Antonio Stradivari Part 3

Some connoisseurs have been in their enthusiasm too hasty in their reference of general principles from a few particular instances and their researches--as time thereafter showed--did not bear the fruit so anxiously looked forward to.

An instance comes to mind of two well known dealers, one British, the other foreign, meeting together one day and opening some half-a-dozen Strads, that appeared up to that moment to have had their interiors undisturbed, or perhaps it might be said untampered with. What a meeting! and what a parting! let us hope that each table, upper or lower, that had so long been working in harmony, eventually became again properly mated and gave no cause for lawyers to "put their fingers in the pie." The results of the examination is related thus:--"In no two of the instruments were thicknesses alike; some had thick places and thin places; some were thicker on one side than the other; all were thicker in the centre of the upper table and all had these as three to five for the back."

Another is that of a well known continental repairer in his day, relating how he had repaired a very large number of real Strads and found the upper tables to be of the same thickness, two and a half m's.

all over, but that the backs varied in thickness. Some discrepancies here seemingly. To add to this, a correspondent says the Strads he has measured "have certainly not been thickest in the centre of the upper table."

My own observations as to thicknesses I am afraid will not afford much comfort to those who have been hopeful at any time that the calipers would drag forth the precious secret. I recollect many years back seeing a very fresh Strad, and a hasty measurement possible at the time revealed too much wood, that is judging according to our modern ideas of regulation.

One instance of a Strad, once my own property, comes to my mind. It had something wrong with the interior that necessitated opening. The violin was of good reputation for its tone of fine quality, quant.i.ty and ease of emission. There was no help for it; much against my inclination the separation of the upper table from the ribs would have to take place, either by my own hands, or those of some other person, the rectification being impossible from the exterior as it sometimes may be. With all necessary care, guided by past experience, the opening was safely accomplished, and after a very interesting examination of the interior, which to an ordinary observer would have seemed but peering into a dirty old wooden box, having nothing perceptibly different from any other, was in what would be called a fair state of preservation. I took the calipers in hand, expecting to learn something, but found all the original thicknesses had been lost under the hands of numerous repairers.

The supposed system or rule followed by Stradivari--that is, according to what critics and writers have declared was his habit--was certainly not demonstrated in this instance: in fact the eyesight alone was sufficient to perceive that whatever theory the master had believed in as necessary for the production of his inimitable quality, or whatever rule as to gauging should be followed in order to obtain enough power and freedom of emission were, in the present instance, we will not say ignored, but quite imperceptible; and why? because the fiddle at one time had been what we moderns--with our ideas of regulation and fitting--would term "too thick in the wood." The instrument had undergone much affliction from various physicians, but, judging from various little details of evidence, been at almost all times highly prized. Here and there were the studs or b.u.t.tons of various kinds of pine stuck by repairers of different nationalities and degrees of skill, some placed with apparent good intention, others without reason at all, while several parts bore indications of studs having at one time rested there and been afterwards removed by succeeding repairers. Now all these men had a thought of doing their work properly, and in finis.h.i.+ng off their studs with gouge or gla.s.s-paper, had whipped off around each spot some of the precious wood of Stradivari, with a general result of a series of hollows and gentle prominences not at all pleasing to the eye of the believer in the thickness theory, but nevertheless instructive.

Other instances in which the master's work--while still good and serviceable, with much evidence of unskilful repair, or want of proper attention at the time of accident, have come under my notice, enough, long ago, to have, as the saying is, "knocked into a c.o.c.ked hat," all that has been put forth regarding the mathematical precision of the thicknesses over the different parts of a violin by Antonio Stradivari.

One or two further remarks may be interesting on this part of our subject. The fact must not be lost sight of that the pupils of the now well established master of his art in Cremona were working either at that place likewise, or in the large cities of Italy, and had become famous, or were soon to be so and themselves surrounded by learners of the art. All these had been initiated in the secrets, if any, of their craft and in the particulars which distinguished them from others, or we may say, they were of the Stradivari school, showing in a more or less degree the same species of tone which the master had brought to maturity, and which he retained with consistency and never swerved from to his latest day.

