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History of the Baroque Bow

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what is the bow like?
how is it held?
how is used

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Freiberger Dom, Germany 1594

Painted on the vault of the memorial chapel of the Cathedral of St. Marien in Freiberg, Saxony, is a magnificent Last Judgement surrounded by a series of sculptured angels on the balcony playing [presumably] celestial music.

The amazing thing, is that 21 of the 30 instruments held by these angels are actually original instruments, subsequently painted gold - including the one pictured here, an Angel playing a descant (= small, tuned either a third or fourth higher) violin. Note the length of the bow (short), the way the hair is attached at the tip and the one-piece bow/frog construction. The thumb on stick bow-hold could also be particularly interesting -- from the sources (for example, Prinner, or Muffat), this is not what we would expect in Germany at that time. BUT it might not be accurate - the figures, instruments and bows were discovered in dis-array, and the way they are now organised is not necessarily their original position.

angel.png

Annibale Carracci (Italy, 1560 - 1609)

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We don't have an exact date for this - probably between 1580 and 1600, pretty much around the time of Riccardo Rognoni. Annibale Carracci, an extremely important figure in Italian art of the time, was active in Bologna and Rome. This picture (presumably a sketch for a detail of a large fresco) shows the "classic" Italian thumb-on-the-stick bow-hold, quite close to the frog - at least in the (I assume) more finished sketch, where there IS a frog!). Notice also how thick the stick is - suggesting a relatively light indigenous wood.

anabali carici.jpeg

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Sheet Music

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Piano Concert Hall

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Orchestra Conductor on Stage
Timeline of the bow: Products
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