What the violin consists of detailed description. The history of the violin

It is generally accepted that the first bowed string instrument was invented by the Indian (according to another version - Ceylon) king Ravana, who lived about five thousand years ago. This is probably why the distant ancestor of the violin was called the ravanastron. It consisted of an empty cylinder made of mulberry wood, one side of which was covered with the skin of a broad-scaled water boa. The strings were made from the intestines of a gazelle, and the bow, curved in an arc, was made from bamboo wood. Ravanastron has been preserved to this day by wandering Buddhist monks.

The violin appeared on the professional stage at the end of the 15th century, and its “inventor” was the Italian from Bologna, Gaspard Duifopruggar. The oldest violin, made by him in 1510 for King Franz I, is kept in the Nidergey Collection in Aachen (Holland). The violin owes its present appearance and, of course, sound to the Italian violin makers Amati, Stradivari and Guarneri. The violins of the master Magini are also highly valued. Their violins, made of well dried and varnished maple and spruce plates, sang more beautifully than the most beautiful voices. The instruments made by these craftsmen are still played by the world's best violinists. Stradivari has designed a violin that is still unsurpassed, having the richest timbre and exceptional "range" - the ability to fill huge halls with sound. It had kinks and irregularities inside the body, thanks to which the sound was enriched due to the appearance of a large number of high overtones.

The violin is the highest-pitched instrument of the bow family. It consists of two main parts - the body and neck, between which four steel strings are stretched. The main advantage of the violin is the melodiousness of the timbre. It can play both lyrical melodies and dazzling fast passages. The violin is the most common solo instrument in the orchestra.

The Italian virtuoso and composer Niccolo Paganini greatly expanded the possibilities of the violin. Subsequently, many other violinists appeared, but no one could surpass him. Remarkable works for the violin were created by Vivaldi, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky and others.

Oistrakh, or, as he was called, "Tsar David", is considered an outstanding Russian violinist.

There is an instrument that looks very much like a violin, but is slightly larger. This is an alt.

MYSTERY

Carved in the forest, smoothly hewn,

Sings-poured, what's the name?

The violin consists of two main parts: the body and the neck, along which the strings are stretched.

The body of the violin has a specific rounded shape. In contrast to the classical form of the case, the shape of the trapezoidal parallelogram is mathematically optimal with rounded recesses on the sides, forming a "waist". The roundness of the outer contours and the "waist" lines ensures the comfort of the game, in particular in high positions. The lower and upper planes of the body - decks - are connected to each other by strips of wood - shells. They have a convex shape, forming "vaults". The geometry of the vaults, as well as their thickness, its distribution to one degree or another determine the strength and timbre of the sound. A darling is placed inside the body, transmitting vibrations from the stand - through the upper deck - to the lower deck. Without it, the timbre of the violin loses its liveliness and fullness.

The strength and timbre of the sound of the violin is greatly influenced by the material from which it is made, and, to a lesser extent, the composition of the varnish. An experiment is known with the complete chemical removal of varnish from a Stradivarius violin, after which its sound did not change. The lacquer protects the violin from changing the quality of the wood under the influence of the environment and stains the violin with a transparent color from light golden to dark red or brown.

The bottom soundboard (a musical term) is made from solid maple wood (other hardwoods), or from two symmetrical halves.

The top deck is made from resonant spruce. It has two resonator holes - efs (in shape they resemble the Latin letter f). A stand rests on the middle of the upper deck, on which the strings, fixed on the string holder (under the fingerboard), rest. A single spring is attached to the top soundboard under the leg of the stand on the side of the G string - a longitudinally located wooden plank, which largely ensures the strength of the top soundboard and its resonant properties.

The shells unite the lower and upper decks, forming the side surface of the violin body. Their height determines the volume and timbre of the violin, fundamentally influencing the sound quality: the higher the shells, the muffled and softer the sound, the lower, the more piercing and transparent the upper notes. The shells are made, like the decks, from maple wood.

