ILLUSTRATIONS
Reading edition
King René of Anjou with his Court Musicians Frontispiece
From the Breviary of King René, written and illuminated in the Fifteenth Century by some of those appearing in the picture. Preserved in the Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal, Paris.
First Violin, Symphony Society of New York, Alexander Saslavsky Facing page 10
A Little Savoyard in Paris with vielle, or hurdy-gurdy (old print) 14
St. Cecilia 18
From the Adoration of the Lamb by Jan and Hubert van Eyck, in the Cathedral of St. Bavon, Ghent. St. Cecilia is playing the organ, one of the Angels a harp (of the “Irish” type) and another a violin without “bouts” and with crescent-shaped sound-holes. Note the peculiar and archaic shape of the bow. This picture was painted in the Fifteenth Century.
Violin by Gasparo di Salò 22
Violin by Maggini 24
Cremona in 1830 26
From an engraving by Caporali.
Violin by Antonius and Hieronymus Amati 30
The Hellier Stradivari 34
Bought by Sir Samuel Hellier of Womborne, Staffordshire, England, from Stradivari about 1734. It was made in 1679, but its history between these dates is unknown. The Hellier Stradivari is one of the most famous examples of Stradivari’s work and is one of his very rare inlaid violins. The bows are of an old model, as their points plainly show, made before the days of Tourte.
Violin by Guarneri del Gesù 38
Used by Paganini in most of his concerts. Now in Genoa.
Instrument-maker’s Workshop (Eighteenth Century) 40
From the Encyclopaedia of Diderot and d’Alembert.
François Tourte, “the Stradivari of the bow” 44
First Viola, Symphony Society of New York, Samuel Lifschey 48
Viola d’amore 50
Owned by the University of Edinburgh. Note the beautiful inlay of the tail-piece and neck, the carved female head instead of scroll with the eyes strangely veiled. The sound-holes of the “flaming-sword” type are beautifully and gracefully cut. This instrument lacks the “sympathetic strings,” with which it was originally strung.
Gaspard Duiffoprugcar 52
Viola da Gamba 54
Made by Gaspard Duiffoprugcar, with picture inlaid in the back.
First violoncellist, Symphony Society of New York, Engelbert Roentgen 56
Viola da Gamba 60
Owned by the Museum of the Brussels Conservatory of Music. The back is of rosewood. The inlay, neck, scroll and tail-piece (carved in the shape of Mercury’s caduceus) are of ivory. The instrument is an exquisite work of art. It is of later date than the viola d’amore facing page 50, as the crescent-shaped sound-holes show.
Gentleman of the Seventeenth Century playing the viola da gamba, or basse de viole 64
First Double Bass, Symphony Society of New York, Morris Tivin 68
Lutemaker’s shop and Two Men playing the Double Bass. Date 1568 70
First Flute, Symphony Society of New York, George Barrère 74
Frederick the Great playing a flute concerto with his orchestra at Sans Souci 78
By Chodowieki.
First Oboe, Symphony Society of New York, Henri de Busscher 84
Cor Anglais, Symphony Society of New York, A. Bianco 90
Bassoon, Symphony Society of New York, Ugo Savolini 94
Clarinet, Symphony Society of New York, Gustav Langenus 98
Contrabass Clarinet, Symphony Society of New York, Richard Kohl 102
Horn, Symphony Society of New York, Josef Franzl 106
Trumpet, Symphony Society of New York, Carl Heinrich 110
Trombone, Symphony Society of New York, R. Van der Elst 114
Tuba, Symphony Society of New York, Luca Del Negro 118
Tympani, Symphony Society of New York, Karl Glassmann 122
Percussion, Symphony Society of New York, Hans Goettich 126
Drum, Xylophone and Triangle, Symphony Society of New York, Samuel Borodkin 130
Theorbo 136
Made by Giovanni Krebar of Padua in 1629. The body is of ivory and the neck and peg-box of ivory engraved with a view of Venice, incised figures dancing and fencing and a garden scene. The pegs show that there were eight bass notes, or diapasons; a single string to each note, five double strings on the fingerboard and one, the highest of all and single, called the chanterelle, or melody string.
