Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 24.djvu/268

Rh 246 V I O V I O the older to be in fair preservation, this is true ; it is also true that of old violins the best, as a rule, have survived. Good violins, however, have been continuously made, and are still being made, though since the middle of the 18th century the cheapness of the &quot;trade&quot; fiddle, made by the hundred by divided labour, has much circumscribed the business of the higher- class workman. The best workmen of different countries differ little in merit ; but it is seldom that any maker out of Italy is successful in varnishing his work so as to impart to it the superior resonance which characterizes the best Italian violins. The varnish, originally merely orna mental and preservative, has become an essential part of the work, from its intimate connexion with the tone. The secret of making varnish is not lost, as is sometimes stated ; the difficulty consists in applying and drying it with reference to the climate where the operation takes place. In moist climates, oil varnish, which is the best, dries too slowly ; hence the use of spirit varnish, which is more manageable, but has not the effect of permeating the superficial tissues of the wood so as to increase and perpetuate its elasticity. Many well-made modern violins, notably those of some French makers, have proved failures, because they have, under a mistaken belief, been made out of old and dry wood. After a few years pine begins to lose its elasticity ; the old makers used wood* that was only just sufficiently seasoned, and they preserved its elasticity by applying their varnish at once. It is also commonly said that a flat violin is preferable to a high- modelled one. This must be accepted with some modification. Instruments which are excessively flat should be avoided, for reasons above stated. A moderate height, rather less than the medium, is most favourable to vibration ; what is really essential is that the sound-holes should be in horizontal planes, not in planes inclined at a considerable angle to the transverse section of the instrument. Such sound-holes, as may be proved at once by the ear, have the property of immediately letting out the vibrations of the small mass of air which lies directly under the bridge, and thus rob the great mass of air in the body of the fiddle of the impulse necessary to set it properly in vibration ; hence the tone, though quickly yielded and not feeble to the ear of the player, is found at a short distance to be deficient in force and flexibility. The violins most in request are the larger specimens of the Amati family, of Stradivari and his best pupils, and of the two cousins Giuseppe Guarnieri, the instruments of Giuseppe called &quot; del Gesu,&quot; from his use of the sacred monogram on his tickets, being by some players preferred to those of Stradivari. For old instruments of the best class purchasers must be prepared to pay from 200 to 600, according to their quality and state of preservation. Second- class old Italian instruments, and first-rate specimens of the best school of French copyists, can usually be bought for smaller sums down to 20. The chief seats of the wholesale violin manufacture are Mirecourt in France and Markneukirchen in Saxony. The violin bow, which is made of Brazil wood, was reduced to its present admirable shape about 1780 by Francois Tourte of Paris (1747-1835), whose bows are still esteemed above all others. A fair Tourte bow is generally worth 10 ; but a fine one has been sold for 30 ; and one of his best violoncello bows, which are rarities, was recently sold in Paris for 44. Bows, however, which leave little to be desired are made in great numbers by English, French, and German makers. A good bow is of more importance to a player than a good violin ; something may be done with an indiffer ent instrument, but no one can play with a bad bow. The best strings have always been made in Italy ; the climate of northern Europe is unsuitable for the manufacture. Good strings are essential to the player, and they should be frequently changed, as they only retain their shape at the place where the bow touches them, and their elasticity, for a limited period. For further information on the history of stringed instruments, the reader is referred to Vidal, Les Instruments a Archet, 3 vols. 4to (Paris, 1876-79) ; Riihl- inann, Gesch. der Bogen-Instrumente (Brunswick, 1882); and the various articles in Grove s Dictionary nf Music and Musicians. The best handbook of violin- makers is Hart s Violin (London, 1875-80). The process of violin-making is well described in E. H. Allen s Violin-Making as it was and is (London, 1S85). A smaller work, which can be recommended, is Maugin s Manuel (hi Luthicr (Paris, 1869). The art of playing the violin has been practically treated at length by Campagnoli, Baillot, Spohr, Ferdinand David, Alard, and many other professors of the various schools ; but the only attempt to explain it system atically with reference to sound scientific theory is contained in an unpre tending brochure by Karl