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    Seletsky, New Light On The Old Bow

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    enzo

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    6 OXFORD JOURNALS: New Light on the Old Bow: 1 Author(s} Robert E Seletsky Source: Early Music, Vol. 82, No. 2 (May, 2008), pp. 286-292+294-2964299-201 Published by: Oxford Univeroity Presa Stable URL: http/ [wow jstor-org/stable/3919368 ‘Accessed: 12-08-2014 15:03 UTC Your ws of he STOR ast nse or aceptnse fhe Tens Condon of Ue, Iagulne scarpgeiniantotpticetems ip STOR aot orp ence ht eps cars, sero, nd sues dicove, sed bald wena wie rang cnet inated digi arcve Weuse infer shroloy snl to icese pod and att ew foro ef scl. Fer mor frnion about STOR, lene cont spn. (eford University Pres inclining wi STOR opt, pesereand end ace Bly Msc ‘ic dole MG EA ona 2 og 650740 UTE rnd fotos. ton Ts 2 i 2 Robert E, Seletsky New light on the old bow—1 Context Divi Boyden opens his landmark History of lin playing from its gins r750 with a quotation from Michae Praetorius ‘Since everyone knows about the violin family, iis unnecessary to indicate or write anything further about it” Boyden is quick to note the irony of the statement, given the sant informs> ton on the early violin at the time of his research; tnd if dtals about the violin were considered too ‘obvious tobe dicusted atone tne there iseves es ‘writen about the violin bow until major changes were wrought in its design during the 1th century. ‘The late oth-centary period-nstrument move- ‘ment has codified its perceptions about various bow ‘ypes into an extremely under-informed methodol. ogy that now determines the appropriate bows for sven musical repertorss. David Boyden himself ‘wrote a considerable amount about the bow? but Seems not to have had acess to good sources; his vesion ofthe bow's history is fll of speculation ‘which as been accepted as fact by the eary-music and, toa large degree, susicological, communities in the abeenceof serious work by others. Neverthe- les, Boyden basic thesis is sound: the dengration ‘ofpre-Tourte bows by wgth-centary writers as crude ‘was eatonal in ight of the unmatched beauty and refinement of great ythe and a8thoentury sting ‘ntruments that required bows similar responsive and subvle. There i, however, a body of genuine Information inthe form of extant objects, mono ‘graphs, and iconography, that presents a believable timeline for the stages of the bow’s development stating in the sth century. Short bows By about 165, owing to rapidly developing tech- rlgue, players of string instruments begin to require, more sophisticated, beter balanced bows for clearer articulation, increased volume and a more complex sound, Ieonographic sources indicate that, until thn, dhe hair was atached atthe pont 5 itsil isin traditional non-Western ealtures slipped through a hole ora sit, then Knoted and wrapped See, for example, Guido Rens painting, Sante CCl che sua it vitino (1606) (lisa). Taree extant erly bows suggest an experiment in solving the problem of balance, and involve affixing an ‘ormamental cap of ivory or bone toa clinical tip ‘extension over hich the his logped to ofthese bows are in the Kunsthistorisches Museum of Vienna, ther caps missing (illsa}s the other is {ntact in Copeahagen's Claudius Museum. (Sly, it hha been the incomplete and hence, badly unbs anced, versions ofthis bow in Vienna that hve been ‘copied by contemporary makers.) This simple frm ofhairatachment may not have been uncommon, ‘appearing in wth-century and even some afth-cen- tury fconogrephy, and was probably retained in ‘unrefined folk bows for a very long time making the dating of such bows problematic), a8 shown in Judit Lester painting La joyeusecompagrie 1630) (lus). The solution customarily adopted in bows Intended for art music, probably appearing 3625, twas ¢ point thickened into a "pike head, the hai knotted and cusled inside «rectangular (or trapezoidal) mortise cut in the head, secured by loping over 2 snugly fitted wooden pg (ills). Robert E.Sletsy isan independent scholar and Baro vain, His published work has appeared in New Grove IL, Early susie, Opera quarterly, The new Harvard dictionary of music and the teres Recent Researches in the Music of the Classical Era. 286 RARLY MUSIC MAY 2004 “Ts cma donee fom 46185187800 T12 Ang 204 15:0930 UTC ifs setts [SPOR Tema Cons 1 ath-century