Most writers who have touched upon the subject of the wood from which Stradivari constructed his instruments would have us believe that he possessed a knowledge of acoustics, which, when brought to bear upon the selection of his material, helped him largely to achieve that wonderful excellence of tone possessed by his instruments; in fact, we are told that the marvellous acoustic qualities of this magic wood form the chief element in the success of Stradivari. Now, from such views we differ strongly.
That the material from which an instrument is made is of great importance we would be the last to deny; but it is not more important than are suitable and consistent dimensions, model, general construction, and varnish-which last, as stated in our chapter on the subject, more or less completes and improves or injures the good qualities of the instrument. Even with faulty-we do not say absolutely bad-material, if construction and dimensions are right, and good varnish is successfully applied, a fairly good instrument will result; but though the wood, and also construction and dimensions be perfect, the result will be astonishingly bad if the instrument be badly varnished.
Hence we are disposed to classify the relative importance of material, dimensions and construction, and varnish, as follows: 1st, varnish; 2nd, construction and dimensions; 3rd, material.
The early Brescians used in the majority of cases for the backs, sides, and heads of their instruments, poplar or wood of a kindred nature, such as lime, pear, and even cedar; for the bellies, pine-often of an exceptionally hard variety, and cut the slab way of the grain.
As time passes on, and we arrive at the period of Maggini and of the early Amatis, we find that maple had all but supplanted the softer woods hitherto employed for the backs, sides, and heads. This was because the makers had discovered that it gave a better all-round result; it permitted of the model back being worked out thinner, while retaining equal power of resistance to the sound-post; it tended to produce a brighter tone, and it was infinitely more pleasing to the eye-i.e. when handsomely figured All our information goes to prove that this wood used by the Brescians and the Cremonese makers up to the time of Stradivari was of local growth, and no difficulty could have been experienced in obtaining it.
The demands of a few cabinet and fiddle makers could not absorb the produce of many trees, and it must therefore have been both easily and cheaply procurable. As for pine, then as now, it abounded at no very great distance from Brescia; and if we judge by the free use the Milanese cheap-jacks made of pine of the finest quality, often for their commonest productions, we are forced to conclude that it could also be had there cheaply and plentifully. Only towards the end of Nicolo Amati's career do we begin here and there to see other wood than the ordinary native maple used; it is easily distin guishable by the broader markings of the curl as contrasted with that of the small, close figure to which we are so accustomed in the Amati instruments.
All the members of this family showed a great preference for cutting their wood the slab way of the grain. It is quite conceivable that the growing importance of the fiddle-maker's art at Cremona should have created a demand for foreign maple-material of a finer kind and more boldly marked. Higher remuneration was possibly being received for the instruments, and, consequently, an increased price could be paid for the requisite materials.
Fetis says ("Antonio Stradivari," by F. J. Fetis, p. 63) that the wood was brought from Croatia, from Dalmatia, and even from Turkey; and it would naturally come to the great emporium of the Adriatic, Venice-where, says tradition, it served to fashion the oars of the gondolas, possibly also their interior decoration; thence to Cremona was not a very long journey. Nevertheless the transport of heavy logs or trees-and probabilities point to the wood having been carried in bulk- must have somewhat enhanced the cost before it reached its destination, and its use, therefore, would be restricted.
In speaking of the construction of the violin by the Brescians and Cremonese, Hart says: "There can be no doubt whatever that the Cremonese and Brescian artists were exceedingly careful in their choice of material, and their discrimination in this particular does not appear to have been exercised so much from a regard for the beauty as for the acoustic properties of the wood, to which latter point they very properly gave the first place in their consideration. We have evidence of much weight on this interesting subject in the frequent piecings found in the works of the old masters of the craft, who seem to have preferred to retain a piece of wood of known acoustic properties rather than to work in a better preserved portion at the probable expense of tone."
We feel it a duty to say that we fail to perceive this remarkable discrimination, and we believe that the evidence of which Hart speaks is easily refuted. We cannot too much insist upon the fact that all these Brescian and Cremonese masters were purely and simply working artisans, guided by practical experience and the circumstances of the moment. When well remunerated, either in money or patronage, they did their best, and used the finest material then obtainable, and vice versa. Their powers of discrimination were in no way superior to those of the thoughtful craftsman of today- if, that is to say, we form our conclusions from examination, not of a small, but of a large number of the many existing specimens of their work.