The darling is a round spacer made of spruce wood that mechanically connects the soundboards and transmits string tension and high-frequency vibrations to the lower soundboard. Its ideal location is found experimentally, as a rule, the end of the homie is located under the leg of the stand on the side of the E string, or next to it. Dushka is rearranged only by the master, since its slightest movement significantly affects the sound of the instrument.

The neck, or string holder, is used to fasten the strings. Previously made from hardwoods of ebony or mahogany (usually ebony or rosewood, respectively). Nowadays, it is often made of plastics or light alloys. On the one hand, the neck has a loop, on the other - four holes with splines for attaching strings. The end of the string with a button (mi and la) is threaded into a round hole, after which, by pulling the string towards the neck, it is pressed into the slot. The D and G strings are often fixed in the neck with a loop passing through the hole. Currently, lever-screw machines are often installed in the neck holes, which greatly facilitate tuning. Serially produced are light alloy necks with structurally integrated machines.

Loop made of thick string or steel wire. When replacing a strand loop larger than 2.2 mm in diameter with a synthetic one (2.2 mm diameter), a wedge must be inserted and a hole with a diameter of 2.2 must be re-drilled, otherwise the point pressure of the synthetic string may damage the wooden sub-neck.

Button - a hat of a wooden peg inserted into a hole in the body, located on the opposite side of the neck, serves to fasten the neck. The wedge is inserted into the conical hole corresponding to it in size and shape, completely and tightly, otherwise cracking of the shred and shell is possible. The load on the button is very high, about 24 kg.

The stand affects the timbre of the instrument. It has been experimentally established that even a slight shift of the stand leads to a significant change in the instrument's tuning due to a change in the scale and to some change in timbre - when shifted to the neck, the sound is muffled, from it - brighter. The stand raises the strings above the top sounding board to different heights for the possibility of playing on each of them with a bow, distributes them at a greater distance from one another on an arc of a larger radius than the nut.

