Music and Art Mia TOA MES GATOS A Quartet of Ornamented String Instruments Antonio StradivariAn exhibition organized by Krannert Art Museum in association with the Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center, the University of Illinois Library Sousa Archives and Center for American Music at the University of [llinois at Urbana-Champaign. 20 October through 3 December 2006Exhibition supported in part by a grant from the Illinois Humanities Council, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Illinois General Assembly, Sheila C. Johnson, and the Office of the Chancellor. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of the Illinois Humanities Council or the National Endowment for the Humanities, or the Illinois General Assembly. The Arts in Concert In 17th and 18th century Europe, the arts of painting, poetry, sculpture, architecture, theater, and music overlapped and intertwined. This exhibition brings together works from Krannert Art Museum, The Rare Book & Manuscript Library, and the Music Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign that provide an artistic and cultural context for the quartet of Stradivari instruments on loan from the Smithsonian Institution. Some works on paper record public spectacles and theater sets, while the staged compositions in paintings by Tiepolo and Sebastiano Ricci display a debt to the performing arts. Canaletto, who began his career as a scenery painter, is represented by an etching in a pastoral mode, a genre shared by a variety of arts. Allegory, common to both Baroque painting and opera, is illustrated by Bartolomeo Coriolano’s rare chiaroscuro woodcut. An imaginary, monumental architectural plan by Piranesi is juxtaposed with a similarly grandiose stage design by Giuseppe Galli-Bibiena. These works are joined by musical selections that not only supply a contemporary background, such as Arcangelo Corelli’s violin sonatas, but also emphasize musical instruction. The Violin Schoo] by Leopold Mozart (Wolfgang Amadeus’ father) illustrates the right and wrong way to play a violin, while more sonatas by the great Italian violinist Giuseppe Tartini are dedicated to a student and benefactor. Robert G. La France Associate Curator of Pre-Modern Art Krannert Art MuseumDetail of the Ole Bull violin (1687) Photograph by Isabelle Francais 1985 The Noble Violin The violin is an icon of cultural nobility. It is the eminent voice of symphonies, operas, chamber ensembles and nearly all manner of Western music, The names of such 17th-century luthiers (makers of stringed instruments) as Nicold Amati (1596-1684), Andrea Guarneri (1623-1698), and Antonio Stradivari (1644/9-1737) became emblems of artistic excellence in the 19th century and continue to symbolize distinction in craftsmanship today. The violin’s inconspicuous birth in the 16th century and its early use to accompany religious festivals, civil ceremonies, and village dances held little promise for its future. The gentle tone of the viola da gamba, a fretted six- and seven-string instrument played with a bow, reigned supreme among court musicians in Italy, Germany, and France. Philibert Jambe de Fer (1548- 1564), a French Renaissance composer, expressed in his treatise Epitome musical, des tons, sons, et accordz...Violes & violons (1556) “the common opinion that the violin was a low-class instrument because there are few persons who use it save those who make a living from it through their labor, whereas with the viola da gamba gentlemen, merchants and other virtuous people pass their time.” The violin quickly became a principal instrument of the civic art music ensembles of northern Italy by the middle of the 16th century as the number of skilled luthiers increased in such cities as Cremona, Verona, Turin, Modena, Mantua, Trent, Vicenza, and Ferrara. Brescia, a city situated north of Cremona, became an artistic center for violin and wind instrument consorts (small instrumental groups) during the 1550s and 1560s. Entire ensembles were frequently hired by the cities of Parma, Venice, and the court of Dresden.The first documented virtuoso of the violin, Giovanni Battista Jacomelli (ca. 1550-1608), came from Brescia as did the first two recognized composers of music for the violin, Biagio Marini (1594-1663) and Giovanni Battista Fontana (ca. 1589-ca. 1630). Early 17th-century violin consorts relied on 16th-century extemporaneous performance traditions and the playing of popular canzonas, ricercars, dances, and vocal music created by composers who were closely allied with the civic instrumentalist guilds. At the same time a new form of musical notation and performance tradition utilizing basso continuo (an instrumental bass line which runs throughout a piece, over which the player improvises a chordal accompaniment) was established. Increasingly