BOOKS

The Piedmontese Violin Makers in the 17th and 18th Centuries Claudio Amighetti

275PP RINKO PUBLISHING €260

In spite of the intensive research undertaken by scholars, collectors and violin makers over the past 30 years, the history of Italian violin making is still far from fully documented. Owing to the huge diversity of historical, political and social situations in the highly fragmented Italian peninsula, there are still many important areas whose lutherie traditions need to be clarified. Claudio Amighetti’s new book on the violin making school of Turin, from the Baroque era up to the time of the French Revolution, successfully fills the gap for this region. The volume is the result of 30 years’ research in the archives of Saluzzo, Turin and Savona: a quest indeed, undertaken with passion and patience, which unearthed a huge number of records on a wide range of makers (he has located 140 documents about Cappa alone!) within the two centuries investigated.

Head and body of a c.1775 cello by Giovanni Battista Genova of Turin

The book starts with an accurate historical introduction that describes the critical relationship between France and the Duchy of Savoy, the Thirty Years’ War in Italy and the Savoys’ aggressive policies to expand their territory. In his preface, John Dilworth notes the importance of the immigration of German violin makers to Italy and how they spread from Venice to Bologna, Turin, Genoa, Rome and Naples, leading the instrument making market.

So the story begins, with Johann Angerer, one of the first recorded 18th-century violin makers in Turin, who was probably trained by his cousin Sebastian in Genoa. We then meet Enrico Catenar, probably a pupil of Angerer. Violin making in Turin was enhanced by the flourishing of musical life in the court, the passion of the queens regent for music, and the patronage of Vittorio Amedeo II of Savoy. The Music Chapel of the court had a key role in the development of music and the related business in Turin. It increased the importance of violin making, represented by luthiers including Catenar and Cappa, Giovanni Francesco Celoniato and his sons.

The historical profile of each luthier is described with an analysis of their individual making technique, with pictures illustrating the related features: in general, care has been given to the evolution of the local making technique, based on the use of a square-shaped channel in which the ribs were inserted, commonly used in areas of Central Europe, Flanders and the Austrian Tyrol.

The selection of instruments comes mostly from important collections and museums from around the world. The quality of the pictures is sadly uneven owing to the variety of sources; a full photographic campaign was probably unaffordable. The book is well written and supported by meticulous research – the amount of original material Amighetti has compiled from the archives is quite a rarity in a violin making book. He points out honestly that this volume, rather than being a definitive work on the subject, is more of a starting point for future research: the result is an enjoyable read that fills an important hole in the history of Italian lutherie, and a great tool for learning the style and works of those less known and uncommon makers.

ALBERTO GIORDANO

www.thestrad.com

Giovanni Bottesini Complete Method for the Double Bass Ed. Stephen Street

137PP ISBN 9781999866457 £11.99

Bottesini String Quartet op. 2 Ed. Stephen Street

85PP (SCORE) 21PP (PARTS) ISMN 9790900299604 £21 (SCORE AND PARTS) WWW.STEPHENSTREET.COM

In addition to his extraordinary accomplishments as a double bass virtuoso and conductor, Giovanni Bottesini is also credited with nearly 300 compositions, encompassing opera, oratorio, chamber music and instrumental music, much of it for the double bass. That there has never been any meaningful attempt to catalogue or publish Bottesini’s output is surprising, but the double bassist Stephen Street, perturbed by evident discrepancies in many current editions, notably in the music for double bass, has embarked on the ambitious project of cataloguing and publishing an urtext edition of Bottesini’s complete works. Fittingly, this monumental quest begins with Bottesini’s Complete Method for the Double Bass, which is then followed by the String Quartet op.2.

Double bassists worldwide will be familiar with Bottesini’s method through the Yorke Edition version, published as two separate volumes of graded exercises without commentary. This new urtext edition presents the method as originally intended, complete with Bottesini’s forthright text, idiomatically translated into English by John F. Clayton. The convincing facsimile reprint effectively retains the charm of the 1872 original, with every single page of that first version painstakingly photographed and digitally enhanced. It is also available in French and Italian.

In a succinct preface, Bottesini sets out the guiding principles of his method: ‘Truth for science; Beauty for art; Usefulness for the pupil.’ He then divides his method into two distinct parts: The Contre Basse in the Orchestra, and The Second Part, The Contre Basse as a Solo Instrument. He is at pains to provide the aspiring bassist with a comprehensive technical, musical and philosophical foundation, and each carefully chosen word and meticulously crafted etude is dedicated to the holistic musical education of the double bassist as artist.

A c.1865 photo of Giovanni Bottesini with his 1716 Carlo Antonio Testore bass

With this publication, the double bass world can once again properly benefit from the wisdom and secrets of one of the greatest virtuosos of all time, and diligent students who persevere to the end of Part Two are rewarded with a special treat of a handful of Bottesini’s own compositions: Elegy, Four Arias and his Carnival of Venice variations.

The edition of Bottesini’s effervescent String Quartet in B flat major op.2 comes in two parts and is just as meticulously presented.

The full score begins with a facsimile of Bottesini’s manuscript and is followed by a beautifully typeset copy of the score in the new ‘Stephen Street Urtext Edition’ font. The quirky yet thought-provoking cover is a reproduction of artwork originally used by Bottesini himself for his opera Ali Babà. The set of parts benefits from the practical experience of a performing musician. The almost austere black on white contrast enhances legibility, and page turns are well judged.

Bottesini is credited with six string quartets, one of which won the Basevi Competition in Florence, and five string quintets. One includes the double bass, and their publication is eagerly awaited.

All in all, Stephen Street’s mammoth urtext project is off to a promising start, and is appropriately launched in 2021, the bicentenary of Bottesini’s birth.

LEON BOSCH