Fedor Glaznitsyn The violin is an instrument that has had a tremendous impact on music. It was widely used in classical pieces, where its flowing gentle sound came in very handy. Folk art also noticed this beautiful instrument, although it appeared not so long ago, but managed to take its place in ethnic music. The violin has been compared to the human voice, as its sound is fluid and varied. Its shape resembles a female silhouette, which makes this instrument alive and animated. Today, not everyone has a good idea of ​​what a violin is. Let's fix this annoying situation. The history of the appearance of the violin The violin owes its appearance to many ethnic instruments, each of which had its own influence on it. Among them are British crotta, Armenian bambir and Arabic rebab. The design of the violin is by no means new; many Eastern peoples have been using such instruments for centuries, playing folk music on them to this day. The viola acquired its current form in the 16th century, when its production was put on stream, great masters began to appear, creating unique instruments. There were especially many such craftsmen in Italy, where the traditions of creating violins are still alive. Since the 17th century, violin playing began to take on a modern form. It was then that compositions appeared, which are considered to be the first works written specifically for this delicate instrument. This is Romanesca per violino solo e basso by Biagio Marini and Capriccio stravagante by Carlo Farina. In subsequent years, violin masters began to appear like mushrooms after rain. Especially in this regard, Italy excelled, which gave birth to the largest number of great violinists. How the violin works The violin received its soft and deep sound thanks to a unique design. It can be divided into 3 main parts - this is the head, neck and body. The combination of these details allows the instrument to produce those bewitching sounds that brought him worldwide fame. The largest part of the violin is the body, on which all other parts are attached. It consists of two decks connected by shells. Decks are made from different types of wood in order to achieve the purest and most beautiful sound. The upper part is most often made of spruce, and for the lower part they use maple, sycamore or poplar.
As you play the violin, the top soundboard resonates with the rest of the instrument, creating the sound. In order for it to be lively and resonant, it is made as thin as possible. On expensive artisan violins, the top can be only a couple of millimeters thick. The bottom soundboard is usually thicker and stronger than the top, and the wood from which it is made is selected to fit the sides that connect both soundboards together. Shells and darling The shells are the sides of the violin, located between the upper and lower decks. They are made from the same material as the bottom deck. Moreover, wood from the same tree is often used for these parts, carefully selected according to texture and pattern. This design is held not only on glue, but also on small pads that increase its strength. They are called klots and are located inside the case. Also inside is a bass beam, which transmits vibrations to the body and gives additional rigidity to the top deck. On the body of the violin there are two cutouts in the form of the Latin letter f, which are called efs. Not far from the right cutout is one of the most important parts of the instrument - the darling. This is a small wooden beam that serves as a spacer between the upper and lower decks and transmits vibration. The darling got its name from the word "soul", which hints at the importance of this small detail. Craftsmen have noticed that the position, size and material of the homie have a significant effect on the sound of the instrument. Therefore, only an experienced violin maker can correctly position this small but important part of the body. tailpiece
The story about the violin and its design would be incomplete without mentioning such an important element as the string holder, or sub-neck. Previously, it was carved from wood, but today plastic is increasingly used for this purpose. It is the tailpiece that secures the strings at the correct height. Also, sometimes machines are located on it, which make setting up the instrument much easier. Before their appearance, the violin was tuned exclusively with tuning pegs, with which it is very difficult to make fine tuning. The sub-neck is held on a button inserted into the hole on the body from the side opposite the neck. This design is constantly under severe stress, so the hole must fit perfectly to the button. Otherwise, the shell may crack, turning the violin into a useless piece of wood. Vulture On the front of the case, the neck of the violin is glued, under which the musician's hand is located during the game. A fingerboard is attached to the neck - a rounded surface made of hard wood or plastic, to which the strings are pressed. Its shape is thought out so that the strings do not interfere with each other when played. In this case, he is helped by a stand that lifts the strings above the fingerboard. The stand has cutouts for the strings, which you can make yourself to your taste, as new stands are sold without cutouts.
