m-SCROLL HISTORY 1

SCROLLIn ancient times, early stringed instruments were plucked or strummed in order to produce sound. You are probably familiar with the plucked-string instrument called the harp. Well, in ancient Greek sculpture, the gods often appeared playing a type of harp called the Kithara.

Harps often appear in later paintings and sculpture played by angels and cupids. String music always has been thought of as heavenly!

Similar instruments were created in Asia where there was experimentation with horsehair for use as both strings and bow hair. Many cultures share rich traditions strongly influenced by the prevalence and usefulness of horses in the daily lives of people of the time, even as far as musical instruments were concerned!

These instruments were used to accompany folk songs and as background music during story telling. They used available materials of the day in order to make music. These equestrians were very innovative and the horses very cooperative!

These earliest-known folk instruments had only two strings. The strings were attached to the top of a long piece of wood, a neck, in order to make different sounds easier to produce. At the top of the necks there was a place to connect the horse-hair strings.  The other end of the string was connected to the bottom of the instrument.

Legend has it that these instrument building equestrians, distinguished fiddles from one another by carving the shapes of different horses at the top of the fiddle necks, in the location of the modern-day instrument scroll.

These and similar folk instruments were invented, and soon were dispersed throughout Europe and Asia on established land and sea- trade routes.   During the Middle Ages (c.500 – c.1350), instruments developed in India and spread throughout Europe. Venice became a major European city, rich in trade, because of its location on the Adriatic Sea – it was a trade and culture doorway to Europe in the east.

During the 1500’s, silk, spices, and traditional musical instruments came through Venice into Europe along established trade routes, particularly, as you will see, had a particular impact in Cremona, Italy.

At first, street musicians played them for public entertainment, and later, they used these instruments to entertain Royalty. In 1626, the King of France, Louis XIII, ordered Amati to build 24 violins for royal use. At that time, a messenger probably delivered the order written on a scroll that was closed with the King’s Royal Seal.  In England, Charles II followed the French example around 1660.
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During the Renaissance (late 14th-16th centuries), the success of violins and the demand for them, as well as for the lower-pitched, bowed-string, instruments, to accompany popular songs of the day, inspired skilled European artisans to perfect the art of violin making. These skilled craftsmen are called luthiers (pronounced loo-tee-er, with a French accent!).
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The Amati family passed on their skills, and several of their skilled apprentices became master violin makers. One of them, Gasparo da Salò, was a famous bass player who is credited with building some of the finest instruments of the day.
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Cremona, Italy, was known for being the home of the most respected string instrument experts and luthiers.  The most notable include the Guarneri and the Stradivari families. Their most beautiful instruments gained individual names and reputations.
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For example, Anne-Sophie Mutter’s Stradivarius violin, built in 1703, is known as the Emiliani, after the famous Italian violinist, Cesare Emiliani (b.1805; d.1887), who once owned it and is considered to be one of the finest examples of Stradivari craftsmanship.
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The expertise needed to carve intricate scrolls, as well as to build the entire instrument, became part of the luthier’s personal quest for artistic excellence!
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From generation to generation, the family of stringed instruments and the many respected luthier families who furthered the mastery of instrument building truly flourished.  Many Baroque Era composers wrote for every member of the string- instrument family, which increased the need for more skilled luthiers.
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The life span of master German composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) has been used widely as an aid to remembering the dates of the Baroque Period.
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Dramatic and emotional expression filled Baroque-period art.  Baroque sculpture, art, and architecture characteristically made use of extremely flowing and ornate detail. Museums house some of the best representations of instruments that exhibit the finest artistic craftsmanship on their scrolls.
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The monetary value of authentic, original, instruments from respected makers rivals that of the finest antiques, which, indeed, they are. The prices of some of these antique instruments range in millions of dollars – the highest on record sold at auction for close to 16 million dollars to benefit Tsunami and Earthquake relief efforts.
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Carving the detail of the spiral top of the scroll became the test of skill for violin makers.

Now you know how scrolls developed. You also know why I am proud to sport my unique, scroll, hair-do.However – I am the first to admit that I am quite a stylish, but humble, droll scroll!

When reading about the history and development of string instruments, you came across the names of several historical time periods: Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque.
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You also learned that just like people, individual instruments have their own unique story. There is much that we can learn from studying history and applying lessons from the past in our present lives.
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