A
Brief History of the Bow as a Playing Tool
The
dawn of the modern bow can be traced to around 1780 with bows of Francois
Tourte, that were the culmination of apparent experimentation on the part
of the maker. The precursor to the modern style of bow can be observed in
the extant output from the Tourte atelier. The bows directly preceding the
invention of the modern bow (sometimes known as Cramer Head bows) are
shorter, far lighter and more flexible, by comparison with the modern
style bows that follow them. The heads and frogs of these pre-modern bows
are relatively tall, and as a result the clearance between the hair and
the stick is much greater than with a modern bow. This larger clearance
and increased flexibility, along with the lightness and shortness, all
have a profound effect on the playing qualities of pre-modern bows. A
range of color unheard of in a modern bow is accessible with a so-called
“Cramer Head” Tourte (see below).
Transitional
Violin Bow from the Tourte workshop circa 1780
Detail and variety in articulation
seems limitless and the endless possibilities for articulation encourage
“on the string” strokes as opposed to the relatively awkward and
flimsy “off the string” feel of “Cramer Head” bows. The old style
bow also allows for passages in double and triple stops to be rendered
with more suppleness and finesse than with a modern bow.
For all of the
attractive qualities of a pre-modern bow, it would be totally impractical
to think of projecting this detail and color in a large space. The move
toward larger performance venues must have made this type of bow
impractical, and finally obsolete once Tourte established the set of
compromises that led to the modern bow. While heavier and stronger than
their precursors, the earliest modern style bows from the Tourte workshop
are often quite light and flexible, relative to modern bows. Over the
course of his career, Tourte seemed to move increasingly in the direction
of heavier, stronger bows with lower frogs, and heads that would enhance a
performer's ability to project sound and articulation in large spaces, and
to play off the string strokes loudly.
Makers
in the years just after Tourte’s output, such as Persoit, Lupot, Eury,
Pajeot and Maire picked up the Tourte trend toward heavier stronger bows.
These makers frequently produced their stockier bows alongside lighter,
more flexible ones, as if unconvinced that the heavier bow was necessarily
the only desirable bow in their age. Whether or not the makers were
responding to specific orders from musicians, or anticipating trends in
performance is a matter of speculation, but the relatively increasing
number of heavier bows produced is a clear indication that this style of
bow was finding favor with musicians, and was becoming a commercially
viable product. In London, John “Kew”
Dodd also made
“Cramer Head” bows. At some point Dodd apparently noticed the
heavier Tourte bows and reacted with a range of Tourte-inspired
experiments, sometimes very heavy and stiff even by today's standards. At
their most extreme some of these bows are virtually unplayable because of
their cumbersome weight and stiffness. Still, at other times Dodd could
achieve stunning successes with his bows as playing tools, partly owing to
the inventiveness of the maker, and partly because of the spectacular
pernambuco he sometimes used.
In
all of these post-Tourte bows one can easily observe the general trend
toward bows which produced a large sound, and which could articulate
clearly and loudly off the string.
Dominique Peccatte, (who is presumed to have learned his craft with Persoit, and apparently worked in the Lupot atelier as well, before a stint in the Vuillaume workshop) continued the trend with a bow patterned after Tourte’s strongest, heaviest model. The Peccatte concept for a bow was generally heavier than anything before him in France, and his output was vast and consistent. If not as flexible as earlier bows, Peccatte bows are still normally fairly flexible; the increase in weight from earlier concepts makes Peccatte bows well suited to the production of the volume of sound and degree of articulation appropriate to large, modern concert halls. The Peccatte bow is one (but not the only) ideal compromise in terms of tone production and handling. Although it neither produces the beauty of tone of a Tourte, nor handles with the nimbleness of a Nicolas Kittel, a fine Peccatte does everything it must do very well, and with a thick rich sonority.
In
Czarist Russia Nicolas Kittel served as violinmaker to the court, and
produced a unique style of playing bow, often using beautiful, highly
flamed wood. The design of Kittel bows is also derived from an advanced
Tourte model although this interpretation of Tourte is distinctly
different from the French interpretations. Kittel bows are nearly always
quite light and flexible. Despite their flexibility, Kittel bows have
extremely quick playing characteristics alongside a unique beauty of tone.
