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C00007 00003	7. Mont'eclaire, Michel Pignolet de.  //M'ethode facile pour aprendre `a
C00012 00004	13. Geminiani, Francesco, //The Art of Playing on the Violin/, London, 1751
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READINGS IN MUSIC THEORY
An exploration of method books and writings 
containing information on the
violin
(listed chronologically)
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1. Mersenne, Marin.  //Harmonie Universelle/, Paris, 1636.  "The Books
on Instruments" (translated by Roger E. Chapman); chapter on the violin.
Mostly general information on the violin family, the structure and 
tunings of various members.  No instructions on holding instruments or
bows.  Does include information on what notes are played with which
fingers.  Recommends using lute ornaments (even includes a sample 
composition in unornamented and ornamented form)
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2. Zannetti, Gasparo.  //Il Scolaro di Gasparo Zannetti per imparare a 
suonare di Violino et altri stromenti/, Milan, 1645.  This is not a 
tutor.  Apparently an attempt to revive tablature for the violin.  
Contains many dances (Saltarellos, Gagliardas, Allemannes, Correntes,
Ballettos, Reprisas, Zoppas, and Finales) written in tablature on one
side of the page and in regular notation on the other side.  Interesting
for fingerings, tablature, and dances, but contains no instructions on
holding or playing the violin and no information on the instruments 
themselves.
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3. Falck, Georg.  //Idea boni cantoris/, N:urnberg, 1688;  chapter on
the violin.  General section on violin playing.  Pays unusual attention
to tuning of violin to a harpsichord.  Elementary instructions on holding
violin and bow (seems to advocate French style) as well as on some elementary
bowings.  Describes a placement of the left hand corresponding to 7th
position, but never gets above first position in his musical examples.
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4. Muffat, Georg.  //Florilegium secundum/, 1698.  Collection of French style
dances with extensive instructions on bowing.  Good descriptions (using
own symbols) for French agr'ements.  No information on holding the instrument
or bow.
. skip 2;
5. Raguenet, Fran,cois.  "Comparison between French and Italian music", 1702.
English translation attributed to J.E. Galliard, 1709, reprinted in MQ, July,
1946.  An essay lauding the Italian style of music (especially opera) over
French style.  Galliard includes many comments of his own.  Interesting and
amusing reading.  Little information on the violin.
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6. Le Cerf de la Vieville.  //Comparaison de la musique italienne et de la
musique fran,caise/, Brussels, 3 vols., 1704-6;  excerpts included in Strunk.
A verbose defense of French style in reply to Raguenet's article.  He seems
to take Raguenet's preference for Italian music quite hard.  Elevated style 
of writing makes this work a bit tedious and hard to read.
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7. Mont'eclaire, Michel Pignolet de.  //M'ethode facile pour aprendre `a
jouer du violon/, Paris, 1711-12.  Very elementary tutor.  Contains no 
position playing (only extension of the 4th finger).  Also contains
general musical information (different note shapes, clef signs, durations
of rests, beats per measure, etc.)
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8. Mattheson, Johann.  //Das Neu er:offnete Orchestre/, Hamburg, 1713.
Treatise in three parts (contains practically no information on the 
violin).  Pt. I Signs in a composition (clefs, time signatures, keys, 
rests, etc.);  Pt. II about composition and counterpoint (consonance
and dissonance rules); Pt III how to judge music - This section includes 
a comparison of Italian, French, and German music, a description of affects, 
and a brief section on musical instruments.  A supplement "resolves" the
question of whether to regard music or painters more highly.
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9. Dupont, Pierre.  //Principes du Violon/, Paris, 1718.  Short not very 
valuable tutor.  Contains no information on holding violin or bow.
Includes two rather strange engravings of "positions" of the left hand.
In both, the thumb points away from the violinist alongside the scroll).
Treatise is in tedious dialogue form.  Gives lengthy description of the
notes each finger can play in each of his two "positions".  Also gives
exercises and lengthy explanations of them plus bowings.  Like Mont'eclaire,
contains some general music information.  Refers reader to his //Principes
de Musique/ for information on ornamentation and the Italian style of
playing.
