JAVS Spring 2023

natural elasticity of the wood. It also made the bow head higher, and this solved the problem of hair touching the wand. On the other hand, it was Tourte who fixed once and for all the length of the bows, opting for 74 or 75 cm for the violin, 74cm for the viola and 72 or 73 cm for the

Figure 5. Viola bow built by F. Tourtes. 16

violists had only become aware of the need to play their violas with bows designed specifically for their instrument around 1900. 18 It appears that, in this text, we devoted ourselves more to the development of the bow of the violin than that of the viola, because the ancients carried great importance to the violin and the latter always brought improvements to the whole family. These mainly concerned the practical aspects in such a way that the modifications of the bow affected its shape, length, and weight. The progression of its construction has facilitated and multiplied the techniques of the playing and has not only produced a better sound but also a more precise contrast of nuances. During these centuries, the bow underwent major transformations until it reached its current perfection thanks to François Tourte. The latter has brought enormous changes, so that the realization of various bow strokes becomes possible. So, we note that, fixed by François Tourte or not, the length of the bow of the viola is less important than that of the violin, and that its weight is heavier than that of the latter. Footnotes 1 Peter Lichtenthal, “Argata: coup d’archet ,” In Dictio nary of Music , Translated by Dominique Mondo (Paris: Chez troupenas and co., 1839), 70. 2 François-Joseph Fétis, La musique mise à la portée de tout le monde , (Paris: Alexandre Martin librairie, 1830), 269. 3 Robert Seletsky, “Bow,” In Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online. Oxford University, Press, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com:80/subscriber/ar ticle/grove/music/03753. 4 STOWELL, Robin Stowell, The Cambridge Companion

Figure 4. Viola bows built by N.L Tourte. 13

cello. This fixation was due to the advice of the famous musicians with whom he collaborated. Antoine Vidal indicates that there was a close collaboration between François Tourte and the best violinists of the time like Viotti, the latter «... has given it excellent advice that has greatly contributed to the progress made.” 15

On the other hand, William Salchow asserted that for the viola, no one has ever established the dimensions of the modern bow—even François Tourte. He stated that the viola bow did not have a standard length nor weight. He added that it was heavier than that of the violin by about 10 grams, weighing between 64 and 74 grams. In addition, Salchow also mentioned that an alto bow required ten percent more horsehair than a violin bow. 17 We end this article about the bow with what Maurice Riley revealed to us about its construction during the nineteenth century. Indeed, during this period, there was a very great demand for violin and cello bows unlike viola bows, because violists of the time played violas of very small sizes, so they used violin bows. As a result of this effect, the bowmakers of the time did not produce many viola bows. If all things are taken into consideration, most

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

35