A Study of British Violin Makers
I often wonder
how many violin junkies read these books about violinmakers. Certainly,
from my perspective, I can never get enough of them, but I have to think
that the task of writing and publishing these books is hardly an endeavor
that is at all profitable, despite the high cost of these books.
Recent negative
press about the violin trade is quite depressing for those of us who are
serious-minded about what we do, but the book The British Violin
underscores the positive side of present day violin dealing. Starting with
the Biddulph sponsored symposium, exhibit and publication of a book on Del
Gesu, to the discovery and publication of Stradivari’s Last Will and
Testament, to the gargantuan project of Duane Rosengard's research and
publication of the book on Guadagnini, the violin trade is riding an
historical high. Real archival research has culminated with a level of
expertise unmatched since the days of Hills, to further the
knowledge of our trade, and to dispense with age-old folklore that has plagued
it for centuries.
The British
Violin is an outgrowth of a wonderful exhibit, held in 1998 at the Royal
Academy of Music in London, that was organized by the British Violin Making
Association. Although there are numerous publications on the makers of the
Italian, French, German, Spanish, and Eastern European schools, this is
the first major publication on the British school.
It is massive in scale, attempting to cover the subject of the
great British viol making in the 16th and 17th
centuries, British violin making, beginning with Jacob Rayman circa 1596,
through recently deceased makers, contemporary British (and British-trained) violin makers, and British bow makers both
past and contemporary.
Does it accomplish this Herculean task? I would say that within the
constraints of being an outgrowth of an exhibit catalogue, it certainly
does. In fact, it is an indispensable addition to the library of anyone
who is seriously enthusiastic about violins.
Charles Beare
is quoted in the book as saying that British instrument making follows a
“W” in terms of quality. I surmise that the quote refers to the high
level of quality that is seen in the wonderful viols made by Rose, Meares,
Jaye and Norman. The lower spike of the “W” would refer to the
instruments by makers such as Barrett, Cross, Furber, Jay, Johnson,
Marshall, Thompson, and Wamsley, from the first half of the 18th
century, who unfortunately (in modern view) followed the form of Stainer.
The next peak of the W would refer to the great makers from the early 19th
century, such as Banks, Betts, Dodd, Fendt, Forster, Gilkes, Hardie, L.
Hill, Kennedy, Lott, Panormo, and Tobin who adopted the models of the
Cremonese. This was followed by the decline in instrument making in the
late 19th century in Britain. I presume that the final peak of
the “W” refers to the arrival of the great Voller Brothers who were
active at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th
century. They perpetuated the tradition of the English as copyists, and
perhaps eclipsed John Lott, if not in skill, then in deception and
trickery!
The photographs
of the instruments in this volume are consistent in quality and of a very high level. They
were done by Clarissa Bruce, and they rival those taken by
Claudio Mazzolari, seen in many recent publications. They are well lit
with little shadow or highlights, and the instruments have a lifelike 3-D
appearance. There are many beautiful violins in the book, but of
particular note to me are the two great Del Gesu copies, one by Jack Lott
c. 1845, and one by the Voller Brothers. Also thrilling are several violins
by makers we rarely see, such as a fine Joseph Panormo, a fine W.E.Hill
dated 1852 (the originator of the famous firm,) a violin by John Lott I,
who was the father of the more the famous John Lott, and a violin circa
1740, by a the violin maker named Elizabeth Hare (who was clearly ahead of
her time!). Although the entire British school is gravely underrated, as
compared with their Italian counterparts, there are particularly fine
examples of makers who are underrated, even among this school, such as
Arthur Betts, Matthew Hardie from Scotland, and cellos by Samuel Gilkes
and Thomas Dodd. I thought that the contemporary instruments by Luff and
Armour- Brown would have been better included in the section on new
instruments, and I wondered why photographs of scrolls that were not
original were printed at all, but these are feeble criticisms for such a
fine pictorial accomplishment.
The section on
contemporary makers is sparse, and I was left imagining the political
jungle it must have been to sort out who was to be included, and who was to
be left out. In the end, the result is a good group of instruments that
has notable standouts to my eye in the work of Martin Bouette, Andrew
Finnigan, Christophe Gotting, and Roger Hargrave, who exhibited
instruments ranging from the heavily antiqued, to the moderately shaded, to
the straight off the brush look. British violin making is arguably at its
highest level ever. Notably missing from this section are instruments by
the organizers themselves! The violins by Peter Beare and Andrew Fairfax
(amongst several others I am sure,) are as fine as anything made today, and
their work at least should have been included. To those who are strictly
interested in making new instruments, this book will probably hold only
minor interest. As making becomes removed from the geometrically designed
ideal of the Cremonese, it inevitably deviates from that standard. The
English violinmakers were copyists, not originators. To copy a copy is a
little non-sensical, but to observe the level of skill represented in the
finest of the English copies should be a humbling experience for any of
today’s violinmakers who strive for the same goal.
The section on
British bow making was well covered, with the research done chiefly by Phil
Kass. The photographic examples are well chosen and representative of the
various periods, from the early makers, to the bows of the Dodd family,
followed by the Tubbs family, the makers who were associated with Hills
and finally the makers of today. There are detailed photographs of
interesting features and brands combined with text concerning specific
details that are invaluable to the budding connoisseur.
Finally, the
book contains further detail concerning construction techniques of the
instrument makers, side views of many of the instruments that are
chronologically arranged and a dendrochronology report by John Topham.
This controversial but highly effective and valuable science is most
useful to the expert when applied in the manner that John Topham does.
This section confirms dates of the instruments in the exhibit, but also
sheds light on connections between makers who shared wood supplies. I
believe that “dendro” will become ever more useful to the expert of
the 21st century.
I would have
preferred to see an expansion on the central theme of British instrument
makers of the past. Of course, the book was based on an exhibit, so the
material was predefined, but perhaps a second book on British bow makers
followed by a book on contemporary violin and bow makers would have
allowed for more thoroughness on each of those subjects. I would have
enjoyed seeing an expanded section on the British cello, more makers such
as John Day, Vincent, Craske, Smillie, Owen, Briggs represented, together
with more examples of the different styles of the makers that are shown.
But then again, I am an admitted violin junkie who can never get enough!
Having just read the Rosengard Guadagnini book, which devoted
almost as much script to a single maker, I was left with wanting more on
each of the characters from Britain. Both books give an historical
background of the times, add factual details about the makers, and
generally provide a snapshot into the life and work of these people.
Inevitably, the Rosengard book accomplishes this more thoroughly, but
nevertheless, The British Violin is a major contribution to
scholarship.
I hope that the
“BVMA” doesn’t stop with this volume. They are clearly a well
motivated, industrious, and scholarly group of individuals. I hope that
other violin making and trade organizations are paying attention! Works
such as this, which further knowledge of the subject for our trade
members, and for our clients, are
a welcome change from the backroom secrecy that has permeated violin
dealing in the past. ###
Christopher Reuning
Text by Tim Baker, John Dilworth, Andrew Fairfax, Mary Anne Alburger, Philip J. Kass, William Watson and others. Photographs by Clarissa Bruce.
Published by the British Violin Makers Association, $325.
Chris
Reuning is the owner of Reuning & Son Violins, Boston.