original template by Ray Lam, Fall 97
web page by Marisha Barlatier 4/14/98
Welcome to the Violin Page. This page is divided into five sections:
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WHO: Antonio Strativari
WHERE:Italy WHEN:1690 |
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The violin is ÒA bowed string instrument consisting of a hollow resonating wooden body with an attached neck and pegbox.Ó The size of the violin depends on the size of the player. (1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 or full size). The full size violin is about two feet long. An adult would most likely use a full size, while a five-year-old would use a quarter size. The belly (front) of the violin is made of either a soft pine or spruce. The ribs (sides) and the back of the violin are made out of either sycamore or maple wood. The head and neck are made out of maple, and the fingerboard and tail piece are made out of ebony. All parts of the violin are glued together except two: the bridge-which holds up the strings, and the sound post-which is held inside the violin from the pressure of the strings; it keeps the violin from collapsing. The strings that are stretched across the body of the violin are tuned to fifths--the E string, A string, D string, and G string. ÒA bow, with its ribbon of rosined horsehair,sets the strings in motion, and this string vibration is transmitted through the bridge to the table and resonating body, thereby creating the instruments characteristics sound.Ó The four stringed, modern-day violin was finalized by the master craftsman Antonio Strativari in the year 1690. But Andrea Amati founded violin making in Cremona, Italy in the mid 1500Õs, and not only developed the proportions for the violin, but also the viola and cello. When he died, his sons continued his work, refining the body, the F holes. (1580Õs), until Strativari came along in the same Italian town and made the violins that we have today. The violin is probably the best known and most widely used of all orchestral instruments. Composers such as Ludwig van Beethoven, Antonio Vivaldi, and Johann Sebastian Bach have written long concertos for the violin, making the violin one of the most famous instruments. Randel, Don. ÒThe New Havard Dictionary of Music.Ó USA: The President and Fellows of Harvard College, 1986. |
| The Violin She picks up the instrument with small, careful hands, and lovingly tucks it under her chin. Then she carefully lifts the bow, and holding it delicately, begins to play a song. She makes beautiful music as she runs her bow lightly across the strings; it seems to come alive in her hands. Music spills from her violin like water from a waterfall, flooding every corner of the house. But as her fingers fly across the strings, they begin to slow with age. The young girl has become tired and sick and must give up playing her beloved instrument. And for the last time, these loving hands, though rough and wrinkled with age, Carefully, lovingly place the violin back in its case, and the cherished instrument is forgotten. But again, years later, two small, loving hands pick up the forgotten instrument, and she feels the smooth, cols wood under her chin. Then she carefully lifts the bow, and holding it delicately, begins to play a song. |
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