Various reasons may be given to account for the old practice of adding pieces to the wings of the back, and of inserting smaller pieces in different parts of both back and belly, or again, of making the belly of several pieces. In every case the solution of the problem is to be found by looking at the matter from the workman's, and not from the theorist's point of view. Stradivari frequently added a wing or wings to the bottom curves of the back in one piece, and in doing so he was guided by those same motives of economy which would prompt us to act in a similar way if handsome wood cost as much now as it did then. The same reasoning applies, with even still greater force, to the insertion of pieces. In the former case the necessity for adding a wing is recognised before starting, and the consequences weighed; in the latter some defect more often reveals itself when back or belly is well advanced. Then, rather than sacrifice both the material and the labour so far expended upon it, one elects to insert a piece or even pieces. No wood is more treacherous in this respect than pine, and for this reason all makers, including Stradivari, have generally made the bellies from two pieces; in other words, they found it much easier to obtain a perfect piece of pine, of upright, even grain, and free from resinous stains, of the width of four and a half inches than of nine inches; this is then split down the centre and joined.
It must not be supposed that Stradivari often inserted such pieces: he was far too particular about his work to do so; but so much cannot be said of many other less renowned Italian makers. That Stradivari brought to bear a certain amount of judgment in the selection of his materials is beyond discussion, but that he possessed any special knowledge other than that of an intelligent craftsman, well versed in the traditions of his craft, we are constrained to deny. Take his pre-1684 instruments: all those known to us, with but few exceptions, are made (back, sides, and head) from home-grown maple of a decidedly plain appearance, acoustically good, it is true, yet not what either he-or we, let us say-would have chosen with choice unfettered.
We are therefore forced to conclude either that he was poorly paid for these examples, or that the handsome and sonorous wood he used in later years was then unobtainable. The truth probably lies between these two conclusions: his remuneration was relatively small, and handsome foreign maple fairly expensive, possibly not to be had at all during certain years. Nothing more ridiculous can be supposed than that the species both of maple and of pine which the Cremonese so ably utilised no longer exists; and the height of absurdity is reached when we are gravely informed by Herr Schradieck, (The Courier, a musical paper published in Cincinnati, U.S.A.: Art. "A Lost Secret-The Violin." No. 26, April 1884.) a distinguished German professor of the violin now settled in America, that the late Mr. Niederheitmann, an amateur enthusiast of Aix-la-Chapelle, discovered, after much research, that the secret of the unrivalled tone of Stradivari and of other fine instruments may be found in the fact that the bellies were made of "Balsam Pine," a wood which grew in Northern Italy at the period when those makers flourished, but has since gradually become extinct.
We are still on the heights of absurdity when another German writes to assure us that the wood and varnish used by Stradivari have at length been discovered by him, after making about ten thousand experiments, and having recourse to the aid of the microscope. We unhesitatingly assert that modern violin-makers have a choice of material equal in every respect to that which existed at the time of Stradivari, and of infinitely greater variety. The same forests whence came his timber are possibly still in existence, for what are two or three hundred years in the life of a not unduly disturbed forest? And we enjoy to-day all the advantages of a commercial age, when traders are willing to deliver at our doors wood from every part of the world, even sawn to given dimensions, and ready for use!
We may here add a word as to the delusion that material taken from buildings, such as for instance Swiss chalets-in some cases centuries old-is preferable to that cut and seasoned during a lesser, but still a sufficient, number of years. We have tried both kinds-Vuillaume did so repeatedly-and we fail to find that the former possesses any real advantage over the latter; in fact, our opinion is rather in favour of the more youthful wood.
Our conclusions are, then, that Stradivari's choice of material depended upon two circumstances: 1st, the remuneration he was to receive for a given instrument; 2nd, the choice of wood he had at the time in stock. Some years offered an abundant selection, others only an indifferent one.
Internet Edition ©2001 Marshall C. St. John
Free Service of Cello Heaven