pre pike bead Boe: bir knotted thro stick and wp: Goi Ren as 6), Sa aa ‘he sna vino (606) (Pasadem, CA, The Norton ‘Simon Fourdatan) 2 air loped over clini tp aero, ivory cap The hair ws similay secured into another mor- tse at the shank ofthe stick a erovable fog (nut), separating stick from har, ted to a reserve carved inthe stick ard held in place by har tension: bows oF this design are generally called ‘cip-in’ (lus), Although it preshuded fine adjustments of hal tension, the clip-in frog was nevertheless perfectly adequate; enough adjustment could be made by 3 Shorebow ofthe pein le, but nding in fale setting Judith Lester (6500-1650), compagnie (30) (Pas, Looe RE 23 © plato RMN) wedge ba, wedge 4 Head morte sn plug, as shown on amodern bow placing or removing slips flestheror other material, between hair and frog? Late spth-entury exper- ments with tension regulation device ike the den- tated ermal, where a movable frog is attached ‘with a metal loop to a small ache affixed along he top ofthe stick, sem not to have generated much interest (illus). In the few surviving apth-centary bows that retain ther origina frogs air channels BARLY Music MAY 2004 287 5 Chin frog ache are often wider than has prevowsy ben cmd ‘measuring as mach a 8 mi ‘Doubtless in part because of trade routes an co nization, hows had begun to be constructed of {eopicl hardwoods; ia the Tri des estruments de musique (3633) Pere Trichet suggests hat ows of ‘azwood, ebony and other slid wood, are the best.” The name ‘rszlwood’ probably meant something diferent to Trichet that it does 10 us today, asthe few extant 17dh-centary vilin bows almost without exception, are made of snakewood (opecklewood, leteood; Lats Paine guianen- 1), a remarkably dese, song, and best mate ‘razlwood is perhaps a generalized reference © the South American origin ofthe prefered mate ‘al, Ehony, obtained from Asia and Aftca, while a dense material i often lacking in strength its fextteme elasticity necessitating bows with gradu tions of exaggerated thickness and) weight, as demonstrated n extant ath-century examples! The ‘atious spetes of iromrood employed ike Sa Drama, ten ave properties similar to ebony, and like ebony, were probably reserved forthe natraly heavier bows intended fr use on larger instrament, ‘Seventeenth-centry iconography suggests a acs thetic preference for matching the lengths of bows with their instumente: while sth-cencury violin bows are shorter than ther later counterparts, Bows for violone,violoneela and bast viol are scen in iconography to ve been substantially longer, though « iter matchig of instrament and hase length i ite by practicality inthe eas of lager instruments, Braca instruments andthe lengths of their Bows, however, were easly co-ordinated, a6 shown in the paotings Sic Peter Lely Young m laying the violin (cx640) (usa) Pieter Claes, YVanitas ill 76); or ster, Antonio Domenico Gab- bian’s painting ofthe string band at the court of Grand Prince’ Ferdinando de? Medici (68s) 288 EARLY MUSIC MAY 2004 “Crema frog tachment ilas7e). The voln bow in ile. ate at th century specimen, $84 cm in total length, probe bly of English or reach provenance, with a highly figured snakewood stick and perambuco cip-in frogs another shore boss, probably of ea teth-centry English origin, in the Powerhouse Museum of Sjlney, Auswala, is under 64m, 7 Matching lengths of h-entry vl ‘pin bow ( abee) i Peter Ley ours man playing ‘all (cago) ( 1991 phot Sala, Foren coursy of the Miniter Beste Ati Csr (appa above) and ptebead Plter Caen (cis7-s69), Vonts (Nuremberg, Ge ‘ances Nationals (6 oppor blow) Axtnio Domenicn Gabblnl The ring bon of he Grand Prine edad de’ Medi e368) oughly the outer limi for this type of vilin bow. ‘The approximate fwo-foot measuterent (about 61 cm) evidenced by ieonogrephie soures and exten ‘objects conforms tothe description ofthe standard ila bow in Tames Talbots Manuscript, c1s85~ ‘zon” Though ies impossible to generalize about the weights of shor olin bows, the few extant ‘xamples weigh between 36 and 44 grams To cecunvent any prev lek of cesponsive ness toward the tip of pike-head bow caused bythe ‘minimal ble-to-sck distance, the stick was heated and bent—or perhaps carved—sighily outward in its uppermost few centimetres. The resulting Increase in height from har to stick made the bow ‘very fleible and responsive throughout it length, ‘even in is upper thir, hence