John's thesis studied the evolution of the violin from baroque to romantic, using the same violin, which physically underwent the various steps in this evolution. He built a baroque violin (originally, it looked rather like the one at right). He tested it, and had a panel of original-instrument specialists play it. Then he gradually modified it, in the ways that all of the strads and most other existing baroque instruments have been modified over the years: a bigger bass bar, retuning of the belly, a bigger sound post, a taller different bridge at varied positions, a new, longer, steeper neck and fingerboard, much heavier, tighter strings (steel instead of gut) and of course the new bow that bends in the opposite direction. At each step, he measured the violin, and recorded the experts playing it. Over a year, that violin gradually became a modern style violin — and there it is at left in the photo. It is that violin at left that you can hear in all of the sound files below, as it gradually evolves from baroque to modern.
The sound files below are often grouped in two columns, so that you can listen and compare the effects of individual changes.
First, let's look at the overall change in the instrument. Here we hear compare the baroque vs romantic violin @ 415 and baroque vs modern bow, gut strings (Player B)
Bassano baroque violin, baroque bow
Bassano, romantic violin, baroque bow
Bassano, baroque violin, modern bow
Bassano, romantic violin, modern bow
The
romantic violin has a longer, heavier neck and fingerboard, at a new angle. It has a bass bar and the top plate has been retuned to adjust to this. It has a taller bridge with a different shape. However, in this comparison, it has the same strings and is played in a representative baroque pitch. Compare violins (left to right) and bows (top to bottom).
Now to individual and smaller changes. Here is the effect of the bass bar
Player A, baroque violin @ 415, no bass bar
Player A, baroque violin @ 415, with bass bar
Scale
Scale
Bach partita
Bach partita
Sibelius
Sibelius
The effect of bridge position and baroque vs modern bow
Player B, baroque violin @ 415, bridge at standard position
Player B, baroque violin @ 415, bridge below the f holes
Bassano, baroque bow
Bassano, baroque bow
Bassano, short baroque bow
Rossini, baroque bow
Rossini, baroque bow
Rossini, modern bow
Rossini, modern bow
Some paintings from the period, by artists famed for their accuracy, show the bridge positioned
below the f holes, rather than at the f hole notches, as is standard today. These files compare these configurations.
The effect of baroque vs modern bow on a baroque violin (gut strings)
Player B, C or D, baroque violin @ 415, baroque bow
Player B, C or D, baroque violin@ 415, modern bow
(B) Bassano, baroque bow
(B) Bassano, modern bow
(C) Handel, baroque bow
(C) Handel, modern bow
(B) Rossini, baroque bow
(B) Rossini, modern bow
(D) Telemann, baroque bow
(D) Telemann, modern bow
The shaft of the baroque bow bends away from the strings, whereas the modern bow bends towards it. This and the following sets of files allow comparisons on baroque and romantic instruments.
The effect of baroque vs modern bow on a romantic violin, gut strings
Player C or D, romantic violin @ 440, baroque bow, gut strings
Player C or D, romantic violin @ 440, modern bow, gut strings
(C) Bach, baroque bow
(C) Bach, modern bow
(C) Bruch, baroque bow
(C) Bruch, modern bow
(D) Bach2, baroque bow
(D) Bach2, modern bow
(D) Sarasate, baroque bow
(D) Sarasate, modern bow
The effect of a shoulder rest and baroque vs modern bow on baroque violin @ 415, gut strings
(C) Handel, baroque bow, no shoulder rest
(C) Handel, modern bow, no shoulder rest
(C) Handel, baroque bow, with shoulder rest
(C) Handel, modern bow, with shoulder rest
The shoulder rest and chin rest permit and encourage different ways of holding the instrument and different playing gestures. They also modify the low frequency resonances of the instrument. This and the next set of files allow comparisons.
The effect of a chin rest on romantic violin @ 415, modern bow, gut strings
