The sound you got out of that amazing violin is remarkable.

I find myself returning to that Maggini! Huge, warm yet tender sound.

What impresses me the most with instrument makers, and painters of this era was their work ethic. The modern distractions of electronic media did not exist,........leaving these craftsmen the time to delve, relatively undisturbed, into their crafts. I can think of nothing better to do than to go to art museums and places which house antique musical instruments. Thanks for these videos.......cheers.

@Fidi987

3 жыл бұрын

Also, I believe, culture forced people to work much more and more intense. Religion told you not to waste time and neighbours would be watching and judging you and gossip would have started if you were perceived as being "lazy" or in other ways "not like us". I remember in the 1990 people in our neighbourhood would actually talk if someone ate dinner at an unusual time, that is, one hour early or late. I can only imagine how that would have been in the 17th to 18th century with all those strict rules about what was normal and pious.

@joekelly9369

Жыл бұрын

funny its through paintings that we know violins had 3 strings up untill 1555 to 1560 when Amati made the first 4 stringed violin

Such a lovely sound from this beautiful violin! Amazing performance from you and such a joy listening to. Greetings from Sweden

I Am Fascinated

Wow, it’s Chimei Museum! Welcome to my hometown, Tainan Taiwan.

@aTonalHits

2 жыл бұрын

My family is from Tainan, so I know the city intimately! Always good to get a shoutout from Tainan :)

I just saw this in Chimei! What a beautiful instrument! ❤️❤️❤️

I keep coming back to this video over and over and over again, with a better set of headphones each time. This violin has such an intriguing and unique sound! Most of my own instruments are decent workshop copies of Guarneris, with one benchmade Strad copy and one semi-baroque oddball whose dimensions may very well have been dictated by voices in the admittedly amateur maker's head. This da Salo really tempts me look for a luthier who'll at least attempt a da Salo copy. :)

Of all the instruments in an orchestra, it's the violin and piano that can make me cry. The violins shown are all beautiful instruments.

@Matty88K

3 жыл бұрын

Sometimes the cello makes me cry, and sometimes a great violinist. Often, the violin makes me cry not tears of joy but of pain. It's an incredibly difficult instrument to play well, and when it's less then perfect it's like cats fighting and nails on a chalkboard.

@wannabecat369

Жыл бұрын

The piano sometimes plays a solo with orchestra accompaniment, but I have never seen, heard or found any reference to the piano actually comprising part of any orchestra. TL;DR: The piano isn't in an orchestra. >:/&

@joshuabrande2417

Жыл бұрын

`My point was that of all the instruments in an orchestra, it’s the violin and piano move me the most Never felt this way with a tuba.

@wannabecat369

Жыл бұрын

@@joshuabrande2417 I agree! (Though.....I guiltily admit to playing the violin, the piano, and nothing else.) But i do wonder what it is about those instruments that make them so... It's the repertoire, yes, but there's something more that that. I do like cello, recorder, guitar and organ though. And of course, the human voice--we all have it, but so few realize its potential. I love violin. Also this is such a lovely instrument of Gasparo

@joshuabrande2417

Жыл бұрын

​@@wannabecat369 it was said, Vladimir Horowitz was approached by a woman who said "I'd give my life to play like that "to which Vladimir Horowitz replied, "I did. ” To me, the violin, stringed instruments and piano are more expressive and perhaps more demanding of a players soul than other instruments. A conduit of the soul’s voice. Just my opinion.

That is perhaps the most beautiful sounding violin I've ever heard - rich, resonant, and responsive. I've always preferred Guarneri over Stradaveri, but that Da Salo may be my new favorite. It is quite clear from your visible delight in playing that violin that it is truly a remarkable instrument! When listening, I had the feeling that this is the perfect "modern" violin. I've been looking online to find more information about Da Salo, it it turns out that his designs have been copied by many great violin makers both past and present. I also read that he was an expert Double-Bass player. I've found KZread videos of musicians playing one of his Double-Basses, and a Viola, and in each case they were the best sounding instruments of that type I've heard. Truly amazing - He may be the greatest bowed-string instrument maker ever!. Katha -Thank you for your wonderful videos, demonstrations, and historical information about all the violins you've posted about.