It is quite a reasonable supposition that most, if not all, of the personal pupils were taught by the master, or had the way pointed out to them by which they might, with the right ear for discrimination of tone quality and enough of industry, impart to their works the identical qualities of those of their teacher. But what are the facts left for our consideration in connection with caliper measurement? the pupils admittedly of his teaching, among whom we may mention Lorenzo Guadagnini, his son Joannes Battista, Alexandri Gagliano, one or two of his sons and Carlo Bergonzi, as the best known, each adopted their own, or shall we say, left no more evidence for us of having a set rule for thicknesses than their master. The nearest approach to the a.s.serted system of Stradivari, that of a gentle declination of substance in the wood down to the edge, was made by Lorenzo Guadagnini in his extra sized violins; but then the tone, wonderfully fine, is not Stradivari, but Guadagnini. Carlo Bergonzi's system, if we may for a moment call it, was quite unlike Stradivari, and yet connoisseurs have frequently credited him with having got "the same beautiful quality of tone." From these few references it will be sufficiently plain that the grand secret of tone quality must not be sought for with the aid of calipers, so we will dismiss this part of our subject and proceed to other considerations.

Besides those who have pinned their faith to the thicknesses, there are those who take up with the "air ma.s.s" theory. I am afraid the arguments in favour of this last will not bear even so much knocking about as those just considered.

We have in the first place to take into account the fact of the larger modern bar taking up more room than the old obsolete one of, not only Stradivari, but all the other masters of his time and before. The upper and lower end blocks have been enlarged in many instances to obtain a better hold on the upper and lower table. These alterations have been each of necessity, not of ignorance or mere whim, and moreover have proved efficacious for the end in view. The restorers, or regulators who have performed these operations must--according to the "air ma.s.s"

theory--have been acting quite "in the teeth" of it and Stradivari's regulation, further there is not one fiddle in a hundred--perhaps not that--which has been in use for a generation but what shows a sinking one side or the other, or, when the modelling is full, a depression in the middle of the upper table, and very frequently a greater fulness at the back where the sound post touches and presses from the inside. These alterations, individually or collectively, alter the "air ma.s.s" of the interior, and the violin thus, according to the theory, contains within itself the elements of its own early dissolution, so far as fine quality is concerned. Facts, however, go to prove the contrary, and with the modern regulator's efforts to obtain the best amount of a good thing known to be present, it is quite probable that Stradivari himself never heard his instruments to such advantage as they may be now, notwithstanding the unreasonably high pitch to which violinists are obliged to conform their tuning.

There was another theory promulgated many years back by certain people of some degree of eminence in their own walk in life. A grand discovery was announced, that the excellence of the violins of Stradivari consisted in the tonal difference between the upper and lower tables peculiar no doubt to that master. This sort of committee of scientific experimenter, violin dealer and author, did not--while centralising their efforts on the violins of one master--say whether the same relations.h.i.+p existed between the back and front of a Nicola Amati, Maggini or Gasparo de Salo, they made something of a slip when they mentioned the violins of the great Joseph Guarnerius as showing the same tonal difference.

It would have been very interesting to have heard of results after further trials by the same experimenters upon upper or lower tables of violins by now not very much less celebrated makers, who, although of the same cla.s.s or school, were living--for those times--far away from the central luminary of the Cremonese art. What would have been said of Montagnana of Venice? a star of the first magnitude, curiously near in quality and quant.i.ty to the great centre to which he was willing to pay obeisance and throw out a reflected light; of Gobetti, perhaps more "Straddy" than any other Italian, Gofrilleri, Seraphino, two or three of the Tononis, besides other lights of lesser magnitude, with exceedingly fine qualities, but perhaps open to the charge of intermittency.

Further, several of the Milanese school,--offshoots of the Amati and Stradivari,--of Lorenzo Guadagnini, a master of his art in all its details, if ever there was one, his son Joannes Battista, steadier in his working, but more uncertain in his results--s.h.i.+fting from place to place, may have had some connection with this--and the occasionally fine artificers of the same place, Landolfi, the Grancinos and Testores and later on Balestrieri of Mantua and Storioni of Cremona. These men, always good, and when circ.u.mstances were favourable, great in their art, often grand in their individuality and power, were, by these modern scientific interrogators placed aside or quietly ignored, apparently either as unworthy of their recognition, or of such inferior renown as not to come within the scope of their investigations.

