The violin is a musical instrument played with a bow against a stretched string.
An instrument known to Egyptian civilization in the 2nd millennium BC was held with the strings almost horizontal and played with a plectrum, a forerunner of the modern-day bow. The number of strings on instruments of this period ranged between six and twelve.
The violin shares common ancestry with Middle Eastern, Indian and Chinese string instruments, all thought to have been derived from fiddles played by Mongolian horsemen and disseminated across Europe and Asia via the silk trade.
The violin in its present form emerged in early 16th-century northern Italy. The first makers of violins probably borrowed from various developments of the Byzantine lyra. such as the ravanastron, the rebec and the rabab, all played with bows.
The earliest pictures of violins, albeit with three strings, are seen in paintings by Gaudenzio Ferrari in northern Italy. In his Madonna of the Orange Tree, painted 1530, a cherub is seen bottom of center playing a three-stringed instrument which clearly has the hallmarks of a violin.
Through the mid-1500s in France, the lute was still the favourite instrument, but in 1555, Balthazar de Beujoyeux, the first famous violinist in history, brought a band of violinists to Catherine's de Médici's court and made violin music popular.
The French king Charles IX ordered Cremona-based lute-maker Andrea Amati to construct 24 violins for him in 1560. One of these instruments, the Charles IX, is the oldest surviving violin.
The look of instruments in the violin family became standardized in the late 16th century. By that time they shared a sound hole in their bodies shaped like a letter f, square shoulders, and a belly and back that protruded and projected past the ribs.
Stringed instruments became more popular through the innovations in design affected by the Amati and Guarneri families and by Antonio Stradivari, who began making violins as the Amatis' apprentice.
Arcangelo Corelli gave the violin a new emphasis in the concerto grosso--music for a small group of solo instruments playing in alternation with the full orchestra. Other composers for strings were Giuseppe Tartini, notable for the baroque solo sonata, and Antonio Vivaldi.
Dogfish skin was often used in the 18th century to sand violins.
HISTORY
An instrument known to Egyptian civilization in the 2nd millennium BC was held with the strings almost horizontal and played with a plectrum, a forerunner of the modern-day bow. The number of strings on instruments of this period ranged between six and twelve.
The violin shares common ancestry with Middle Eastern, Indian and Chinese string instruments, all thought to have been derived from fiddles played by Mongolian horsemen and disseminated across Europe and Asia via the silk trade.
The violin in its present form emerged in early 16th-century northern Italy. The first makers of violins probably borrowed from various developments of the Byzantine lyra. such as the ravanastron, the rebec and the rabab, all played with bows.
The earliest pictures of violins, albeit with three strings, are seen in paintings by Gaudenzio Ferrari in northern Italy. In his Madonna of the Orange Tree, painted 1530, a cherub is seen bottom of center playing a three-stringed instrument which clearly has the hallmarks of a violin.
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| Gaudenzio Ferrari's "Madonna of the Orange Trees" |
Through the mid-1500s in France, the lute was still the favourite instrument, but in 1555, Balthazar de Beujoyeux, the first famous violinist in history, brought a band of violinists to Catherine's de Médici's court and made violin music popular.
The French king Charles IX ordered Cremona-based lute-maker Andrea Amati to construct 24 violins for him in 1560. One of these instruments, the Charles IX, is the oldest surviving violin.
The look of instruments in the violin family became standardized in the late 16th century. By that time they shared a sound hole in their bodies shaped like a letter f, square shoulders, and a belly and back that protruded and projected past the ribs.
Stringed instruments became more popular through the innovations in design affected by the Amati and Guarneri families and by Antonio Stradivari, who began making violins as the Amatis' apprentice.
 |
| "Gould" violin (1693) By Antonio Stradivari - Wikipedia |
Arcangelo Corelli gave the violin a new emphasis in the concerto grosso--music for a small group of solo instruments playing in alternation with the full orchestra. Other composers for strings were Giuseppe Tartini, notable for the baroque solo sonata, and Antonio Vivaldi.
Dogfish skin was often used in the 18th century to sand violins.
The violin that was played by one of the musicians who stayed aboard as the Titanic sank in April 1912 was rediscovered in an attic. It was auctioned off by an anonymous buyer for $1.6 million in 2013.
FUN VIOLIN FACTS
The violin is the smallest and highest pitched string instrument.
A person who makes or repairs violins is called a luthier.
A single violin is made from over 70 individual pieces of wood, usually spruce or maple.
Playing the violin burns approximately 170 calories per hour.
The most expensive violin in the world was made by Giuseppe Guarneri in 1741 and was sold for over $16m (over £10m) in 2013. It had been played by Yehudi Menuhin among others. Its new owner anonymously donated the historic instrument to violinist Anne Akiko Meyers, on loan for the rest of her life.
The most expensive violin bow was sold for £200,000 in November 2015.
Here's a list of songs with a violin part.
Sources Daily Express, Classic FM, Compton's Encyclopedia
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