French Violin Makers, German Violin Makers, English Violin Makers, Antonio Stradivari

Italian Violin Makers

Jacobus Philipus Cordanus, fecit Genuæ anno sal. 1774.

CORNA, Dalla, Brescia, early maker of Viols, about 1530.
Petrus Antonius a Costa, fecit
ad similitudinem illorum quos
fecerunt Antonius & Hieronymus
Fratres Amati Cremonenses Filii
Andræ. Tarvisii, 1757.

COSTA, Pietro Antonio dalla, Venice and Treviso. The label he used is curious. He copied the Brothers Amati with much skilfulness. The sound-holes are like those of the early instruments of the Amati; the varnish is golden in colour and excellent in quality; the scroll, as usual with all imitations, is a weak feature, but does not lack originality.

DARDELLI, Pietro, Mantua, about 1500. Is described as a maker of Lutes and Viols. M. Fétis relates, in his "Biographie des Musiciens," that the painter Richard, of Lyons, possessed about the year 1807 a beautiful Lute by this maker, which was made for the Duchess of Mantua. The instrument is described as richly inlaid with ebony, ivory, and silver, dated 1497, and having the name "Padre Dardelli." On the belly the Mantuan arms are represented. M. Fétis was unable to discover any tidings of this interesting instrument after the death of Richard. Dardelli was a Franciscan monk at Mantua, and occupied himself with making musical instruments and inlaying them. Work of any kind executed under such circumstances is rarely found to be other than artistic.

DESPINE, Alexander, Turin, nineteenth century. A very good maker; worked with Pressenda, whose labels his instruments sometimes bear.

DIEFFOPRUCHAR, Magno, Venice, 1612. Lute-maker. An instrument of this make is at the Academy of Music, Bologna. M. Engel remarks,4 "There can be no doubt that we have here the Italianised name of the German Magnus Tieffenbrucker, who lived in Italy." There appears to be a connection between these Venetian Lute-makers of this name and Duiffoprugcar of the sixteenth century.

   4 "Musical Myths and Facts," 1876.

DOMINICELLI, Ferrara, said to have worked about 1700.

DUIFFOPRUGCAR, Gaspar, Bologna. This famous maker of Viols is said to have settled in Bologna in the early part of the sixteenth century. He appears to have obtained much renown as an inlayer of musical instruments, and it is stated that Francis I., upon the occasion of his visit to Italy in 1515, prevailed upon the Viol-maker to settle in France. The name of Duiffoprugcar has been made familiar to us, not so much on account of his merits as a Viol-maker, but almost wholly on account of his having been represented as the first maker of the Violin tuned in fifths, and the representation having been supported by the production of three Violins signed and dated 1511, 1517, 1519. I saw, about the year 1877, one of these, and was informed by the owner that the others were almost identical. The instrument bore distinct evidence of its being a modern French imitation, or rather an ingenious creation evolved from a myth, which in all probability had its origin in France. Duiffoprugcar was unquestionably an artist of a high order, but his abilities appear to have been chiefly directed to the art of wood-inlaying, rather than to the making of stringed instruments. He made Viols da Gamba, and he may have made smaller Viols, though I am not aware of any being in existence; but there is no evidence whatever to show that he made Violins.

FARINATO, Paolo, Venice, 1695-1725.

FICKER, Johann Christian, Cremona, middle of the 18th century. Although dating from Cremona, has nothing in common with Cremonese work.

FICKER, Johann Gottlieb, Cremona, 1788.