A close and searching inquiry into the causes that enabled different masters of their art to bring about the desirable end of their labours, that of imparting a distinct quality and individuality of tone, might have enabled them to get at least a hint as to the means whereby Stradivari gratified the tastes of his patrons at the time and connoisseurs in general of the present day. As indicated before, the Venetian masters were--probably by the same means--able to put before their patrons that kind of tone most in agreement with the luxurious surroundings of the Venetian n.o.bility, or offered and found acceptable to the musical public generally there.

A prolonged, earnest examination of the peculiarities of tone attached to the violins of the makers of the chief seats of violin making, has led to the inference that the difference in kind or degree was not from individual choice, but chiefly owing to outside influence.

What is known as the old Brescian type of tone was doubtless suitable to the tastes of musical circles, among whom the then new style of musical instrument was introduced in Brescia. When settled down, the Amati family, a group of thorough artists, proved themselves alive to the requirements of the fresh district that was henceforth to be the scene of their labours for generations. The Brescian quality had either been found by them, or was known beforehand, to be too ponderous or insufficiently endowed with the more feminine quality desirable in the minds of the Cremonese. The Amatis seem to have been in full possession of the means necessary for producing the kind of violin in demand and supplied it.

As time went on, musical compositions changed in style, advancing by degrees towards the culminating point of nearly a century later. The simple, oft-times wondrously sweet, yet quaint effusions of the early composers for the violin, were gradually giving more and stronger indication of what was possible and likely to follow soon and in its turn, like all other things, become antiquated and old-fas.h.i.+oned.

Undoubtedly, it was this progressive condition of the music of the period that induced Stradivari, early in his career, if not at the time he was with Nicolo Amati, to take up the study of tone calibre as a matter of essential importance, in order not only to keep pace with the times, but if possible, antic.i.p.ate further advances in musical development.

It was daily becoming more evident that the qualities of refinement and sympathy would not in themselves be sufficient in an instrument with such a future as the violin seemed to have. Melodic forms were being modified, while harmony was becoming more varied and divided.

The art of appropriate phrasing was also being studied, while practical musicians were bowing to the necessity of leaving old stereotyped forms for those having more emotional qualities. In short, the violin wanted in Cremona was one of substantial power and suitable for more dramatic expression on the part of the performer. To bring forth a violin of this desirable type, Stradivari directed his energies. With what measure of success, the whole musical world up to the present day have emphatically declared.

Now, we may ask, was the difference of tone between the violins of Stradivari and those of the other makers of the Brescian, Cremonese, Venetian, Milanese, or Neapolitan school, in consequence of the tonal difference between the upper and lower table, as supposed to have been discovered by the modern Parisian investigator? was it resulting from the correct air ma.s.s inside? the relative thickness of the tables, or we may as well include the straight and fine grain theorists, the amber varnish in the wood theorists, the wood of great age theorists, and the generations of use theorists, and lastly those who mix them altogether.

If Stradivari practically worked upon one, some or all of these theories, there is still more mystery concerning the close proximity at which his pupils or a.s.sistants arrived, several of whom we might conclude were possessed of all necessary means of acquiring to the full their master's excellencies.

