford’s Apollo’s Banquet. This is a collection of country-dances, broad street ballads, theatre tunes, tunes from Morris dancing, Scottish tunes and French dances, that were published for the amateur violinist in 1670. In this study, these songs were taught to students between the ages of 5 and 10 with activities designed to create awareness of gestures, bar hierarchy, light cadences and other important baroque features, in a fun and approachable way. Videos and observations of the lessons show that the repertoire was well received and the paper shows that the use of the songs provided an effective initial stage in experiencing baroque music However the students would need to be exposed to many more examples of these baroque elements before they become consciously learned. This paper also concludes that other elements of baroque music not included in this study, such as rhetorical devices and improvisation could be investigated, and exploring folk music repertoire of the seventeenth century would provide our students with a richer experience of the baroque style. Biography: Ryuko Reid is a baroque violinist specialising in historically informed performance practice and is the artist director and leader of Amsterdam Corelli Collective. Ryuko works as a violin teacher in Muziekschool Amstelveen and studied the Kodály method at Koninklijk Conservatorium. She came to study baroque violin with Sophie Gent at Conservatorium van Amsterdam and is currently finishing her masters at Koninklijk Conservatorium, with Kati Debretzeni and Walter Reiter. Before moving to Amsterdam, she studied modern violin with Jan Repko, taught at Chetham’s School of Music and studied Dalcroze method in Manchester, UK.

Holding the violin and how it influences sound and playing in historical performance practice. Historical perspectives.

Name: Agnieszka Papierska Main subject: Baroque violin Title of research: Holding the violin and how it influences sound and playing in historical performance practice. Historical perspectives. Research coach: Margaret Urquhart Research questions: How much would the sound of the violin change with holding it in different position? Could this be a tool of expression? Does the way we hold the instrument influence other choices we make about performance practice e.g. regarding fingering, bowing? Could this knowledge be used in performance practice today? Summary of results: During the baroque and classical period many different ways of holding the violin existed, often at the same time. This paper investigates the way in which the different positions of holding the instrument could change the sound of it. After studying at sources and making experiments with different posture it can be confirmed that that the sound changes with different ways of holding the violin. The technique and interpretation are also affected. The main conclusion is that violin technique is not unchangeable. We can adjust it in order to develop sound that we desire. Biography: Agnieszka is an accomplished and experienced chamber music and orchestral musician. She started her professional career at a very early age. While still a student in Poland she collaborated with many professional orchestras where she worked with world-class conductors and soloists. After completing her Bachelor's diploma in modern violin an interest in historical performance practice let to her move to the Netherlands in order to study in the early music department of The Hague Royal Conservatory. In 2012 she also completed the master studies in Wroclaw Academy of Music in Poland. Currently she works with Theresia Youth Baroque Orchestra in Italy and also performs with other groups in the Netherlands and abroad. She plays an anonymous 18th century violin from the Klingenthal region.

Instrumental Music Repertoire of the Piarist Ensemble from Podolínec

European church archives contain, in addition to polyphonic vocal and instrumental music, also instrumental compositions bearing the names of: sinfonia, sinphonia, synfonia, synphonia, symfonia, symphonia, simphonia, sonata, duetto, trio, terzetto, trietto, quadro, quartet, octetto, divertissement, divertimento, serenada, cassatio, overture, concerto. This phenomenon applies also to church centres in Poland (e.g. Pauline monastery at Jasna Gora in Czestochowa, Dominican monastery in Gidle, Cistercian abbey in Cracow-Mogila), the archival collection of which includes a large amount of this type of music from the seventeenth and especially from the eighteenth century. The order of Scholarum Piarum, that is Piarists, active in Italy, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland, was also a part of this phenomenon. In the colleges of this order, located within the boundaries of the then Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth e.g. in Lowicz, Rzeszow, Piotrkow, Zloczow, Wielun and Podolinec, there also sounded instrumental music. The repertoire of instrumental music originating from the former monastery and Piarist College in Podolinec, recorded in the inventories and preserved in the form of manuscripts and printing includes as follows: church sonatas, baroque violin concertos, pre-classical and classical trios, pre-classical symphonies, overtures to operas, keyboard instrument music. Instrumental pieces were used for the purposes of teaching, during recreation, in school theater performances and during the liturgy. In Podolinec, Proper Missae chants were probably replaced with instrumental music, as it was commonly practised in Europe in the eighteenth century.