sophisticated compositions required greater technical virtuosity and the formal realization of melody and harmony than these violin and wind ensembles provided. During the second half of the 17th century the leading Italian com- posers of string ensemble music no longer maintained close associations with the music guilds, which continued to promote the older improvised styles of performance, As musical tastes began to change the demand for string instruments capable of meeting the needs of more virtuosic violinists was fulfilled by luthiers such as Carlo Bergonzi (1683-1747) of Cremona, Matteo Goffriller (1659-1742) of Venice, Giovanni Grancino (1637-1709) and Carlo Giuseppe Testore (ca. 1665-1716) of Milan, and Giovanni Tononi (d. 1713) of Bologna, who continued to experiment and craft the finest instruments of the day. The evolution of the Italian trio sonata at the hands of Maurizio Cazzati (1616-1678), Giovanni Battista Vitali (1632-1692), and Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713) established an entirely new standard for the skilled performance of violin and string ensembles. While German, French, and English composers continued to write trio sonatas well into the 18th century, Italian composers began to concentrate their creativity on the new solo sonata and concerto that exploited the full range of color, power, and nuance of what was becoming the modern violin. Tomaso Albinoni (1671-1751) is frequently credited as the composer who differentiated the solo violin voice from the accompanying ensemble, but it was Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) who established the model for the solo violin sonata and concerto that was used by composers throughout Europe for the remainder of the 18th century. Like the composers, painters, and sculptors of his day, Antonio Stradivari was an extraordinary artist. He lived to the age of 93 and completed nearly 1,100 instruments—mainly violins, but also cellos, and a few violas, guitars, lutes, mandolins, pochettes (a small bowed, unfretted fiddle), and even a trumpet marine (a bowed monochord equipped with a vibrating bridge). About 620 violins, 13 violas, and 63 cellos survive today. He brought the tradition of violin-making in Cremona to its apogee by striving to perfect the visual artistry and vibrant tone of the violin. During his lifetime, individuals throughout Europe sought out these instruments and, as a result, he became a wealthy man. But it was not until the late 18th and 19th centuries that the unique power and tonal richness of Stradivari’s instruments gained appreciation by the violin virtuosos of the day. Such notable musical artists as Italian violinist Niccold Paganini (1782-1840) and Norwegian violinist Ole Borneman Bull (1810-1880) astounded audiences with their virtuosic displays on Stradivari’s instruments, which only heightened public fervor for these special violins, Paganini is said to have once remarked that Stradivari’s violins used only “the wood of trees on which nightingales sang.” Consequently, these individual instruments have acquired special names, histories, and nearly supernatural reputationsthat continue to foster the legacy of one of Italy’s most recognized makers of violins. Antonio Stradivari was a pupil of Niccold Amati in the early 1660s and his earliest documented violin dates from 1666. He was married twice and had a total of eleven children. In 1680 he purchased a house in the Piazza San Domenico of Cremona and lived and worked exclusively there. Stradivari was described as a tall, thin man who typically covered his head with a white woolen cap during the winter months and a similar white cotton one in the summer. He wore a white leather apron over his clothes, as was the custom of luthiers of his day, and he seldom took time away from his shop and his daily work. Stradivari completed his last violin at the age of 92. Scott W. Schwartz Associate Professor of Library Administration Archivist for Music and Fine Arts University Library and Sousa Archives and Center for American Music The Stradivari The Stradivari family of Italian violin makers flourished in Cremona (about 60 miles southeast of Milan) during the last part of the 17th and the first half of the 18th centuries. The family patriarch, Antonio Stradivari (1644/9-1737), is perhaps best known by the Latin form of his name, Stradivarius, which he used to sign his works, Two sons followed in his footsteps, Francesco (1671-1743) and Omobono (1679-1742), but his youngest son Paolo (1708-1775), a merchant, outlived his father and brothers and sold the Stradivari family workshop tools. The stringed instruments constructed from flame maple logs and varnished by Antonio are prized for their beauty and sound quality. The few instruments decorated with fine carving and inlay in the Stradivari workshop, such