Just for a moment or two we may turn aside and notice the kind of variation or the distinguis.h.i.+ng difference between the tone in the general acceptation of the term--of Antonio Stradivari and other makers, or, as time has proved, masters of their art, if not on an equal standing with him. There is frequently among musicians a disposition to set down as inferior any tone that may seem to differ in degree or kind with that of Stradivari; that is the ideal type, it must be Stradivari and no other; some have even gone so far as to say, "there is only one quality," that of Stradivari, and when other masters did not produce it, they were unable to do so; this is more than a hint at condemnation of the head of the Cremona school as having been very lax in the proper and thoughtful training of his number of pupils; this latter an almost necessary consequence of eminent rank, taken apart from the usual a.s.sistance found to be obligatory from pressure of work. If we glance over the Italian schools taken one after another, the facts, if acknowledged, will be seen to point in other directions. Taking for instance the Milanese master, Lorenzo Guadagnini, who tells us himself that he learnt his art under Antonio Stradivari, we find distinct traces of it in his tone, the general calibre is the same and most of the fine, distinguis.h.i.+ng features noticed in the tone produced by his master; the difference, however, is that which is peculiar to the master makers of Milan, that of a slightly less reedy emission of sound. Some have called it harder, which is not a correct description. Chords are produced with it as easily and roundly as with any other, the individual notes blend beautifully and give an impression of h.o.m.ogeneousness in no wise inferior to anything produced in Italy. There was no apparent difficulty in the way of Milan acquiring and cultivating the variety of Italian tone known as the Cremonese had they been so disposed; we are therefore led to infer that each place with its musical world held its own opinions as to the most satisfactory quality of tone for its purpose and considered it the best. Milan is situated in Lombardy, north-west of Cremona, and distant from it between forty and fifty miles; not a very long way at any time, but quite sufficient for each place to cultivate or indulge in any artistic or musical fancies or whims independently of the other. We find maker after maker in Milan keeping within certain limits as regards the quality of tone produced there; I do not know of one whose instruments emitted other than the Milanese quality.

We may, I think, safely a.s.sume that so far from loosely and superficially instructing his pupils, Stradivari's tuition was of a deeper, far-reaching kind than has ever been suspected. If the tone of Lorenzo Guadagnini is compared with that of the makers who were working in Milan when he arrived, it will not be difficult to perceive that the Milanese type is still retained, although much enlarged and matured, in fact become freshly developed, throwing out the additional qualities for the obtaining of which the great master of Cremona had carefully trained his gifted pupil. All this is not in the least interfered with by the fact of Joannes Battista Guadagnini's tone differing in some respects--and more at times--with that of his father, but rather helped by it; both a.s.sert on their tickets that they were instructed by Stradivari, and both show the results of their training in that largeness and impressiveness which is so much beloved of violinists and which without doubt came from their great teacher. Josef, the son of Joannes Battista Guadagnini, appears also to have either been instructed by Stradivari or to have a.s.sisted under his personal supervision--which would amount to much the same thing. We may perceive in the tone of this maker also the influence of the great master in the same directions as are manifested in the works of his father and grandfather, they are all of the Stradivarian school.

Let us now turn in another direction. Alexandri Gagliano of Naples tells us that he too was a pupil of Stradivari, and looking at his work there is nothing about it inconsistent with his statement; his typical design is formed upon that of Stradivari, and many of his details of workmans.h.i.+p are such as can only have been carried out as the result of either a lengthy study, or from being under the immediate supervision of the master.

The quality of tone produced by the Neapolitans is as distinct as possible from that of Milan, it is clear, lively, suggestive of a sunny clime, and free in its emission, but leaves an impression on the ear of a lack of sufficient profundity, nearly the opposite in fact of the early Brescian school. Here the best of the Gaglianos--for it is not at all certain that there were not more than two of them a.s.sisting at different times in Stradivari's atelier--brought the same kind of improvement to Naples as the Guadagninis did to Milan, the scale was better regulated so as to give greater breadth of effect, notwithstanding the general quality--seemingly native to the place--being uninterfered with. Here then was the influence of Stradivari having taught his pupils the means whereby the particular tone quality most appreciated in the locality could be brought forward in its most developed, or mature condition.

Carlo Bergonzi we shall have to consider more fully further on, and for the present only refer to him as a pupil or a.s.sistant much more in immediate connection with the atelier of Stradivari than any maker known to us. Irregular workman as he was, swayed about this way and that by matters unknown to us, he kept steadfast to the Stradivarian lines to the end. The rest of his family were either his own pupils, or they may have even been at times with his master, as they all--so far as I am acquainted with them--are of the same school. These particulars all point in one direction--that Stradivari was not anxious and made no special efforts at introducing any new kind of tone--development of that already in existence was his aim, and on this line he appears to have led his immediate or personal pupils.

