Going Baroque

My violin, strung with Pirastro Oliv gut strings and Baroque Bow.

As players of stringed instruments, we are always made aware of our origins- of Cremona and the Golden Age, of Bach. Much of the first music we learn is Bach, with our lessons culminating in the great achievement of playing his solo works. In taking the initial steps of preparation for learning Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas for Unaccompanied Violin, and having always been a fan of his violin concertos, I began to wonder, much like others before me, what the music sounded like “as Bach would have heard it.”

Although the violin is a marvel, having retained much of it’s design from the time of Stradivari, there have been slight changes that do affect the sound. Lengthening the neck, the composition of the strings used, the dimensions of the body, and the structure of the bow have all changed. The end result is a higher tone with more projection and resonance. The opportunity to “go baroque” presented itself when I began learning Bach’s First Violin Concerto, or the A Minor Violin Concerto. Step one: get the right equipment. While you can spend a lot for either an antique violin from the era, or purchase a new violin made in the period-authentic style, I opted to replace the strings on my violin and get a baroque bow. I picked a middle-line bow— the baroque bow from Shar—not the cheap ones on Amazon or a really expensive specialty one. I wanted reliability without a major investment for my experiment. I also changed my strings from my go-to Evah Pirrazzi Golds Pirastro Oliv gut strings.

The results: I am glad I had the experience and got a taste of the baroque era. But it’s nice to return to modern times. I had a hard time getting a quality sound from my violin, as the gut strings never really set well on my violin. The slightest change in weather caused them to go out of tune, even mid-practice. I had heard that gut strings were high-maintenance, but this was more than I expected. I also didn’t really like the sound on my violin. While choosing violin strings is already a very personal process based on individual taste and music style, as well as the individual instrument, my violin was just…bland. The deep tones that I loved when I selected my violin were not as deep. The upper register didn’t ring. While I had expected a decrease in projection, the sound of my violin had warped completely. The baroque bow was a little difficult to get used to at first- shorter, stiffer than I generally prefer a bow to be. Just heavy heavy heavy. The combination of gut strings and baroque bow worked well for the period music….and nothing else.

Overall, I am glad I gave a baroque set-up a try. I did have fun experimenting with the music and playing my favorite Bach as it would have been heard then. It did give me a greater appreciation for the modern setup and the versatility of the violin.

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