Although
he probably did not make bows himself, J.B. Vuillaume exerted a profound
influence on bow making. Vuillaume experimented with the design of the
bow: innovations such as the self-rehairing bow, by which a musician might
change the hair without the aid of a repairman, and the Vuillaume style
frog and button, designed to mitigate against normal wear and tear, as
well as the invention of the Steel bow, which while lacking in terms of
warmth and beauty of tone, handles remarkably well. None of these
modifications or experiments have had a lasting impact on subsequent
makers however, and Vuillaume’s most important legacy to the art of
bow-making was his capacity to extract the highest quality output from the
many bow-makers who worked for him. In particular, Nicolas Maline produced
his most carefully finished and best playing bows for J.B. Vuillaume.
Other makers such as Charles Peccatte and F.N Voirin made extremely fine
bows for Vuillaume. Maline’s bows were presumably influenced by Peccatte,
whose bold hatchet head they seem to emulate. While they generally do not
possess the kind of subtlety and color nuance present in a fine Peccatte,
Maline bows often play very well, and the vast output of Maline’s
atelier subsequent to his tenure in the Vuillaume workshop gives us plenty
of chances to become familiar with the playing qualities of his bows after
his affiliation with Vuillaume. The Vuillaume bows are nearly always the
best of Maline's output.
Francois
Nicolas Voirin was the most skilled maker of his generation, one of the
finest makers ever, and he produced a uniformly high quality product. But
Voirin bows suffer from inconsistency with the quality of wood, and many
of his bows were produced on a lighter, smaller model. The best Voirin
bows are exquisite playing tools; they are strong and nimble and produce a
beautiful tone. These represent a relative bargain in the market place
since the general price for Voirin has been held in check by their
inconsistency in playability (not quality of workmanship!).
By
1880 many makers were beginning to consistently aim for an even heavier,
stronger model, with varying degrees of success. Alfred Lamy picked up
where Voirin left off, with similar variance in weight and quality of
materials. The best Lamy bows are very good but often feel stiff and
unyielding, never coming close to equaling the beauty of tone, or nimble
handling qualities of a fine Voirin. Victor Fetique was capable of
producing some very good bows, but the attention of his atelier seemed to
focus on quantity, and thus the output is frequently of a more commercial
quality.
The
apex of the trend toward heavy, strong bows was exemplified in the output
of Eugene Sartory, who developed a style of bow to which his atelier
adhered consistently for decades. Vigneron and Jules Fetique produced bows
that at times could rival a Sartory in terms of strength and handling, but
the consistency of Sartory bows has made them a perennial favorite among
musicians even if they lack some of the subtlety of older bows. But
Sartory bows are utterly reliable as playing tools. Following Sartory, E.
A. Ouchard produced an even heavier and stiffer type of bow. There are
some Ouchard bows that perform beautifully as tools, but many of them are
just too stiff to be considered optimal as playing tools.
Over
the last quarter of the 20th century, the most important bow-maker
was probably Jean-Jacques Millant who made excellent playing bows
following the Peccatte pattern more or less faithfully.
J.J. Millant bows
function much as good facsimile Peccattes. The combination of choice of
materials, weight, strength, and flexibility make them excellent playing
tools, and bows by this maker are becoming increasingly desirable in the
market today.
The
current crop of makers is a varied and exciting group. Many of these
craftsmen are producing true masterpieces of bow-making that play at the
highest level. The modern revival and interest in bow-making has been led
by makers such as Stephane Tomachout in France, and Charles Espy in the US,
but the list of excellent bow-makers may be longer now than it has ever
been. Years ago there had been fear that Pernambuco stocks would
eventually dry up, leading to a crisis in bow making. But the modern bow
makers have begun to band together and organize major conservation efforts
designed to protect the future of the numerous Pernambuco subspecies
suitable for bow making. With the modern access to information, we now
find master bow makers dotting the globe, working in eclectic styles, both
inventing for the future and successfully simulating the past…
A boon for
modern day musicians!
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Stefan
Hersh