There is great probability that some very clever workmen whose names are lost to us, were with Stradivari for a time, long or short, and were able to imbibe the valuable precepts enjoined similarly on the other disciples. It is not at present known whether the sons of Stradivari had pupils or a.s.sistants, the rarity of their work seems to point to the contrary; their father having been so successful from the commercial point of view, apart from the higher aspect of his career, there may have been--we might say--the usual disposition amongst sons of successful fathers to take life more easily and repose among the laurels won for them, requiring only a little caretaking. There is some possibility of Thomas Balestrieri, of Mantua, having worked for a time under Stradivari, but not as a pupil; there is much in his work suggestive of this theory. His tone quality does not belong to the Amati school, in which tradition has it he was trained. He may have gone as help to Stradivari--for loose as was his general tendency, he could work finely when the fit was on him. Whether he went or not, there remains tone quality evidence of the strong influence of Stradivari, besides the throwing aside of the Amati traditions concerning proportions, curves and archings.

Of the other places to which personal pupils of the master went, we may take a pa.s.sing glance at Genoa, a city not replete with makers of refinement, or numerous, but nevertheless with some sterling qualities.

Among them and the most "Straddy" is Bernardus Calcanius; his earliest dates, if we can rely upon them, and they may prove at any moment to have been earlier than hitherto known, almost preclude the possibility of his having worked under Stradivari except as a youth. The influence of the master is, however, decidedly paramount in his work and no other tendency being noticeable, if not an immediate pupil, he took all possible pains to acquire the excellencies that were to his knowledge peculiar to Stradivari alone.

Among the Venetian makers there does not seem to be one that can--from his style and workmans.h.i.+p--be picked out as showing all necessary evidence of his having qualified under the great Cremonese as a personal pupil. Nevertheless there is much indication, and such as cannot be pa.s.sed over, of the influence of Stradivari among the aristocracy of the business there. This was not, as in the instances of the other schools of violin making outside Cremona, in the first ten years of the century, but after the different individuals of the group of eminent Venetians must have been well known and of established reputation. In this there is some apparent indication of one if not more of the party having taken a trip to Cremona and brought back a few hints of no inconsiderable value, perhaps received personally from the master. On the other hand, if this was not the case, his works must have been brought into Venice and their merits artistically as well as acoustically well thought over.

The outcome was a change, the Amati genius. .h.i.therto presiding uninterfered with, seemingly immutable, had to give way to that which was p.r.o.nounced an improvement or a step higher in the progress of the liutaro's art. As in Cremona, the Amati characteristics were too deeply rooted in the affections of the Venetians to be eradicated, and we consequently find in the designs of a few of the prominent makers the strong influence of Stradivari in conflict with that of Nicolas Amati, and the two swaying in balance with the settled convictions of the followers of Jacobus Stainer.

Having now taken a glance round at the chief centres of violin making that had during Stradivari's lifetime been strongly influenced by him, directly by means of his pupils or indirectly by the arrival there of his works, we may note that his qualities artistically or acoustically considered, while giving him a commanding position, did not reach so far as to annihilate, during compet.i.tion, those of the Amatis, especially where the latter had been of long standing and followed earnestly in detail, they kept side by side as in Cremona. The influence of Stradivari beyond the borders of Italy had yet to receive its due acknowledgment from the crowds of imitators which have now become known or have pushed themselves in front of the public gaze.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE REPUTED GOLDEN PERIOD OF STRADIVARI LATE IN LIFE--HIS LATER MODIFICATIONS OF DESIGN--SIGNS OF OLD AGE APPEARING--THE HELP HE RECEIVED.

We can now return back to Cremona, where we left the master in what might almost be termed the heydey of success, as he seems to have had full obeisance as the reigning chief among liutaros. The amount of work put forward--estimating carefully by what remains to us after the lapse of some hundred and eighty years or more--must have been possibly larger than is suspected and now might appear incredible if it were catalogued in detail, were it not for the extreme probability that minor or mere mechanical parts of the many instruments other than violins, violas, or violoncellos were effectively carried out under the supervision of Antonio Stradivari, his sons and a.s.sistants, of these probably what under the circ.u.mstances might even be termed a numerous staff.

