JAVS Spring 2023

affable and mature sound as well as a balanced sound. In addition to improving the shape, the system that serves to stretch or relax the horsehair of the bow is now done by a screw instead of a rack. 9 The Contribution of the Tourte Brothers In truth, it was around the beginning of the 19th century

Figure 2. Various shapes and lengths of bows from Corelli to the present day. 8

built models of Cramer and models of Viotti in response to the needs of the musicians of his time. 11

His bows for viola were usually built of Pernambuco wood, with a rod either in round or octagonal shape. Their average lengths vary from 71.1 cm to 74.3 cm, and their weights from 60.5 g to 66 g. 12

Figure 3. The evolution of the rise that serves to stretch and relax the bow hair. 10

In the following illustrations, we can notice the beginning of the modern concept as we know it today: Then, the younger brother, François Tourte (1747-1835), was originally apprenticed in watchmaking. But later joined his family in the bowing business and became his father’s assistant. He always sought to improve the quality of the wood used. It began with the moat wood of sugar barrels up to that of Pernambuco, which combines the qualities of lightness, strength, and elasticity. He concluded that this wood met all these conditions. 14 Being creative, F. Tourte realized the arching of the baguette not by cutting it into a curve shape, but by heating it completely and then folding it to preserve the

Figure 1. Successive progression of bows in the 17th and 18th centuries. 6

that the bow reached a peak in its evolution—mainly thanks to the French bowmakers, the Tourte brothers. First, the elder brother, Léonard Nicolas Tourte (1746 1807 or 1817) was a specialist bowmaker. Unlike other bowmakers such as Dominique Peccatte, Eugène Sartoy, and James Tubs, Léonard Tourte built several models of bows during his lifetime. Therefore, he simultaneously

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Journal of the American Viola Society / Vol. 39, No. 1, Spring 2023