Courvoisier (Die Violin-Technik, Cologne, 1878), which it is impossible to praise too highly. See also Musical Instruments, His toric, Bare, and Unique, by A. J. Hipkins (Edinburgh, 1SS7). (E. J. P*.) VIOLLET-LE-DUC, EUGENE EMMANUEL (1814-1879), French architect and writer on archaeology, was born at Paris on 27th January 1814. He was a pupil of Achille Leclere, and in 1836-37 spent a year studying Greek and Roman architecture in Sicily and Rome. His chief interest was, however, in the art of the Gothic period, and, like Sir Gilbert Scott in England, he was employed to &quot;restore&quot; some of the chief mediaeval buildings of France, his earliest works being the abbey church of Vezelay, various churches at Poissy, St Michel at Carcassonne, the church of Semur in Cote-dOr, and the fine Gothic tow T n-halls of Saint- Antonin and Narbonne, all carried out between 1840 and 1850. From 1845 to 1856 he was occupied on the restoration of Notre Dame in Paris in conjunction with Lassus, 1 and also with that of the abbey of St Denis. In 1849 he began the restoration of the fortifications of Car cassonne and of Amiens cathedral ; and in later years he re stored Laon cathedral, the chateau of Pierrefonds, and many other important buildings. He was an intimate friend of Napoleon III., and during the siege of Paris (1871) gave valuable help as an engineer to the beleaguered army. 2 He held many important offices, both artistic and political, and was for many years inspector-general of the ancient buildings throughout a large part of France. His last work was the general scheme for the Paris exhibition buildings in 1878. He died on 17th September 1879. As a designer Yiollet-le-Duc occupied only a secondary place ; but as a writer on medieval architecture and the kindred arts he takes the highest rank. His two great dictionaries are the standard works in their class, and are most beautifully illustrated with very skilful drawings by his own hand. Yiollet-le-Duc was a man of the most varied and brilliant abilities, endowed with a power of work which has seldom been equalled. He was at once an artist, a man of science, a learned archaeologist, and a scholar. His map showing the rock contours and the glaciers of Mont Blanc is a model of its kind, which combines great artistic beauty with the accuracy of the most skilful engineer. His strong poetical fancy enabled him to reconstruct the life and buildings of the Middle Ages in the most vivid way. His principal literary works were the Dictionnaire de T Architecture Fran^aisc du XL au XVI. Sieclc, 1853-69 ; Dictionnaire du Mobilicr Franqais, 1854-75 ; L Architec ture Militaire au Moyen Age, 1854 ; Habitations Modcrncs, 1874- 1877 ; Histoire d unc Maison, 1873 ; Histoirc d une Fortcrcsse, 1874 ; Histoirc de T Habitation Humaine, 1875 ; Lc Massif dc Mont-Blanc, 1876; V Art Russe, 1877; Histoire d un Hotel- dc-Villc et d unc Cathedrale, 1878 ; La Decoration dppliquee aux Edifices, 1879 ; as well as many minor works dealing with separate buildings. VIOLONCELLO. See VIOLIN. VIOTTI, GIOVANNI BATTISTA (1753-1824), violinist and musical composer, was born at Fontanetto in Pied mont, on 23d March 1753. He learned the rudiments of music from his father, a veterinary surgeon and an amateur horn-player; and in 1764 Giovannini taught him the violin for a year. Two years later he was placed by the Marchesa di Voghera under the violinist Pugnani at Turin. In 1780 Viotti, having already made himself a name, travelled through Germany and Poland to Eussia, where the empress Catherine honoured him Avith marks of extra ordinary favour. He next appeared in London, in com pany with Pugnani, and at once achieved a brilliant and lasting reputation. In 1782 he was equally successful in Paris. Two years later he was appointed leader of Prince de Soubise s private orchestra; and in 1788 he undertook the direction of the opera, raising the performances, with Cherubini s assistance, to a very high level. Viotti also joined with Feydeau-de-Brou in constructing the famous Feydeau theatre. In 1790 the Revolution compelled him to fly to England ; but a charge of Revolutionary espionage drove him for a time to Hamburg, whence, however, he returned in 1795. From that time he resided almost uninterruptedly in London until 1818, when he once more settled in Paris, resumed the direction of the opera, and retired in 1822 with a pension. He died in London on 10th March 1824. Viotti s playing was distinguished by an extreme purity of style, a magnificent tone, and an endless variety of poetical and ima ginative expression. He was undoubtedly the best violinist of the age, and the best composer for his instrument. Among his works are 29 violin concertos, a series of symphonies concertantes for two violins, 45 duos, 18 trios, and 21 quartetts, and a great number of sonatas, notturnos, and other instrumental works. His school was worthily perpetuated by his pupil Rode. 1 He published in 1867-69 a fine work showing his not very success ful coloured decoration applied to the chapels of Notre Dame. See his Menwire sur la Defense de Paris, 1871.