There are also grooves for the strings on the nut. It is located at the very end of the neck and separates the strings from each other before they enter the pegbox. It contains the tuning pegs, which serve as the main tool for tuning the violin. They are simply inserted into wooden holes and are not fixed with anything. Thanks to this, the musician can adjust the course of the tuning pegs to suit his needs. You can make them tight and unyielding by applying light pressure during tuning. Or vice versa, take out the pegs so that they move easier, but keep the system worse. strings What is a violin without strings? A beautiful but useless piece of wood, good only for hammering nails into it. Strings are a very important part of the instrument, as its sound largely depends on them. Particularly important is the role of the material from which this small but significant part of the violin is made. Like everything in our world, strings develop and absorb the best gifts of the technogenic era. However, their original material can hardly be called high-tech.
Oddly enough, but sheep's intestines are what the ancient musical violin owes its gentle sound to. They were dried, processed and tightly twisted to subsequently receive a string. Craftsmen managed to keep the material used in the production of strings secret for a long time. Products made from sheep intestines gave a very soft sound, but wore out quickly and required frequent tuning. Today you can also find similar strings, but modern materials are much more popular. Modern strings Today, sheep intestines are at the complete disposal of their owners, since gut strings are rarely used. They were replaced by high-tech metal and synthetic products. Synthetic strings sound close to their gut predecessors. They also have a rather soft and warm sound, but lack the shortcomings that their natural "colleagues" have. Another type of strings is steel, which are made from various non-ferrous and precious metals, but most often from their alloys. They sound bright and loud, but lose in softness and depth. These strings are suitable for many classical pieces that require clarity and brilliance. They also hold the system for a long time and are quite durable. Violin. Long haul Over the long years of its existence, the violin has become popular all over the planet. Classical music especially glorified this wonderful instrument. The violin can brighten up any work, many composers gave it a leading role in their masterpieces. Everyone is familiar with the immortal works of Mozart or Vivaldi, in which much attention was paid to this chic instrument. But over time, the violin has become a relic of the past, the lot of a narrow circle of connoisseurs or musicians. The electronic sound displaced this instrument from popular music. Smooth flowing sounds are gone, giving way to a vigorous and primitive beat.
Fresh notes for the violin were usually written only to accompany films, new songs for this instrument appeared only with folklore performers, but their sound was rather monotonous. Fortunately, in recent years, many groups have appeared that perform modern music with the participation of the violin. The audience is tired of the monotonous love howls of another pop star, opening their hearts to deep instrumental music. fox violin A funny story put the violin in the song of the famous musician - Igor Sarukhanov. Once he wrote a composition that he planned to call "The creak of the wheel." However, the work turned out to be very figurative and vague. Therefore, the author decided to call it consonant words, which should have emphasized the atmosphere of the song. Until now, fierce battles are being fought on the Internet over the name of this composition. But what does the author of the song, Igor Sarukhanov, say about this? Violin-fox is the real name of the song, according to the musician. Whether this is irony or an interesting idea built on a play on words, only the resourceful performer himself knows. Is it worth learning to play the violin? I am sure that many people want to master this wonderful tool, but they abandon this idea without starting to put it into practice. For some reason, it is believed that learning to play the violin is a very difficult process. After all, there are no frets on it, and even this bow, which should become an extension of the hand. Of course, it is easier to start learning music with a guitar or piano, but mastering the art of playing the violin is only more difficult at first. But then, when the basic skills are firmly mastered, the learning process becomes about the same as on any other instrument. The violin develops the ear well, as it has no frets. This will be a good help in further music lessons.
If you already know what a violin is and have firmly decided to master this instrument, then it is important to know that they come in different sizes. For children, small models are selected - 3/4 or 2/4. For an adult, a standard violin is needed - 4/4. Naturally, you need to start classes under the supervision of an experienced mentor, since it is very difficult to learn on your own. For those who wish to try their luck in mastering this instrument on their own, a lot of textbooks have been created for every taste. Unique musical instrument Today you learned what a violin is. It turns out that it is not an archaic relic of the past, on which only the classics can be performed. There are more and more violinists, many groups have begun to use this instrument in their work. The violin is found in many literary works, especially for children. For example, Fenina's Violin by Kuznetsov, beloved by many children and even their parents. A good violinist can play any genre of music, from heavy metal to pop. We can safely say that the violin will exist as long as there is music.