as the two violins and viola exhibited here, are the most rare. The Axelrod Stradivari Quartet of Decorated Instruments from the Smithsonian Institution consists of four named instruments made by Antonio Stradivari: the Ole Bull Violin (1687), the Greffuhle Violin (1709), the Axelrod Viola (1695), and the Marylebone Cello (1688). As is true for nearly all surviving violins, violas, and cellos of the Baroque period, the necks and fingerboards of these Stradivari instruments have been lengthened to increase their tonal power and brilliance.Stradivari's Living Legacy The famous violin-making families, such as the Stradivari, Amati, and Guarneri, were all active in northern Italy during the 17th and early 18th centuries, yet their fame had not reached today’s heights. Something besides { incredible craftsmanship was required. Perhaps the answer lies with the 19th century concept of the “artist-genius.” Previous musicians including Bach, Handel, and Mozart were con- sidered artisans under the employ of a wealthy patron. In the mid-1800s, the time of Beethoven, new trends fostered a shift in attitude as art for art's sake became the driving force. Musicians forged individual reputations for themselves and notable violinists like Paganini and Ole Bull, and their pianist counterparts such as Liszt and Chopin, astounded audiences with their virtuosity, becoming the first music superstars. Naturally these virtuosos sought out the best equipment. They found that Stradivari’s violins could deliver a sweet yet powerful tone across all four strings. The virtuosos’ endorsement, along with increasing rarity and the recent fervor for collecting finely-crafted Italian instruments have contributed to the fame and prices of Stradivari instruments. Although debates continue to rage, no one really knows why Stradivari’s violins have such excellent tone quality and strength. Speculations on varnish, available wood, the effects of fungi acquired during transit, and other theories have been proposed. Perhaps Antonio Stradivari was just a wonderful craftsman who understood acoustics and knew how to work with wood. Whatever the answer, his name is associated with fine | violins around the world. 4 Robin Kearton Director Champaign County Community Center for the Arts and Bow-Dacious String Band Stradivari's Decorative Designs ‘The precise creative process and the significance of the floriated arabesque designs on the sides and scrolls of the violins (the Greffuhle violin also features eagles and spotted dogs) were the subject of recent study at the Smithsonian Institution and the National Gallery of Art. This ornament was created by making shallow incisions into the 2-mm-thick maple ribs, which were then filled with a black material. That black substance was previously thought to be a mixture of fine ebony dust and animal hide glue. Preliminary results from the analysis of spectroscopy and CAT-scan studies suggest that it is composed of melted flakes of unrefined lac resin, that is the secretions of the Asian lac insect Laccifer laca (family Lacciferidae, suborder Homoptera), also called shellac. Design motifs sometimes reappear across great stretches of time in places remote from their origins. Antonio Stradivari may have encountered similar grapevine scrollwork in European and Islamic bookbinding, tiles, textiles, ceramics, metalwork, or prints and drawings. Scrolling vines with creatures from land, air, and sea are also common in Christian church mosaics and metalwork. The frequent appearance of vine scrolls in churches reflects the words of John 15:1—5: “I am the true vine ... the faithful are the fruitful branches in the Lord's vineyard.” If interpreted in this Christian vein, then the imagery on the instruments could be a sign of God's creation and the promise of everlasting life after death. Each of these Stradivari instruments is also adorned with a row of purfling, a narrow band of wood inlay inset into a groove cut just inside the edges of their fronts and backs. The purfling is more than ornamentation, it also strengthens the instrument’s borders and prevents the front or back from splitting if the edge is chipped. The Greffuhle and Ole Bull violins feature a double row of purfling, with ivory geometric designs.The Ole Bull Violin, 1687 Flame maple and a one-piece spruce top, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center The violin’s back is made from a single piece of flame maple, and the sides (also called ribs) and scroll are from a similar piece of wood. The top or belly of the violin is made from a single piece of spruce. The fully arched shape and size of this instrument was derived from Nicold Amati’s design for his “grand” violin. The length of the body measures 35.6 cm and its upper bout (the curve of the outline of the violin) measures 17 cm and the