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10. Prelleur, Peter.  //The Modern Music Master/, London, 1731; chapter on
playing the violin.  This violin tutor is elementary and amusing.
Gives very odd method of tuning the instrument using unisons.  Suggests
marking fingerboard to learn how to play in tune.  Charts of the fingerboard
show where the different notes should be stopped by the fingers of the left hand.
Includes notes up through 8th position (has his won names for the various
positions).  Exercises, however, do not take the student above a c##"''.
In verbal dexcriptions of fingering, he gives general locations on fingerboard
by inches and fractions of inches.
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11. Corrette, Michel, //L'''Ecole d''Orph'ee/, Paris, 1738.  Method in two
parts.  The first is on how to play in the French style, and the second on
how to play in the Italian style (shich he apparently considers more difficult).
Also includes information on French and Italian bow grips.  His French section
includes many dances (duets).  The Italian section includes more solo work
(sonatas, concerti), passaggi, position playing (up to 7th position),
arpeggios, double stops, and scordatura playing.
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12. Le Blanc, Hubert, //D'efense de la basse de la viole contre les enterprises
du violon et les pretentions du violoncel/, Amsterdam, 1740.  In three parts - 
first is on musical pieces and sonatas; second is the defense of the viola da
gamba; third is on practical concerns for the gamba.  This is mostly a diatribe
against the "sultan violin". Little practical information.
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13. Geminiani, Francesco, //The Art of Playing on the Violin/, London, 1751;
facs. ed. by D. Boyden, Oxford University press.  Valuable tutor for more advanced
violin students.  Somewhat spotty textually - contains detailed description of
movement of bow and bow arm, but not much information on the left hand.  The text
found at the beginning explains the following musical examples and exercises.  
Also includes a fairly large section on the use of ornaments.  Much valuable 
information is contained, not in the text, but in the comprehensive, carefully
thought out exercises.
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14. Quantz, Johann Joachim.  //Versuch einer Anweisung die Fl:ote Traversiere
zu spielen/, Berlin, 1752;  English translation by Edward R. Reilly, //On
Playing the Flute/.  Contains a section on the duties of the ripieno violinist
in accompanying a concertante part (concerned mostly with bowing).  In his
section on judging music he criticizes violinists (starting with late Corelli) 
for abandoning the "good and true singing style" for "frivolity and eccentricity".
He apparently does not appreciate undisciplined virtuosity.
. skip 2;
15. Tartini, Giuseppe. //Trait'e des Agr'ements de la Musique/, 1752-4;  Italian
version translated and edited by Erwin Jacobi.  Excellent book on ornamentation,
but is not a tutor for the violin.  Italian version contains some information
on holding the bow and bowing suggestions.  A letter from Tartini to Maddelena
Lombardini (1760) includes hastily written instructions for the violin, mostly
concerned with bow control (translation to English by Dr. Burney).
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16. Mozart, Leopold.  //Versuch einer gr:undlichen Violinschule/, Augsburg,
1756. Comprehensive, but a bit confusing as to expected audience.  Starts
with an esoteric reconstruction of music history and description of string 
family.  Moves on to a very elementary section on musical notes, clefs, and
time signatures in his first chapter.  The second chapter is on holding the
violin and bow, the third is on major and minor scales.  He then moves on to
tone production, more complicated bowings, position playing, and ornamentation.
He also includes a chapter on musical good taste.  English translation by
Editha Knocker, //A Treatise on the Fundamental Principles of Violin Playing/.
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17. L''Abb'e le fils (J.-B. Saint Sevin).  //Principes du violon/, Paris, 1761.
Also a tutor for more advanced violinists.  Starts with the basics - holding the
violin and bow, fingering individual notes, but moves on very quickly to playing
pieces and scales up to the fifth position (his numbering of positions is singular - 
"first position"=modern day second position, his "second position"=modern day
third position, etc,).  Later in the tutor, his "roulades" take the student up to
modern day equivalent of 7th position.  Includes a 4 page section on agr'ements,
how to play them, and where they are usually used.  There are also sections on
double stops, arpeggios, and harmonics (including a minuet totally in harmonics).
Comprehensive exercises, dances, preludes, and variations drill all techniques
described in text.