Happy is the house where the singing of the violin guides us on the path
and gives us hope, the rest is somehow.
Happy is the instrument, pressed to the angular shoulder,
by whose blessing I fly through the sky ...

It is difficult to meet in our time a person who has no idea about the violin - the main musical instrument belonging to the bow family. The violin is one of the most noble, widespread and perfect musical instruments of our time. The queen of music - this is how this musical instrument, amazing in its beauty of sound, is most aptly characterized. Enormous performance possibilities, richness, expressiveness and warmth of its timbre ensured this instrument, together with its relatives - viola, cello and double bass, a leading position in symphony orchestras, in various kinds of ensembles, in solo performing practice and in folk musical life.

History of the violin

Information on the history of bowed musical instruments is not very rich and detailed, as we would like. From the history of India, Iran and other states, one can draw some information about the existence of these instruments over two millennia ago. It can be assumed that the first bowed instruments appeared among the Eastern peoples.
The most ancient bowed instrument, apparently, was the ravanostrone. It consisted of an empty cylinder made of mulberry wood, one side of which was covered with the skin of a broad-scaled water boa. A stick attached to this body serves as a neck and neck, and holes for two pegs are made at the upper end of the stick. The strings were made from the intestines of a gazelle, and the bow made of bamboo wood, curved in an arc, was equipped with hair. The sound of the ravanostron is weak, muffled, but pleasant. According to legend, the ravanostron was invented by Ravana, the king of Ceylon, 5000 BC. e. Ravanostron has been preserved to this day by the wandering priests of the Buddha.
The following ancient bowed instruments include the rebab. The rebab (rebebe, rebek) had a body made of four wooden plates that made up a frame, on which two pieces of parchment were stretched, forming the lower and upper decks. The neck has the shape of a cylinder and together with the head is one whole. The leg is an iron twig attached to the neck, which passes through the entire instrument and serves as a support during playing. In the 9th century, in writings about the music of the Middle Ages, the bowed musical instrument lyra is mentioned - a single-stringed instrument with a stand, a fingerboard and horseshoe-shaped holes in a wooden soundboard (this is not the lyre that is usually depicted in ancient Greek mythology).
In the XIII-XIV century, another type of bowed musical instrument appeared - the fidel, which was the prototype of the viola. The body of the fidel was built according to a different principle than the lyre. The body consisted of an elongated frame, upper and lower decks. The top deck had cutouts. In this form, the body of the fidel looked like a guitar, and later moved to the form of a viola.
Already in the 14th century, a large number of types of viols appeared, and in the 17th century there were already dozens of them. The following were most widely used: a very large viola - bass; a large bass viola de gamba (gambami (from the Italian gamba - foot) were called all the instruments that were held between the knees during the game, while viola de braccio (from the word "hand"), in contrast to the gamba, were called all instruments that held in hands during the game.); small bass viola de gamba in five tuning options; tenor viola and alto viola de gamba, each in two tunings; cant-viola de gamba in four versions; viola bastard in five versions; viola de braccio in four versions. Of these varieties of viols, the double bass, cello, viola and violin - the violin - developed further. The last instrument was formed from the viola by means of a decrease in volume (violina is a diminutive of the word "viola").
Violina - a violin or a real treble violin has existed since the first half of the 16th century. Her homeland is Northern Italy. The invention of the violin as we know it is attributed to the Italian master of German origin, who lived in Bologna, Gaspard Duifopruggar (1467-1530), who first made violas and lutes. The oldest violin, made in 1510 by Gaspard Duifopruggar and preserved to this day, is kept in the Niedergey Collection and the city of Aachen. This violin was made for King Franz I.
Bowed instruments were further developed in the 16th-17th centuries in the cities of Northern Italy - Brescia and Cremona. The most prominent masters in Brescia were Gaspar Bertolotti (1540-1609) and Paolo Magini, in Cremona - Niccolò Amati, Antonio Stradivari and Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesu. At that time, the most common bowed instruments were violas, so Bertolotti and Magini made mainly these instruments. But the violins of their work are also known. Particularly prized are the violins of Paolo Magini, who made him famous as the greatest master of the Brescia school. The Magini violins were played by Berio, Vietanne, Marto and other famous violinists.
Andrea Amati (1535-1612) was the founder of the Cremonese school of violin makers. However, violins of his work are now rare. Amati's sons, Antonio (1555-1640) and Jerome (1556-1630), worked on the model of their father, and yet the forms of their violins already indicated significant progress. The son of Jerome - Niccolo (1596-1684) ends the line of masters of the Amati family, who enjoyed worldwide fame for a century and a half. They are rightfully considered the founders of the Cremonese school, but they were not destined to bring the violin to the highest perfection. This was done by the greatest master of all time, the student of Niccolo Amati - Antonio Stradivari, whose name is known not only to any educated musician, but in general to any cultured person.
Antonio Stradivari was born in 1644 and, according to some information, it can be judged that at the age of 13 he began to practice violin making. By 1667, Stradivari had completed his studies with Amati and from that time on he began to make bowed instruments on his own. The first independent works of Stradivari, although they bore clear signs of the influence of a teacher, were already distinguished by the elegance of forms and powerful sound. The period of creative search, during which Stradivari developed his own model, lasted about 30 years. Despite the fact that until the end of his long (93 years) life he remained an experimenter, since 1695 there were no significant deviations from the models developed by him.