the advice given by Bartolomeo Bismantovs (1675-3699) n his man script tretive Compeio muscle (9677) that "One ‘may play ssa! [division] the tip of the bow ‘wth shor strokes This sight convexity near the head maybe observed on the bow in usa in addi- tion to bint of concavity in its Lower thied that ‘ensures vertical stability piven the original frog's 22 1m height this marginal concavity an be perceived ‘vith tome effort een the fog is ernove withthe ‘convex Thump toward the head, the bow eas bescen to havea slight 'S' shape when loose. With the frog “clipped in place under paying tension, h-ce tury bows appear somewhat convex. While a mathematically applied inward curve— camine—did not play an organic pat inthe design ‘ofthe easly bow the bending of wood with hes Woe 4 wel-nown proces in furntute-and insteument- ‘making. In general, soakewood isso strong and elas- ti thatthe systematic addition of curve to increase resistance and strength was nat considered applica ble; however some extant tth> and eayath-cen- tury bows do have small amounts of inward bend. A logieal working hypothesis miht be dat such curve ‘wes applied by makers in modest, localized amounts te correct anomalies i the stick that ompromised its optimal functioning, Iconography and extant abject seem to hear out these observation; more over, the deliverate addition of overall camre in ‘ew bows ir dscsed inthe late xt entry with a sense of novel, However, one must coasidr that 28 Theviolinhoss eatin {a shor ple he bow, snakewood sch, orig prnunbuco ip rg: glh or French xt, eg scm {pete clletion {b) lng svan-bil-hed bows nakewood ick with ese sip te, original plumed clip fog stamped ‘Son both ke: Engh send em (private ealeton); {© tensions btleate Bead bows penabaco ack, hry open-channel crews and baton: probaly French 75 eng (a) moder m(nlading buon} (Oxford Ashmnaenn {eo} the bows eotion 1s show in Waldemar, Gre (gy Cramer, (ot? 290 say 2004, eur, Hil Colleton 0354 thet heed bow, pertnbuce ck, ed cnn ebony sre fog wih orale mothe-f pat sie ‘Serbs late and bation by Bangi Fore, Paris 790 lena 745m (ncloding buon: ndtade dang, e798 Ce) ‘Corel, (long Tat, ‘his comet dovandd rom 46186 187 80 Tue, 2 ag 2081540201 ‘hie ut JS Tem Can cambre can be added or subtracted at any time, and that in bose under tension it may relax somewhat overtime. Short bows andlong bows Performers were evidently satised withthe short violin bow well int the ath century. However, the ‘experiments of luthiees in the fist quarter of the ‘entiry—of slighalyeallee—resuled in suse tally Longer vnin bow, between 66 and 72 em in total length, generally weighing between 45 and 55 gram, nthe middle ofthe sth century a numberof ‘writers credited Giuseppe Tartni (692-1770) wth suggesting the lengthening of the bow; however, these aterbution, some copied fiom each other and further embroidered over time, seem to have litle substance, especially asthe ealiest appear in the ‘40n" References to longer bows are found well before any association with Tarn, though with some variation io the perception of length In 70: Frangois Reguenct notes of the Halians that ‘hele ‘hows arelonge’ Roger North (us1-734) writes at roughly thesame period as Raguenet, about the Very long bow’ used by Italian vrtooso violinist Nicol Mattes (d 1742) who had emigated to England in the 16708, but ewer refers to it as bipedalian’— oughly 61cm, orth length ofa short bow, unless he imply estimating In ‘James Talbot's Manu exactly contemporaneous with North, the Author observes that the two-foot bow-—about ‘61cm-—was the most common, but goes on to sty that bows for Solo's or Sonata’ canbe two or three inches—about § to 75cm—longer, yielding total Teng of approximately 66cm snd o8 em respec- tively, peshaps the eaelist specific reference to gen tunel longer boos.” North might have been accus- tomed to bows that were somewhat shorter: indeed the bow in illussa is only 5.4 em ong, but a difer- nes af under em hardly seems enough fo Nowth to view Matt's bow as "very Tong It does, there- fore, sem that North's perception is inexact, the length of Mate's bow more likely conforming to ‘the'solo' bow detribed by Talbot Hawkins, in 776, seems to confit information fom North and Tal- bot while adding a specious secondary deduction sehen he wrote confusingly, that ‘In the year 1720, ‘Dow of twenty-four inches 61m] was, on account ‘ofits length, called a Sonata (slo] Dow; the com- ‘mon bow was shorter and the Brench bow mast have been shorter sil.” Unaubstantited asump- ‘ions ofthis kind cloud the issue ofthe bow'schar- acteristics throughout its history, such errors repented and compounded to this day. "The above early examples of longer “oo? bows may have been exceptional, as writen and icono- [rupic evidence does indieat tha the shor bow of bout 63 cm was the standard for as many a ve ‘decades beyond 1700. The gueat Arcangelo Corel (0653-173), perhaps the most revered of ll com posers through mich ofthe 8th century, came tobe ‘emblematic of short-bow use, eventhough during his own ifetime there was satay 2 choice between short and long bows: indeed, in the ate th century, ‘nen ove types were named for noted exponents the short bow was called 2 ‘Corelli bow’ Robert Bremner (713-9), 2 pupil of Coreli disciple Francesco Geminian (167-1762) and thus probebly privy to information about Corelli weoteins7: hae heen noe et Carel jad no peorme 0 [ayia bs band who coll ot wth one are a is bw, [Gres ees power sound ett of nega om ‘ro sing son and continu ater scons et Ie thet of thts at tha ie i ot xed sventy he "Twenty inches-—under 51 em—is certainly 100 short an etme, Tabor’ dimensions of customary bows contemporary with Corl is more beievabl, but Bremner's remarks cerainly identify Corel ‘withthe shore bow. ‘A intresting reference comes from ater writ- tenon 2 January 1731 by the Prince of Momo, who hha sent a talented young volnist named Pilon to Paris in onder to. saly with Jean-Rley Rebel (as6s-i747)—one of Lal's successors at the ‘Académie Royale de Musigue—and Franjis Feamseus (s691787). Upoa Peillon's return, the prince writes that Pein apie tt, but a cern not accused 0 the ang bo tt he ond suas pea igh hy were when he ony aso! bow wih Wh Ie srteute [acoe} sore en abst dno ll ina the poston of hting ens azn ier hay fog wick tae pore to aoa! with te ‘Se one longo BARLY MUSIC MAY 2004 291 ‘eso rend 14618518748 Te 2 hg 204 15.020 TC “Ain eto nad ae ‘The prince subsequently sent him to Torin to seudy with G, B, Somis (1686-27), a follower of CCore—hence, an advocate of the short bow. It should be noted that although thse events occurred safer 1730, (1) Tatin’'s name is never mesioned in ‘connection withthe longbow (3 its use was earned in Pais, despite perceptions of French conservatism inthe mater and (3) Pellon's new Tuan teacher tras specifically cuss Devas he nas ofthe shor= bow school. Besides added length, the mild convexity in the ‘uppermost few centimetres came to be replaced ‘more regularly, though by no means invaiely by 2 Slightly moze devated head that served the same Function, frequently resulting ina distinct ‘swan bil profile; te stick was completely straight when loose, though still slighty convex in playing contin, Decades afer the ft, Tati received credit for adding head eight aswell The new bows wereiden- {ifed during th period simply as “long bows’, and uch later as "Tartini Bows’ In point of fact, Tar- tin’ long bow, preserved atthe Conseratorio di Musica 'G, Tan in Tiiste, basa small low pike head rather than «san bill I addition, the swan bill head appears fa earirthan the long bow isl and ie seen on the short bow in the Gabbia ing, 1685, albeit on a proportionally smaler sale (Gee illas7e), Not infrequent, the round grip area ‘ofthe stick was eeded—that is, carved with shallow, Inarrow flues, ether for a mare secure hod, or for decoration, ‘The reeding may so have been iended to serve aa conduit forthe players perspi= ‘ation, preventing the round sick from slipping in the hand when damp. The long bow in isa is probably of English provenance, e175, with asnake- ‘wood stick, 71.7 cmt in length, weighing 54 grams ‘with is orignal plumswood clip-in frog of2.5 mm eight and hair wid of 2 mm. Thegripareaisele- timely oud with a ines teenating in ented fomamental head banding, the reeding reflected in the tck’s lowest em, appearing to moder ees as ‘sere-button, There area least thee ery silar extant bows: Hill Cllecton nog in the Ashmolean ‘Museurm, Oxfore, «bow in the Brusels Conserva~ toire, and one in a private British collection. tis possible that al four bows ae the work of the same pron, The bow lustated, also privately owned is 292° EARLY MUSIC. MAY 2004 “hie conn aie 145 185187 Te the only one to retain its orginal cip-in frog (the

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