Building the Trio Sonata Cycle | Preview: the Baroque Violin
- Leah Froyd
- Jul 27
- 3 min read
Welcome to the first preview of our concert cycle, Building the Trio Sonata. Our concerts start August 24th and run to the 31st. Instead of focusing on the composers, we will spotlight the various instruments in the ensemble as they are very different to the modern instruments you usually hear in concert halls and recordings!
Concert Schedule
we suggest a voluntary donation of $35 as part of your reservation to help support future Insight projects and to keep current programming accessible to everyone.
The Baroque Violin
This week we will spotlight the Baroque Violin.
The baroque violin’s design was standardized in the 1600s. There were many variations of bowed instruments but repertoire for this specific instrument helped specify it’s design and range.
The most obvious differences between baroque and modern violins came about due to comfort and to accommodate the developing repertoire and style: for example the addition of the chin rest was invented by violinist and composer Louis Spohr in 1820 to create a more secure hold for the player in order to execute more complicated and involved techniques.
Another notable physical difference between the baroque and modern violin design is the length of the fingerboard: notice the length of the fingerboard on the modern model is much longer to enable the playing of higher pitched notes— the neck of the modern violin is also angled to increase the tension of the strings as the material used for the strings transitioned from organic material (gut) to synthesized. In the the video above you may hear that the gut strings have a bit more texture and “grit” to what you may expect from a modern violin.
Now listen to the same piece played on a modern violin— the quality of the tone is much different when compared side by side! This is because of all the factors mentioned above — the modern violin is optimized to have a cutting, glossy sound, the baroque violin prioritizes articulation to stand out in highly resonant cathedrals.
The Baroque Bow
The last innovation we’ll talk about today is the invention of the modern bow.
Notice the predecessors of the modern bow form an arch whereas the modern iterations have a convex bend. The arch allows a certain bouncy-ness in articulation, however they were considerably shorter than today’s bows which made it difficult to sustain notes. The arch shape also made it easier to create natural crescendi whereas the modern bow leaves the shaping of the notes to the player.
The modern bow was developed by François Tourte, the son of a violin luthier who lived between 1747-1835. This time period was the gave way of many new and exciting violin techniques developed by composers like Beethoven, Schubert, Rossini, and the illustrious Paganini. Their compositions were extremely flashy and demanding for both the player and instrument and so many of the problems mentioned above became increasingly crucial to solve.
Tourte, having additional experience being a watch maker before joining his father in their family business is credited to inventing the modern bow design. The modern Tourte bow ingeniously address the sustain by lengthening it while maintaining the springyness by using pernambuco wood. Today, Tourte’s original bows sell at auction for upwards of $25,000!
Listen to Caprice No. 5 composed by Nicolo Paganini and notice the importance of sustaining the notes in the first section and the way the bow is manipulated to bounce (spicatto + riccochet) in the second section pushing the violin and soloist to their most virtuosic abilities!
Want to hear it in person?
Have burning questions about the music?
Have something else to share with other members of our community?
Our general admission sale is currently underway for our next concert series in San Francisco. You can now reserve a seat at any of our upcoming concerts!!
Program
Cento partite sopra passacagli, F 2.29 | Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643)
Cello Sonata in D major No. 1 | Giovanni Platti (1697-1763)
Selection TBD
Violin Sonata in G Major BWV 1021 | J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
Selection TBD
--Intermission--
Sonata in A Major Op. 3 | Jean Marie Leclair (1697-1764)
Sonata da chiesa a tre in F Major | Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713)
I. Grave
II. Allegro
III. Vivace
IV. Allegro
Homage to Corelli | Cooper Grosscup b. 1994
I. Grave
II. Allegro
III. Vivace
IV. Allegro
See you soon!!
Leah Froyd
President of Insight Chamber
Comments