Stradivari created the ideal of the violin, both in form and sound quality. Stradivari also has the honor of completing the formation of the cello in the form in which it has survived to this day.
The most capable student of Antonio Stradivari was Carlo Bergonzi (1686-1747), whose violins have much in common with the teacher's instruments. One of Stradivari's contemporaries and his rival was Bartolomeo Giuseppe Guarneri, the grandson of the founder of the dynasty of violin makers Andrea Guarneri. Giuseppe Guarneri was given the nickname "del Gesú" because he put a badge on the labels of his instruments, reminiscent of the emblem of the Jesuit monastic order. There is almost no information about the life of Guarneri. For a long time there was a legend that he spent his last years in prison and made violins there, and the jailer sold these instruments at great profit for himself. However, the reliability of this legend is highly questionable.
Guarneri instruments differ from Stradivari violins in a flatter soundboard and are covered with lacquers of the most diverse shades - from golden yellow to cherry. The sound of violins is strong and rich, especially when played in large concert halls. In this regard, Guarneri's instruments were especially popular in the 19th century, when violins went beyond the cramped chamber spaces.
There were other violin schools in Italy in the 17th-18th centuries - Venetian, Milanese, Neapolitan, Florentine and others. However, these schools did not acquire the same importance as Cremona and Brescia.
Other countries also contributed to the development of violin making. The violin appeared in France later than in Italy. One of the first violin makers in France was Caspar Tiefenbrucker (1553-1571), aka Dunfopruggar, a resident of Lyon. However, the violins of his work have not survived to this day. Currently only viols made by Tiefenbrucker are known.
Nicolas Lupo (1758-1824) is considered the most outstanding of a number of other French masters. Lupo comes from a family that has been making violins for generations. He worked first in Orleans and then in Paris. In his works, Lupo relied on models of Stradivari violins. However, his instruments, although distinguished by a loud sound, were inferior to Italian samples in richness of timbre.
Of the French masters of the 19th century, Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume (1798-1875) won worldwide fame. In 1819, Vuillaume came to Paris and there he began to make instruments for the violin maker François Jeannot, who designed an original model of a violin without corners and, in connection with this, had a temporary great success with his innovation. Under the guidance of the highly educated Jeannot Vuillaume, he intensively studies the samples of instruments of famous Italian masters, and then intensively copies the models of Guarneri, Stradivari, and so skillfully that his works are mistaken for originals. William was the greatest connoisseur of ancient instruments, a huge number of which passed through his hands. He was incredibly hardworking: he made about 3,000 tools. William was an unsurpassed master of bows, his cellos had excellent concert qualities.
Tyrolean violins gained great fame. Tyrol is a small mountainous country in the Alps, whose inhabitants have long been engaged in wood carving, as well as the manufacture of musical instruments. The most important violin maker, who was extremely popular in Western Europe in the 17th century, was Jacob Steiner (1621-1683). Steiner's violins were similar in shape to those of Niccolò Amati, but featured higher soundboard vaults; the sound of Steiner's instruments has a soft, lyrical character. There was a time when Steiner violins were valued several times more than Stradivari instruments. Genuine instruments of Steiner's work are currently very few. Violins with Steiner labels found today are nothing more than a fake, which was made by Tyrolean masters - Steiner's followers.
Of the German masters who followed the models of Stradivari, Bachmann, Hunger, Ernst and some others, who worked at the end of the 18th and the first half of the 19th century, achieved outstanding success.
In England, the works of Italian masters were recognized and appreciated much later. English masters copied Steiner, and later the violins of Magini, Amati and Stradivari. Famous English masters Barack Norman (1678-1740), Richard Duke (worked from 1750 to 1780), Bejamin Banke (1727-1795). Duke's follower was Dodd, whose remarkable bows were widely known.
Of the Dutch, the most famous is Henbrik Jacob, who worked in Amsterdam from 1690 to 1712, a student of Niccolò Amati. Most of Jacobs' violins have long been labeled with Amati's name and are marketed as authentic instruments by this maker.
In Poland in the 16th century, the remarkable craftsman Martini Groblich (1555-1610) worked, probably a student of Magini, who followed her patterns. Groblich's instruments are excellent and are now full-fledged concert instruments. In addition to violins, Groblich made many viols, which, in terms of technique, elegance of form and wonderful sound, are masterpieces of world significance. Other well-known violin makers in Poland include the names of Jan Dakkvart and Groblich Jr. (first half of the 18th century), Mikołaj Savitsky (1792-1850), Kpuczynski (late 19th - early 20th century).
In Czechoslovakia, violin making is a common profession. The first violin makers came to the Czech Republic from Tyrol and Bavaria at the end of the 16th century. The most talented masters of the Czech Republic are Tomas Edlinger (1662-1729), Ulrik Eberle (1699-1768), a native of Tyrol, who in 1725 founded his own workshop in Prague. At one time, Eberle was considered the best master of Central Europe; Kašpar Strnad (1759-1823) worked on Stradivari models. His violins are famous far beyond Czechoslovakia. From the Prague masters of the XX century. we can name Franz Shpidlen (1867-1916), his son Otakar Shpidlen (1895-1938), a talented highly educated master and toolmaker.