Three Chitaroni 140
The first is a theorbo, or bass lute, with a long upper neck to give length for the bass strings. It is five feet long. Notice the three sound-holes joined together (rosaces) and the mother-of-pearl ornamentation. This lute is strung with six pairs of strings on the fingerboard: each pair is tuned in unison. Seven single, or diapason strings (or open basses) are stretched from the upper peg-box. The Chitarone in the centre, also richly inlaid with mother-of-pearl, has also three connected sound-holes, six pairs of unisons upon the fingerboard and eight diapason, or open bass, strings on the neck. It is six feet long! The third chitarone has six pairs of unisons and seven diapason (or bass) strings. The neck is ornamented with checker work.
Claudio Monteverde 144
Car of musicians. Triumph of Maximilian 148
By Albrecht Dürer, about 1518.
Car of musicians. Triumph of Maximilian 150
By Albrecht Dürer, about 1518.
Car of musicians. Triumph of Maximilian 152
By Albrecht Dürer, about 1518.
Chamber music in France, in 1635 156
By Abraham Bosse.
One of the Twenty-Four Violins of the King, 1688 160
Jean Baptiste Lully 164
Engraved by Gérard Edelinck.
Marin Marais 170
The most famous player of the viola da gamba of the Seventeenth Century and Lully’s assistant conductor.
Arcangelo Corelli 178
Concert 182
Domenico Scarlatti at the gravicembalo (harpsichord); Tartini, violin; Martini, flute; Locatelli and Lanzetti.
Rameau 184
Portrait by Restout, engraved by Benoist. Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris.
Johann Sebastian Bach 186
Portrait by C. F. R. Lissewsky (1772) in the Joachimstalschen Gymnasiums, Berlin.
Handel 188
Portrait by Thomson.
Handel conducting the Orchestra 190
Handel at the cembalo (old print).
Gluck 194
Portrait by Duplessis.
Haydn 200
Portrait by Gutenbrunn painted in London in 1770. Engraved by Luigi Schiavonetti.
Mozart 208
Portrait by Cignaroli in 1770.
Beethoven 218
Portrait by Lebronne. Engraved by Höfer.
C. M. von Weber 232
Portrait by Schimon.
Schubert 238
Water color sketch by W. A. Rieder.
Mendelssohn 242
From a pencil-drawing by Bendemann in 1835. Autographed by Mendelssohn.
Berlioz 246
Lithograph by Fischer in 1863. Autographed by Berlioz.
Liszt 252
From a photograph taken in Budapest in 1875.
Wagner 258
Photograph taken in Munich.
Tschaikowsky 266
Photograph taken in Petrograd.
Saint-Saëns’s Festival Concert, Salle Pleyel, Paris, in 1896 268
Saint-Saëns at the piano; Sarasate, violin; and Taffanel conducting the Orchestra of the Société des Concerts du Conservatoire. Drawn by J. Grigny.
Debussy 270
Photograph taken in Paris.
Orchestra of the Symphony Society of New York 272
Walter Damrosch conducting.
Orchestra of the Eleventh Century 274
Development of the capital of a column in St. George’s, Boscherville, Normandy.
Page from Conductor’s score 276
Beginning of Second Movement of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.
Richard Strauss conducting 278
Minstrels playing harp, flute, and pipe and tabor 280
From an illuminated Ms. of the Romaunt of the Rose, owned by the British Museum. Fifteenth Century.
Harp of the Fourteenth Century (King David) 286
From a Ms. of the Fourteenth Century.
Violinist, singer, and lady at the virginal 292
From Playford’s Banquet of Music. Printed in the Savoy for Henry Playford at his shop near the Temple Church (London, 1688).
Concert with harpsichord 296
From Peter Preller’s Modern Music Master (London, Eighteenth Century).