The Baroque Violin

Created by Brescian craftsmen of genius near the end of the 16th century, the violin's basic design has not changed much in the course of 400 years. It looks a fairly simple instrument, but acousticians regard it as one of the most perfect. It has a remarkable versatility; its model is the human voice, which it rivals in emotional range, from the utterly lyrical to the brilliantly dramatic. The violin has had constant appeal for composers as a solo instrument, accompanied and unaccompanied since its creation.

It is considered that the great age of violin-making was the century between 1650 and 1750, when supreme Italian craftsmen emerged, of whom the most renowned are the Amati and Guarnini families, and Antonio Stradivari.

The violin played by Penelope Spencer was made by Franz Wernle, in the Mittenwald region of Germany in 1754. Her bow is a copy of an original from the same period in the possession of her former teacher, Sigiswald Kuijken.

'Baroque' or 'modern' violin?

Most violins that have survived from the baroque period have been altered to create a louder and more brilliant (but expressive in a different way) sound, sometimes with disasterous effects for the instrument. Baroque violins and the way they are played differ from their modern counterparts in the following ways:

• The neck was originally a bit shorter, and less angled relative to the body (the modern angle allows for higher tension)
• The strings were made of gut and not covered with metal
• The baroque bow was significantly different; less convex, with a sharper point, and less hair, allowing for a lighter and more flexible style of articulation, if less powerful tone production
• The way the violin was held is different from the modern technique, resting on the shoulder rather than clamped down with the chin, facilitating and demanding a different style of bowing, and allowing the instrument to resonate more freely.
• Vibrato (giving each note a wavy or trembling quality by wobbling the wrist) was not used constantly, as is often the case today, only as an ornament to decorate important notes, giving a more pure tone

The greatest difference, however, comes from a different approach to musical interpretation, aided by studying a lot of different types of baroque music, and the treatises written by baroque composers about how to play their music. We try to convey some of these clues we find in our Listening Packs when they are particularly interesting and relevant.