Istrian violin in Russia

Bowed instruments appeared in Russia, apparently, at a very distant time. The fact of the existence of such instruments in the 11th century is confirmed by the image on the fresco of the Kyiv Sophia Cathedral of the figure of a musician holding a bowed instrument at his shoulder, like a violin. The first literary mention of the violin in Russia was in 1596 in the dictionary of Lavrenty Zizania, and one of the earliest images that have come down to us is in 1692 in Karion Istomin's Primer. It can be assumed that the violin, already in a form close to the classical type, appeared in Russia by the beginning of the 16th century. Some literary sources presumably indicate that the predecessor of the violin was a kind of bowed instrument called the suna. Such an instrument existed in folk performing practice until the second half of the 19th century.
Suna has the body of a violin and, in terms of its structure, it can be attributed to the predecessor of the violin - the bowed lyre. But if the lyre had eleven or more strings, then the suna, like the violin, had only four strings. Bowed instruments were most widely used in the south of Russia - Moldova, Ukraine, as well as in Belarus and the Volga region.
Although violins and other bowed instruments were widely used among the people, these instruments penetrated the environment of the ruling classes only in exceptional cases. This is explained by the constant hostility on the part of the church, which considered these instruments as "demonic games." It is not surprising that the Russian folk violins of the 16th and 17th centuries, like other instruments that preceded them, have not survived to this day. It was only in the 18th century that bowed instruments became widespread.
In the 18th century, outstanding Russian violin-concertists appeared, among them the remarkable artist and composer Ivan Evstafievich Khandoshkin. At the same time, masters for the manufacture of bowed instruments appeared. At first, these are foreigners invited to Russia, and then Russians. Among the Russian masters of the 18th and 19th centuries there were many serfs serving the orchestras of their masters. The materials from which these craftsmen made their instruments were local. Along with spruce, pine was used for the upper decks. For the manufacture of lower decks, maple, birch, alder, linden were used. Among the works of serf masters there were also very successful instruments, but the names of these Russian craftsmen remained mostly unknown.
One of the first known talented Russian masters is Ivan Andreevich Batov (1767-1841), a serf of Count Sheremetev. At the age of 17, Batov was sent to study with the Moscow instrumental master Vasily Vladimirov. Already in 1789, after training in the states of the Sheremetev fortress theater, violin maker Ivan Batov was listed. Before the Patriotic War of 1812, Batov was not widely known. She came to him only in 1814, when Batov presented Alexander I with a violin of his work and received an award of 2000 rubles for it. In 1822 Ivan Batov made a cello highly appreciated by the famous cellist of that time B. Romberg. Batov brought this instrument to Count D.N. Sheremetev and received a free license for her, along with his family. In 1829, Batov presented his instruments to the St. Petersburg exhibition and received a large silver medal for violin and cello. Batov did not tolerate haste in work. There is evidence that he, working daily in the most intense way, spent about three months making a violin and about five months making a cello.
Considering that one of the most important conditions for the sound quality of instruments is the presence of old seasoned wood, Batov spent a lot of money on its acquisition. Until the last days of his life, Batov retained a supply of wood, harvested by him during the reign of Catherine 2. During his life, Batov produced a relatively small number of instruments: 41 violins, 3 violas and 6 cellos, not counting those that he made for the Sheremetev orchestra. In addition, Batov made several double basses, and also made excellent guitars. Unfortunately, genuine Batov instruments are very rare. Most of the instruments attributed to Batov are fakes. Taking advantage of Batov's popularity, some masters later pasted labels with the name of the famous Russian master into various, most often into instruments of foreign origin, and thus caused considerable confusion in defining his work.