lower bout 21 cm. Stradivari violins are often named after past owners to indicate a unique identity and importance. This violin, also known as The Spanish, was once owned by Ole Borneman Bull (1810-1880), a virtuoso violinist, composer, and Norwegian patriot. His innovative techniques, ability to play polyphonically, and the integration of Norwegian and local folk music into his repertoire, made him famous across Europe. Bull first came to America in 1843 and immediately embraced American ideals of liberty for Norway. He toured extensively and played to sold-out houses in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Chicago, and San Francisco, In 1852 he purchased a tract of land in rural Pennsylvania to establish a Norwegian colony, but this scheme failed as well as an 1855 plan to open an opera house in New York. Financial troubles probably forced Bull to sell this Stradivari violin in London in 1862, the same year that his first wife died in Paris. Bull returned to touring America after the Civil War. In 1870, he married Sara Thorp, a wealthy American forty years his junior from Madison, Wisconsin. Over his long career, Bull owned other violins by famous Italian makers such as Gaspare da Sald, the Guarneri and Amati families, and Giovanni Paolo Maggini. Although, according to one account, he surrendered the Maggini to pay a small hotel bill in New York in the 1850s. The Greffuble Violin, 1709 Flame maple and two-piece spruce top, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center The violin’s back is made from a single piece of flame maple, and the sides and scroll are from a similar piece of wood. The top is made from a single piece of spruce. The length of the body is 35.8 cm, upper bout 16.9 cm, and lower bout 21 cm. The scroll measures 10.6 cm in length. This violin was formerly considered part of a group of decorated Stradivari instruments sold in 1775 to the Infante Don Carlos, later King Charles IV of Spain; but this claim has been refuted by recent studies. The violin apparently passed to England and then to France, where it was owned from 1882 until 1910 by the banker Henri Greffuhle (1848-1932, also spelled Greffulhe). In 1881, Henri had married Elisabeth de Riquet de Caraman (1860-1952), a famous beauty, musician, and arbiter of taste in French society, who founded the Société des Grandes Auditions Musicales, In 1962, American businessman Carl E. Tannewitz of Grand Rapids, Michigan purchased the violin from a German dealer. Notwithstanding its value, Mr. Tannewitz checked his Stradivari violin as baggage on flights to Florida and kept it in an imitation alligator case. The Greffuhle was sold at auction in 1977 and is now safeguarded by the Smithsonian Institution.The Axelrod Viola, 1695 Maple and two-piece spruce top, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center The instrument's back is constructed from two pieces of flame maple, and the sides and scroll are from a similar piece of wood. The top is made from two pieces of spruce. The length of the body is 43.1 cm, its upper bout 20.1 cm, and lower bout 25 cm. The scroll measures 14.3 cm in length. This viola, named after the American collector and recent owner, Dr. Herbert Axelrod, is one of only thirteen documented violas created between 1690 and 1734, and may possibly be the first of its type by Antonio Stradivari. The only information about this instrument comes from the records of the British violin makers and Stradivari scholars, William E. Hill & Sons, which trace its ownership back to 1803 and the international instrument dealer J. N. Durand. Durand went bankrupt several years later and the viola was sold to P. A. Kreutzer in London. The instrument then disappeared from public view for nearly thirty years before it was rediscovered by a British piano dealer in 1931. The Axelrod viola may have been originally crafted as a rare large tenor viola, It was then reduced in size by one of the members of the Fendt family of violin makers in London during the 19th century, who repaired and modified historic instruments according to the needs of their new owners, The Marylebone Cello, 1688 Maple and two-piece spruce top, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center The instrument’s back is constructed from four pieces of maple, while the sides and scroll are flame maple. The top is made from two pieces of spruce. The body measures 73.3 cm long. Its upper bout is 35.2 cm across and the lower bout 44.1 cm. The scroll is 21.5 cm long. The Marylebone cello was brought to England in 1800 and purchased by the English violin maker and dealer John Betts (1755-1823), one of the first importers of Italian instruments. It was eventually sold to the British financier Alexander Rivaz in 1821 and then given by his son to an Austrian violinist. In 1880, the cello was purchased