A Timeline history of the Violin Bow - from c. 1600 - 1800
- hover over a box to expand
- click on a box to link to a detailed discussion of the topic
Caracci c. 1600
after Reni 1606?
Valentin de Boulogne c.1626
Leyster 1630
Lely c.1640
Sorgh 1650?
Franceschini c. 1660
Corelli (?) c. 1670
Mieris 1681
Biber 1681
Piazzetta c. 1700
Pater c.1710
Corette, 1738
Veracini, 1744
L. Mozart 1756
Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule
"Every tone, even the strongest
attack, has a small, even if
barely audible, softness at
the beginning of the stroke"
Löhlein 1774
Campagnoli 1797
Metodo per violino
“The different combinations of [types of bowing]
impart to melody its expression and effect."
| 1590 |
| 1600 |
| 1610 |
| 1620 |
| 1630 |
| 1640 |
| 1650 |
| 1660 |
| 1670 |
| 1680 |
| 1690 |
| 1700 |
| 1710 |
| 1720 |
| 1730 |
| 1740 |
| 1750 |
| 1760 |
| 1770 |
| 1780 |
| 1790 |
| 1800 |
| 1810 |
Passaggi per potersi essercitare…
"above all the bowing must always be done correctly.“
Syntagma Musicum
"And because everybody knows about
these instruments, it is unnecessary to
point out or write anything more"
Selva de varii Passaggi
"The viole da brazzo, especially the violin, is an
instrument in itself crude and harsh, if it is not
tempered and softened by delicate bowing."
Traité des Instruments de Musique
"strongly tensed and fitted with horse's hair"
Harmonie universelle
“one always plays a down bow for
the first note of the bar, but if it is composed
of an uneven number [of notes] ..., one plays an up
bow on the first note of the following bar"..."
Il Scolaro per imprarar a suonare di Violino
Musica Moderna Prattica
"Notice that, at the beginning of
the music: the bow should be drawn
'towards' the right hand."
A Brief Introduction to the Skill of Musick
"the Bow is held in the right hand
... the Thumb being staid upon the hair at the Nut"
Compendio Musicale
„The whole art of playing the violin consists
in knowing how to manage the bow well"
Musicalischer Schlissel
" the violin bow is drawn with the
right hand, but in different ways "
Idea boni cantoris
"...learn to grasp and hold the bow
correctly, ... quick little runs
should be played at the point"
"Bow of fine speckled wood"
The Gentleman's Diversion, or
the Violin Explained
“let your Bow be as long
as your Instrument, well
mounted and stiff Hair’d
Compendium Musicae
Instrumentalis Chelicae
"...If one has not learnt the up and down
strokes correctly, this leads to an
unordered and absurd measure, from
which really big mistakes arise..."
Florilegium Secundum
"... German violinists ... hold the bow
as the Lullists do, pressing the hair
with the thumb and resting the other
fingers on the stick of the bow"
Méthode facile pour apprendre à jouer du violon
“The bow is held with the right hand, the
four fingers placed on the wood, and the
thumb under the nut which holds the hair"
... on Nicola Matteis and other topics
"he [Nicola Matteis] taught the English to hold
the bow by the wood onely and not to touch
the hair which was no small reformation."
The Modern Musik Master
(The Art of Playing on the Violin)
"It is difficult to lay down any certain Rules for the Use of the Bow ..."
L’école d’Orphée
“These two methods of holding the
bow [thumb on the stick, thumb on
the hair] are equally good, it depends
on the master who teaches you."
"He Plays with a Short Bow [because] no
Fidler can Play any thing with a Long Bow,
that He can't Play with a short one."
The Art of playing on the violin
" ... [take] Care not to follow that
wretched Rule of drawing the Bow
down at the first Note of every Bar "
On Playing the Flute
"In the performance of music
on the violin ... the bow stroke
is of chief importance "
Regole per le Arcate
"there are no definite rules for determining whether
one should begin with a down-bow or up-bow."
Letter to Signora Maddalena Lombardini
"Your first study, therefore, should
be the true manner of holding,
balancing and pressing the bow lightly,
but steadily, upon the strings
Principes du Violon
“One can call the bow the soul of the
instrument which it touches, because it serves
to give the expression to the tones, to spin
them out, to swell them and to diminish them. "
The Fiddle new model'd
"rather play with the small end of the bow"
Anweisung zum Violinspielen
“...the further one moves the bow away
from the bridge the duller and more
muted the sound becomes."
Traité du violon
“The bow is the soul of the violin"
Über die Pflichten des Ripien-Violinisten
“... the first duty of the violinist [is] to give the
upbow and the downbow equal weight"
Elementi Teorico-Pratica di Musica
"The expert handing of the bow
is much more difficult than that of the violin
Anweisung zum Violinspielen
“One must learn to place the bow so gently
on the strings, that the sound appears to
arise from a soft breathe and not a hefty blow"
Nouvelle méthode pour le violon
“The bow is the soul, the thought, the spirit of the violin"
© Copyright 2020 by Richard Gwilt. All Rights Reserved.