violin construction

- curl

Heel

Top deck

shells

bottom deck

Stand

Subvulture

VIOLIN. The queen of the orchestra, the violin, is the most common bowed string instrument. "She in music is just as necessary

tool, like daily bread in human existence, "they spoke of her

musicians in the 17th century.

Violins were made in many countries of the world, but the best violin makers lived in

Italy, in the city of Cremona. Violins made by Cremonese craftsmen XVI --

XVIII centuries Amati, Guarneri and Stradivari, are still considered

unsurpassed.

The Italians sacredly kept the secrets of their craftsmanship. They knew how to make sound

violins are especially melodious and gentle, similar to a human voice.

The famous Italian violins have survived to our time not so much.

many, but all of them are strictly registered. They are played by the best musicians in the world.

The body of the violin is very elegant: with smooth roundings, thin "waist".

On the top deck there are beautiful, f-shaped cutouts, which are called efs.

And the size and shape of the case, and all its smallest details, even the quality of the varnish,

with which it is covered are carefully considered. After all, everything affects the sound of the capricious

tool. A neck is attached to the body of the violin, which ends

curl. There are holes in the groove in front of the curl, into which the pegs are inserted.

They pull the strings, on the other hand, tightly fixed at the neck. AT

in the middle of the body, approximately between the efs, stands on two legs

stand. Strings pass through it. There are four of them. They bear the name of those

sounds to which they are tuned: mi, la, re and salt or bass, counting from the most

high string.

The general range of the violin is from the small salt to the salt of the fourth octave. Violinist

changes the pitch by pressing the string against the fretboard with the fingers of the left hand. To

was comfortable to play, he puts the violin on his shoulder and holds it

chin. In his right hand he holds a bow with which he leads along the strings.

The bow is also an important detail. It largely depends on the character

sound. The bow consists of a cane or shaft, at the lower end of which

column attached. It serves to pull the hair, which on the other hand

hand attached to the cane motionless.

If we hook a string with our finger and then release it, the sound will quickly die out.

The bow can be carried along the string continuously for a long time, and

the sound will also continue continuously. Therefore, the violin is very melodious. On her

you can play long smooth melodies, as they sometimes say, "on one

breathing", that is, without interrupting them with pauses or caesuras.

They say that the violin sings. Indeed, its sound is like a quivering

ways, the so-called strokes, which are used when playing the violin.

You can play not on one, but on two adjacent strings at once. Then sound

two melodies. More than two sounds cannot be played at the same time, because

the strings are not flat, but on a rounded stand. However, violinists

play chords of three and four notes in a special way - arpeggio, taking

sounds not simultaneously, but one after another, quickly sliding along the strings

In an orchestra, violins are the main instruments. They are assigned responsible

episodes. Remember how often the violins sing in orchestral pieces;

sometimes wide and calm, sometimes agitated, and sometimes dramatic

tense. And in the Polka-pizzicato of the brothers Johann and Joseph Strauss and

some other works of the violin are used quite unusually:

performers play them not with a bow, but by plucking the strings with their fingers, as on

plucked instruments. This technique is called pizzicato.

The violin became very popular as a solo instrument. For

it created a variety of works - from the virtuoso etudes of Paganini to

lyrical plays by Prokofiev. Many composers have written concertos for

violins with orchestra. You have probably heard the concertos of Beethoven, Mendelssohn,

Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Glazunov, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Khachaturian.

The history of music knows the names of famous violinists. The name is surrounded by legends

genius Paganini. He was accused of witchcraft, because in those days,

when he lived - in the first half of the 19th century, it was hard to believe that an ordinary

man himself, without the help of magical power, can play so splendidly on