Baroque violin music

This selection of discs traverses some of the rich repertory for violin from the late Baroque, both solo and accompanied. The twelve recordings discussed in this review mainly date from the first half of the 18th century and include staple German and Italian works alongside less familiar fare. We begin with the foremost solo violin works of the period, namely J. S. Bach’s unaccompanied sonatas and partitas. The history of these pieces on record dates back to Joseph Joachim in 1903 and the variety of recordings now available reveal seemingly boundless interpretative possibilities. Francis Knights recently reviewed three period instrument discs (Early Music, xli/2 (2013), p.355) and this review considers another complete set: Johann Sebastian Bach: Sei Solo a Violino Senza Basso Accompagnato (Ondine ode1241-2d, rec 2013, 147′). Baroque violinist Sirkka-Liisa Kaakinen-Pilch was concertmaster of Collegium Vocale for many years and her interpretation of Bach’s solos is one of the most distinctive that I have heard. Her rhythmically flexible, gestural manner of phrasing stands out in this performance. A clear example of this is the Corrente from the Partita in B minor, which is performed at a relatively fast tempo, but shaped rhetorically through variations in timing, articulation and dynamics. Kaakinen-Pilch’s articulated approach allows for local nuances that communicate the distinct character of each movement while maintaining an appealing resonant and clear tone. Some listeners will no doubt find her interpretation too idiosyncratic, but the exploration of new expressive potential in such frequently recorded music should be commended. Kaakinen-Pilch’s recording is likely to be one I frequently revisit, along with the sets recorded by Rachel Podger (Channel Classics) and Pavlo Beznosiuk (Linn).

Some Misconceptions about the Baroque Violin

Some Misconceptions about the Baroque Violin

What have they done to the Strads

Almost every baroque violin, including those of Stradivarius etc, was extensively modified during the conversion to the romantic or modern configuration. What were the acoustic and playing changes? To answer this question, independently of the confounding factors of wood and manufacture, a baroque violin was made and subjected to acoustic and playing tests, before and after (i) replacement of the neck and fingerboard with longer, heavier more inclined parts, (ii) replacing gut with modern nylon-cored strings. Other changes were also made, including bridge style and position, bass bar and soundpost sizes and bow used. Loudness (Saunders plot) was not greatly changed, except for the E string with a long string length. Some acoustic features survived the changes, and professional baroque and modern style players reported that the instrument preserved some of its "personality". Comparisons were made with modern gut strings used by professional baroque players. As well as the acoustic differences, player assessments of bright/dull, full/thin, open/closed, ease of response, evenness, dynamic range are reported. Averaged over all ratings, the players ranked the romantic set up slightly better than the baroque (78% vs 71%).

Comparison between Modern Violin Bridge and Baroque Violin Bridge by Photoelastic Observation and Frequency Analysis

A comparison between the modern bridge and the baroque bridge of the violin by photoelastic observation was carried out. The relationship between the stress part and the hole is symmetric in the modern and baroque bridges. The measured spectral envelopes of baroque bridges are similar to those of modern bridges in D- or G-strings, and have peaks at a frequency higher than those of modern bridges in E-string. The visualization method as used in this study may provide hints for the design of violin bridges.

International Baroque Violin Symposium Utrecht 30 August-2 September 1989

Journal Article International Baroque Violin Symposium Utrecht 30 August-2 September 1989 Get access WALLS PETER WALLS PETER Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Early Music, Volume XVIII, Issue 2, May 1990, Pages 347–349, https://doi.org/10.1093/em/XVIII.2.347 Published: 01 May 1990

Italian Baroque Violin

Italian Baroque Violin

When the Going Gets Tough … Patience

Dr. Sulkes is an associate professor of English at Raymond Walters College, University of Cincinnati. A frequenter of Paul Bartel's shop, ‘the Baroque Violin,’ he was encouraged to write of his own experiences as a student violinist. Dr. Sulkes recently published an article on the background of individual Stradivarius violins in Cincinnati Horizons.

Baroque Violin

Baroque Violin

Baroque Violin Technique

Baroque Violin Technique

Baroque violin

Baroque violin

Baroque Violin

Baroque Violin

French Baroque Violin Literature

French Baroque Violin Literature

A Baroque Violin from Northumberland

A Baroque Violin from Northumberland