The period 1700 to 1725 has been referred to by some writers as "the golden period" of Stradivari, not inaptly if we are to understand it in a pecuniary sense, as his income at the time was no doubt of a very satisfactory nature, but if taken from the standpoint of artistic elegance and finish in detail the master himself seems to have had some slight misgivings, as there are well-known indications in his latter days of having used some of his early patterns, as if a desire had arisen in his mind to return to his old love.

That some signs of advancing age should not be apparent in Stradivari's work during the period of 1715 to 1725 would scarcely be expected. It is just at this time, however, that he gives the strongest evidence of being the extraordinary man that he was. In 1715 and thereabouts, a time of all others, some critics might put it, when his most magnificent gems of art were sent out into the world, he was a veteran seventy-one years, a time of life that few people would look forward to as being appropriate for executing unrivalled masterpieces, but rather as having for some time retired for final rest after a full complement of working days; here, however, was a peerless artist actually in his prime! and as busy, possibly so, as at any early times.

At 1720 to 1725 a close student of his work of hand may discern some signs of what was to follow, it might be said naturally. In the first place the purfling gradually a.s.sumes a heavier aspect, it is a trifle bolder or thicker in substance, although sent round the borders of the instrument with apparently the same masterly handling and iron nervousness of the preceding years. The edging is also a degree stouter.

Occasionally the corners are made to a more obtuse angle, adding to the whole design a more stolid look, as if mere elegance was about to be thrown aside and more simplicity and grandeur were being sought for.

This was not continued, the master seemed afraid of going too far towards heaviness, he therefore cautiously withdrew to his own old lines. Sometimes--possibly taking up and constructing upon some of his old and early moulds--the corners are brought out more prominently, but with more substance than in his early days; the result is delightful for the connoisseur's eye. Accompanying these minute modifications there will be noticed an increase slight and gradual in the expression of heaviness in the sound holes. If possible there is more freedom from mere symmetrical proportion, they are placed less accurately level, one being a trifle higher than the other, this by the bye was common with him at all times, although usually with a subtlety that left them unnoticed by an ordinary observer. This slight irregularity has been sometimes misinterpreted as one of the little secrets of the master whereby he obtained his excellent sonority; "discovered" was the exclamation, and a new rule laid down on Stradivari's lines--never place your sound holes on the same level, always one a trifle higher and you will get what the master was so famous for. The result, so far, has been a disappointment which laid bare some evidence that these over zealous enthusiasts were not sufficiently acquainted with the canons of Italian art. There was another peculiarity creeping on with regard to these sound holes--that of an enlargement of the curve opposing the lower wing, at first it gave a more staid aspect to the part, there was less sprightliness and youth about it, nevertheless it was fine at times, even magnificent, there being still the same determination of purpose, that of combining maturity of elegance with strength. Afterwards, the change--and if all the works of these later years could be seen, saved from the destructive ravages of time and wear, it would be p.r.o.nounced scarcely perceptible in its progressive degrees--came creeping on, old age gradually insinuating itself in the mechanical part of the design.

From 1725 to 1737 was a time forming a proportion of Stradivari's career during which, if he arouses less enthusiasm among his admirers for the "work of hand," he outbalances it by far in exciting our astonishment at the man himself. In the year 1725, he was then eighty-one years of age, and his work, regarded from the standpoint of "periods" as given, or arbitrarily laid down by critics of the first half of the present century, was what is now known as just past the "golden" or "grand"

period; that is, some signs of decadence in the finish of the instruments which he sent forth were for the first time becoming apparent. It is generally believed that Stradivari was still industriously engaged in constructing instruments of different kinds and sizes as before, and that his time was occupied to the full in producing works in rapid succession, as in an uninterrupted stream. That the first part of this was probably quite true we can readily agree to, also that the out-put was continuous. Both, however, will need a little qualification when the surrounding circ.u.mstances are carefully weighed.