by an eccentric collector named Payne of Marylebone, a district of West London. The cello was sold to several other collectors before it was purchased in 1933 by Dr. Pistor of Leipzig. The instrument remained in his possession until after World War II when it eventually found its way back to England. The 20th century designs that ornament the Marylebone cello were adapted from the Spanish Court Cello, the only one of its kind decorated in the Stradivari shop, now housed in the Royal Palace in Madrid. Robert G. La France Associate Curator of Pre-Modern Art Krannert Art Museum Scott W. Schwartz Associate Professor of Library Administration Archivist for Music and Fine Arts University Library and Sousa Archives and Center for American MusicChecklist of Exhibited Works The Axelrod Quartet of Ornamented Stradivari Instruments Antonio Stradivari (1644/9-1737), Italian The Ole Bull Violin, 1687 Flame maple and spruce Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center, Washington D.C. Antonio Stradivari (1644/9-1737), Italian The Greffuble Violin, 1709 Flame maple and spruce Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center, Washington D.C. Antonio Stradivari (1644/9-1737), Italian the Axelrod Viola, 1695 Maple and spruce Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center, Washington D.C. Antonio Stradivari (1644/9-1737), Italian The Marylebone Cello, 1688 Maple and spruce Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History, Kenneth E, Behring Center, Washington D.C. Works of Art Sébastien Bourdon (1616-1671), French Jacob and Rachel at the Well, ca.1640 Oil on canvas Gift of John Needles Chester, 1980-13-1 Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617-1682), Spanish Christ after the Flagellation, ca. 1670 Oil on canvas Ellnora D. Krannert 1960-4-1 Sebastiano Ricci (1659-1734), Italian Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery, ca. 1724-8 Oil on canvas Ellnora D. Krannert 1972-2-1 Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696-1770), Italian Saints Maximus and Oswald, ca. 1740-5 Oil on canvas Gift of Ellnora D. Krannert, 1965-13-3 Jacob Matham (1571-1631) after Pieter Cornelisz van Rijck (1567/8-ca. 1635), Dutch The Prodigal Son Dissipates His Wealth in the Pleasures of the Table, ca, 1620 Engraving Gift of E.E. Meyers 1939-5-1Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (1609-1664), Italian Melancholia, or Circe with Companions of Ulysses Changed into Animals, ca. 1646 Etching, second state Gift of the Estate of George W. Sanford 1963-4-103 Bartolomeo Coriolano (ca. 1599-ca. 1676) after Guido Reni (1575-1642), Italian The Alliance of Peace and Abundance, 1627 Chiaroscuro woodcut on blue-gray paper with gouache highlights, first state Art Acquisition Fund 1996-22-1 Giovanni Antonio Canal, called Canaletto (1697-1768), Italian View of a Town on a River Bank, ca. 1740 Etching, first state University Purchase 1957-21-1 Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-1778), Italian Pianta di ampio e magnifico Collegio... (Plan of a Spacious and Magnif- icent College...) originally published in Opere varie... (Rome: Bouchard, 1750), ca. 1761-5 Etching, second state Gift of Bates Lowry 1986-5-67 Anton Ospel (1677-1756), Austrian, after Giuseppe Galli-Bibiena (1695-1757), Italian Scena, Sala Reale (Scene of a Royal Hall) after a Scene from the Theatri- cal Performance on the Occasion of the Nuptials of the Prince Elector of Saxony (reversed), originally published in Giuseppe Galli-Bibiena, Architet- ture e prospettive (Augsburg: Andrea Pfeffel, 1740), ca. 1750 Engraving Gift of Amy Gottlieb 1984-19-3 Marcantonio Dal Ré (1687-1766), Italian Prospetto del gran ponte di barche gettato sul Pd... (Pontoon Bridge over the River Po at Casalmaggiore for the Entrance of Isabella of Parma, Consort of Joseph, Archduke of Austria, on September 13, 1760), ca. 1760 Engraving Courtesy of The Rare Book & Manuscript Library University of [llinois at Urbana-ChampaignBooks and Musical Scores Leopold Mozart (1719-1787), Austrian Versuch einer griindlichen Violinschule (The Violin School), 2nd ed. (Augsburg: Johann Jacob Lotter, 1769) Printed book with four engravings Courtesy of The Rare Book & Manuscript Library University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713), Italian XII Sonatas or Solos for a Violin, a Bass Violin or Harpsicord ... His Fifth Opera (London: John Walsh, 1733) Engraved musical score Courtesy of the Music Library, Special Collections University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Giuseppe Tartini (1692-1770), Halian Sonate a violino e basso. Opera seconda (Rome: published by author, 1745) Engraved musical score in original suede covered binding Courtesy of the Music Library, Special Collections University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign