Round arch (string instrument)
As arched a is bows for stringed instruments referred to, the sheet bar is bent in playing position to the top (convex), ie the arc rod and bow hair form a circular segment .
In the narrower sense, the round arch is a modern, experimental arch that was developed in various versions in the 20th century and is only used by a few specialists. With this modern round arch, the hairs of the arch can be relaxed and tightened again during the game. This makes it possible to strike three or more strings at the same time and play them with many voices. This article deals primarily with the modern round arch.
In a broader sense, other bows of string instruments that have a convex curve are sometimes referred to as "round bows". The difference to the modern round arch is that the hair of these arches is always taut when making music. These arches are referred to at the end of the article.
Modern round arch
Comparison with a standard bow
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String bows in use today are slightly concave, that is, the distance between the wood of the bow rod and the bow hair is smallest in the middle of the bow. When playing, the hair is always taut. Since the four strings of a string instrument are arranged on a curved bridge, one can usually play at most two strings at the same time with such a bow, at most three strings for a short time with a lot of bow pressure. In particular, four-part chords, which do occur in works for string instruments, can only be played broken with a normal bow ( arpeggio ).
So that the bow hairs can strike three or all four strings at the same time, they must be loosened. For this, the round arch has a lever on the handle or a steplessly fold-out frog , with which the bow hairs can be loosened and tightened again while playing. This makes it possible to play on one, two, three or four strings in a controlled manner and to switch between these options at any time.
Theoretical background
Arnold Schering
In the 20th century, the musicologist Arnold Schering opened the discussion about the round arch in 1904, which should have historical models. Schering referred to the preface to Georg Muffat's Florilegium Secundum , according to which violinists of the Baroque period placed the thumb of their right hand on the bow hair in order to change the tension. A fundamental mistake was Schering's conclusion that at that time polyphonic chords could be tolerated by releasing the pressure of the thumb to reduce the bow tension so that the hair could lay over all four strings.
Albert Schweitzer and the "Bach Arch"
Albert Schweitzer also believed that it was common practice to strike up to four strings at the same time, especially with regard to Bach's solo works for violin . In his book on Johann Sebastian Bach (1905) he popularized this mistake. Schweitzer was in close contact with the first arch players. For example, when Rolph Schroeder gave a concert on the arch in Strasbourg in 1933, Schweitzer gave the introductory lecture and reported on the concert in the Swiss music newspaper . Despite persistent criticism from musicologists, Albert Schweitzer continued to insist on his demand for a "Bach bow" - a round arch for Bach's solo works. In 1950 he wrote a text for the Bach Year in Lambarene with the title: The violin bow required for Bach's works for violin solo .
Schweitzer's demand for a Bach bow that enables truly polyphonic violin playing may have something to do with the fact that he was a theologian and organist himself and that the polyphonic organ sound was considered a typical Bach sound anyway. Even without Schweitzer's intervention, the organ corresponded to the notion of Bach, which had been common since the late 19th century, as the creator of the most sublime sacred musical works, as “arch choirmaster” and “fifth evangelist ”.
David Dodge Boyden and other music researchers argued against the authenticity of the “Bach Bow” in the second half of the 20th century. Accordingly, there are no historical references to the strong arching of the arch in the 18th century. Iconographic models for the round arch exist from the Middle Ages, but these arches have a tight tension.
In 1997 Rudolf Gähler published the book The Round Arch for the Violin - a Phantom? , in which he summarized all previously known texts on the round arch. Here it becomes clear that the criticism of round arches was essentially sparked by the incorrect claim that this type of round arch existed in Bach's time. The term "Bach bow" chosen by Schweitzer was not applicable in this respect. On the other hand, since no string bows from the estate of Johann Sebastian Bach have survived, it is no longer possible to make any statements about whether Bach experimented with different bow models after all. The manner of his detailed polyphonic notations in these solo works suggests this. After all, Bach was also personally acquainted with Johann Paul von Westhoff , whose Six Suites for violin alone (Dresden 1696) are all notated for several voices.
Polyphonic playing at Paganini
In 1995, the violinist and arch player Philippe Borer drew attention to some compositions for violin by Niccolò Paganini that had not been considered up to now and that can be played on four strings at the same time. Of particular interest is the Capriccio per violino solo MS 54 (i.e. No. 54 in the catalog of works by Moretti and Sorrento). The intention to play completely polyphonic is not only supported by the sheet music itself, but also by the unusual fact that Paganini wrote the piece as a score with four staves below one another - a separate stave for each of the four voices. According to Borer, no other piece for the violin has ever been so notated.
To realize the polyphonic way of playing, Borer refers to an instruction by Paganini that is on the title page of the manuscript of an unpublished sonata for violin and viola. There Paganini wrote that one should play with the hair of the bow on the strings and the wood of the bow under the violin. Paganini drew a sketch confirming this. The polyphonic playing technique with relaxed bow hair is now comparatively easy to implement with the modern round bow. In the Paganini works, however, it is associated with extreme fingering challenges for the left hand.
In the case of a Preludio Paganinis with only four bars, which he gave to ten-year-old Clara Wieck in Leipzig as an album sheet in 1829 , the question arises whether two bars should even be played in five voices. Clara Wieck stated in her album that Paganini said when handing the present: "This is a passage that nobody can repeat for me."
Construction of the round arch and game practice
Violinists as pioneers
The first violinists to play with a modern round arch had different models built on their own initiative. Rolph Schroeder from Kassel designed his first round arch models in the 1930s. In 1951, Schroeder recorded the sonatas and partitas for solo violin by Johann Sebastian Bach in the presence of Albert Schweitzer (published on Columbia Records).
The French violinist Georges Frey was invited by Schweitzer in January 1933 to the concert in Strasbourg at which Rolph Schroeder presented his arch with a performance of Bach's sonatas and partitas. He was so impressed that he immediately started playing with the arch. From then on Frey himself propagated the round arch.
The Hungarian violinist Emil Telmányi , together with the Danish violin maker Vestergard, designed another round arch model, the Vega bow ( Vega stands for Vestergard ). In 1953 Telmányi recorded Bach's works for solo violin on record with this arch. The Russian violinist Tossi Spiwakowski got to know these recordings in 1957 and then used a Vega bow himself.
Otto Büchner , who among other things worked as first concertmaster at the Bavarian State Opera and as a teacher at the Musikhochschule in Munich , recorded two partitas by Bach with a round arch in 1973. This recording was re-released on CD in 1993.
The violinist Rudolf Gähler , who took over the round arch playing from his teacher Rolph Schroeder, recorded Bach's sonatas and partitas with the round arch in 1998 for ARTE NOVA. Rudolf Gähler consciously uses the round arch as a modern, up-to-date means of part-leading analysis of Bach's solo sonatas and partitas.
Michael Bach
In the 1990s, the cellist Michael Bach , who initially had no knowledge of the previous efforts of the violinists mentioned above, began to deal with polyphonic playing on the cello . The focus was on contemporary composition. He founded the "BACH.Bogen" studio in Stuttgart and Wissembourg (France), whereby the designation "BACH" refers to his own name and not to Johann Sebastian Bach. In the period that followed, round arches were designed for all string instruments, with Rudolf Gähler and Mstislaw Rostropowitsch involved in the years 1997–2001. The BACH bow for cello was presented at the Concours Rostropovitch in 2001 in Paris.
Michael Bach's polyphonic and overtone playing techniques on the cello as well as his specific notations are the basis for the works for cello with round arches, to which he inspired the composers Walter Zimmermann , John Cage , Dieter Schnebel and Hans Zender . A flat model of the BACH.Bogen also allows Bach's suites for cello solo to be interpreted, striving for a compromise between melodic and chordal playing. In 2012, the BACH.Bogen received 1st prize in the Bachlaufen exhibition project in Arnstadt .
Round arch player
Herman Berkowski, Rolph Schroeder (1900–1980), Emil Telmányi (1892–1988), Georges Frey (1890–1975), Roman Totenberg (1911–2012), Otto Büchner (1924–2008), Tossi Spiwakowski (1906–1998) , Rudolf Gaehler (* 1941), Hartmut Lindemann, Reinhold Dolin (1938–2006), Michael Bach (* 1958), Mstislaw Rostropowitsch (1927–2007), Philippe Borer , Burkard Weber (* 1969), Noah Sorota, Hitoshi Ando, Alexander Waterman (* 1975), Monica Germino , Nikos Veliotis (* 1970), Sue Schlotte (* 1967), Gustav Rivinius (* 1965), Anton Lukoszevieze (* 1965), Carlos Zingaro (* 1948), Ernesto Rodrigues (* 1959 ), Guilherme Rodrigues (* 1988), Bill Robinson (* 1955), Ted Mook (* 1953), 12 cellists Tübingen, Torsten Harder (* 1965), Oliver Coates, Brice Catherin (* 1981), Tomoki Tai, Nora Krahl, Marei Seuthe, Tanja Orning, Dorsten Klauke, Jennifer Bewerse , Andrew Phillips, Maresuke Okamoto, Sonja Schebeck , Maya Fridman, Vid Veljak, Sam Sweeney (* 1989), Sara Cubarsi, Kyle Armbrust, Killick Hinds, Kei Yamazawa, Jaron Lanier (1960).
Compositions for arches in new music
The following composers of modern music have composed works for the round arch:
Dieter Schnebel , Walter Zimmermann , John Cage , Michael Bach Bachtischa , Gerhard Stäbler , Hans Zender , Burkard Weber, Yoshifumi Tanaka, Daniel Ott , Marei Seuthe, Brice Catherin , Ludovic Thirvaudey, Roland Moser , Catherine Kontz, Arash Yazdani, Haris Kittos, Reynaldo Young , Dimitris Kamarotos, Michalis Adamis, Daryl Runswick, Dai Fujikura , Rupert Huber .
Round arches with tight covering
The modern round arch described above is not to be confused with other bow bows, the arch rod of which has a more or less pronounced convex curve and which can therefore also be referred to as round arches. The key difference is that these bows have no mechanics that could relax the hair of the bow.
The designation as arch (corresponding in other languages, e.g. Italian arco ) indicates a curved shape of the arch pole as the original shape; the much older weapon of the same name (see archery ) was probably the inspiration behind the name. In fact, early depictions of string bows in drawings and painting often show pronounced convex curves.
Arches with strong curvature were particularly common in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance , but with a great variety of shapes. In Raphael's altarpiece The Coronation of the Virgin (ca. 1502-1504) are presented with stringed instruments and idealized arches two angels playing musical instruments. In Renaissance music, bow poles with only a slight curvature were also used.
In baroque music , the traditional arch forms, including the short round arches commonly used in folk music, were initially retained. Starting in Italy, however, longer bows were soon built so that long notes could also be played. As a result, the curvature of the arched rods decreased to a straight or slightly concave shape. In many baroque arches, the arch rod and the covering run almost parallel, only near the tip of the arch do they converge at an acute angle (see picture on the right, painting by Orazio Gentileschi). Such baroque arches are usually not classified as round arches.
Baroque bows or copies and imitations of baroque bows are still used today in the context of historical performance practice , including bows with a distinct convex curvature. Furthermore, some traditional string instruments in the folk music of different countries are bowed with round arches, such as the Bulgarian gadulka or the Russian gudok .
The street musician Klaus der Geiger accompanies himself as a singer on the violin and uses a self-made round arch.
literature
- Tossy Spivakovsky: The polyphony in Bach's works for solo violin. In: Music Review, 1967, pp. 277-288.
- Michael Bach: Fingerboards & Overtones, images, basics and drafts of a new cello game. edition spangenberg, Munich 1991, ISBN 3-89409-063-4 .
- Michael Bach: The suites for violoncello by Johann Sebastian Bach. In: Das Orchester , 7–8 / 1997.
- Rudolf Gähler: The round arch for the violin - a phantom? (= ConBrio book, volume 5). ConBrio, Regensburg 1997, ISBN 3-930079-58-5 .
Web links
- bach-bogen.de Website for the BACH.Bogen, with general information on the modern round arch
- Demonstration of various models of the round arch Video on YouTube, first part of the series Introduction of round arches for string instruments by Michael Bach
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Article Bach-Bogen. In: Stefan Drees (Ed.): Lexicon of the violin. Laaber-Verlag, Laaber 2004, ISBN 3-89007-544-4 , p. 60.
- ↑ Albert Schweitzer: The round violin bow. On the Bach concert by concertmaster Rolph Schroeder at the Tonkünstlerverein in Strasbourg on January 24, 1933. In: Schweizerische Musikzeitung 73 (1933), pp. 197–203.
- ^ Albert Schweitzer: The violin bow required for Bach's works for violin solo. In: Bach memorial. Zurich 1950, pp. 75–83.
- ↑ Heinz Rellstab, Anselm Gerhard: "Sounding at the same time as possible" - "despite unspeakable effort". Controversies about playing chords on the violin in the long 19th century ( PDF ). In: Music research at the Bern University of the Arts , edited by Roman Brotbeck. Volume 3. Edition Argus, Schliengen 2011, ISBN 978-3-931264-83-3 , pp. 91-105, here p. 103 f.
- ↑ a b c d Philippe Borer: The twenty-four caprices of Niccolo Paganini: their significance for the history of violin playing and the music of the Romantic era . Dissertation, University of Tasmania 1995, Chapter IV (PDF), pp. 126-130 (Sostenuto playing on four and five strings) .
- ↑ Cf. Capriccio for Violin Solo MS 54 Critical Edition halleonard.com, with a brief description.
- ↑ Data on Otto Büchner's record from 1973 musik-sammler.de
- ↑ Otto Büchner plays the violin with a round arch karlrichtermunich.blogspot.com, October 22, 2008.
- ↑ Presentation of the BACH bow on the occasion of the Rostropovitch Concours in Paris, October 6, 2001 (English)
- ↑ Michael Bach: Fingerboards & Overtones, Pictures, Basics and Designs of a New Cello Game. edition spangenberg, Munich 1991, ISBN 3-89409-063-4 .
- ↑ Michael Bach wins the Thuringian General Bach Run Prize , December 3, 2012
- ^ Curved Bows for String Instruments: Compositions bach-bogen.de
- ^ Source: Henry Saint-George, The Bow, Its History, Manufacture & Use . The Strad, London 1896.
- ↑ Thomas M. Gerbeth: History of the bow gerbeth.at, here part 11 and part 13
- ↑ The altarpiece The Coronation of the Virgin by Raphael on Wikimedia Commons, see above right the two angels with Renaissance arches.
- ↑ Thomas M. Gerbeth: Geschichte des Streichbogen gerbeth.at, here part 12 of the wood engraving Musicerend Paar by Lucas van Leyden from 1524, on which a "slightly convexly curved" bow can be seen; see. detailed illustration at rijksmuseum.nl.
- ↑ The Baroque bow as part of a musical revolution: violin, music and bow making in the 17th and 18th centuries. Corilon.com
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