Allowing the master possession of unusual mental and physical powers, with zeal unabated at the period included within the dates 1725 and 1735, it would be too much for us to believe him capable of working with the certainty and celerity of former years; with all his extraordinary abilities he would now be a less prolific worker.

This is in agreement with the number of works that have come down to us, and as the time advanced it became less and less until a veritable specimen of his latest period is extremely rare.

It has before been referred to that the sons of Stradivari worked with him for many years. They must have, from continual practice, been able to fit their own workmans.h.i.+p on to the designs of their father to a nicety that could not be surpa.s.sed. Their own individual designs are very seldom seen, consequent, no doubt, on so much of their time being devoted to helping their father, and until his death they must have rarely made on their own account.

There were other a.s.sistants who lent a helping hand in different branches of the work, among whom we will not omit mention of Carlo Bergonzi, a great master himself, but little inferior to Stradivari, and a good deal better than either of the sons.

The circ.u.mstances under which Carlo Bergonzi worked in the Stradivari establishment are not known; it is by no means certain that he received his early tuition in the place, but that he became an influence of considerable weight admits of no question. Whether he worked on the premises, or--his own being at one time or other next door--was an outside help no data is to hand that we can rely on, certain it is that his talent must have been fully recognised by the younger Stradivaris as their work declares.

Many years back there was some discussion about concerning the extent to which Carlo Bergonzi helped, or what part he undertook, if it were admitted that some of the Stradivari violins of the latest period were not entirely the work of the master. There was much said for and against the possibility or probability of there being any of Carlo Bergonzi's handiwork to be seen on any of the late Strads. No one seems to have questioned the presence of the influence of Bergonzi's style in the work of Franciscus Stradivari, the eldest of the sons, who, after labouring for many years on his father's moulds and patterns, might have reasonably been tempted to take a "leaf from the book" of such a master in designing as his friend and fellow-a.s.sistant, Carlo Bergonzi.

To take any sort of hint from that wonderful, although fitful genius, Giuseppe Guarneri, working within earshot, was not to be entertained for a moment, as the style of workmans.h.i.+p, the calibre and quality of tone belonging to his manner, was quite opposed to Stradivarian teaching, and besides which there are no records or traditions indicating even usual social intercourse. We are therefore thrown upon our own resources in estimating any connection of Carlo Bergonzi with the late work of Antonio Stradivari. The instruments themselves will be the only guide and, without doubt, in the face of other evidence, had it been present, the best. Stradivari's work during the last ten or more years of his life was showing exactly what we should expect of the man when working at a patriarchal age. The stamp of the veteran handicraftsman may be traced not unfrequently on the works of other eminent makers of Cremona, including Andreas, Hieronymus, Nicolas, and his son Hieronymus and others down to the latest period of Cremonese art, when Laurentius Storioni was proving that if in its last struggles it was not quite dead.

The distinguis.h.i.+ng characteristics of old age work may be briefly summed up in a few words--heaviness in design and uncertainty of execution. Good, even brilliant, conceptions may be started on new work, but the execution of them shows weakness, or even inability to carry them out well. We will apply this as a kind of test when overlooking the specimens handed down to us as being the production of the great Cremonese master at the age of between eighty and ninety-three years of age. If doing this simply from the connoisseur's point of view, without admitting any such influences as present or past monetary value, former owners.h.i.+p, in short, thrusting aside all considerations of pedigree, we shall soon have to divide them into two sections, one of which will be acknowledged by all connoisseurs to be really representative of the true Stradivarian manner adhered to strictly through a long working career, but with the only fault of not quite so well being said of it. Thus the sound holes, as before referred to in the tracings, were becoming heavier at the lower part and with a tendency in other details towards ruggedness. The varnish has a thicker and less dainty aspect, although of excellent quality still, but there is an impression of heaviness. In the carving of the scroll the same character prevails, the edges of the turns are stouter and at the back the grooves down to the sh.e.l.l are less refined in their execution. All these little specialities of touch, but no modifications, are the natural manifestation of the peculiar physical condition of the master at a very advanced age.