@aTonalHits

4 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for your kind thoughts! You have good taste- I ADORE this instrument. Seriously, it has the most rich, warm sound- da Salo is so under-rated! I actually recently met a Bassist who owned a 1580 da Salo bass- it was really lovely! She'd had it completely re-worked, but it was still incredibly finicky and hated to be moved from room to room. It's amazing how much personality these instruments have! :)

@picksalot1

4 жыл бұрын

@@aTonalHits - For those interested here a link to Owen Lee demos a 420 year old Gasparo Da Salo bass: kzread.info/dash/bejne/iIaIzZihhNbapMY.html and Viola - Fantasia on 'Greensleeves': Gasparo Bertolotti Gasparo da Salò, ca. 1560: kzread.info/dash/bejne/hpekkq-vYKqsfLA.html

@joeypantera7397

4 жыл бұрын

I hear Alfred Stelzner had the best sounding violin line, he resembles Gasparo probably the most. He also added the Cellone and the violetta. He was met with fierce opposition from Strad music shop owners and Guernari owners who did everything to discredit and drive him out of business because they had all their wealth tied up in those other makers instruments. Why stradivarius chose to make front and back flatter I have no idea but it affects the sound. Sound likes parabolic curves, not square. Amati Guernari strad seem to have been in one camp and Gasparo and Stelzner in another yet surprisingly Gasparo was before the other three and Stelzner after all the rest, was Stelzner the only one to have learned the secret of parabolic curves?

@victorwhitley2241

4 жыл бұрын

Picksalot definitely and I totally agree on the Guarneri vs strad thing this maker may also be my new favorite too.

@johngeddes7894

2 жыл бұрын

da Salo - long F holes and long Ccbouts, which allows the top to flex more, giving that supple, sultry low end while still having a good top end. Irresistable!

This is my favorite violin of your series.

When one make every instrument one touches sound incredible... makes it hard to determine which one stands out. Beautiful work.

@aTonalHits

5 жыл бұрын

Aw thanks Tim! This one was pretty special- a lovely dark sound!

HI Katha, Thank you so much for show us this amazing old violin from Brescia Italy the home town of Andrea Amati. You can hear how much Da Salo influences the Amati in Cremona. The violin beautiful sound un-matched by any thing Cremona had every put out. The only violin maker instrument that can surpass a Da Salo is Peregrino di Zanetto da Micheli in my opinion. Please check out Teng Li playing a viola by Peregrino. Cheers.

I wouldn't mind if you played a bit longer 😉 that last piece would like to hear the whole part ,but nice instrument 👍🏻

@antonyroach6802

2 жыл бұрын

L'ORFEO - Monteverdi

Absolutely stunning is the fact that a violin made in times of our Tsar Ivan IV "The Terrible" still is playable and does produce very pleasant sounds to say least! A time machine! Great playing and very interesting stories as well! Keep it up and thanks for your violin videos :-)

@aTonalHits

3 жыл бұрын

Love this! And it's so true- each instrument is a time machine! I love to think that Bach's music wasn't even written yet! :)

@user-zo8qi1zh7i

2 жыл бұрын

🌹🙏

I have one small Gaspar violin copy and several meaning more than 10 Strads with that great arching back here of extreme beauty of tone and sonorous. I thank you for sharing a wonderful violin with us😀💌😄

MAGHINI ! AND THANK YOU THIS WAS A TREAT!❤

they are all great, I enjoyed hearing all of the violins you played

I've seen this video on my phone, then put it through my more expensive speakers. I think I've seen this video a dozen times now. I can't explain what's magical about this sound or this violin. I've heard several Strads and Del Gesus live. But this one just beats them all. The best explanation I can come up with is the others try too hard and are just too unique and too boisterous. But this is the idealized version of a violin sound, but richer, darker, and fuller. I have a hunch that the high range on this is equally mysterious and grounded and would have loved to have heard it. I'm not a violinist though, so what do I know but what my ears and my mind gravitate towards. That said, this Violin would be at home in any major orchestra for any competent concertmaster - and I wonder what the results would be with some of the great masterworks which have lengthy violin solos. This violin is simply sublime.

Beautiful instrument and beautiful playing. Thank you.

These is an amazing series, subscribed! And I'll be sure to check out the album!

I’ve only just found your channel and have loved every one of your antique violin series.

This one is defo my favorite. It's so dark and pretty.

Great music history video. Great job. Thanks for sharing.

Congratulations on your wonderful playing!!

Another fine video. This is my favorite instrument of all the Baroque examples that I have ever heard - just beautiful.

I really love the sound of this violin. It has something special to it. I could listen to it for a long time with pleasure. Thanks for showing it off. It is not at all screechy. It gives me a thrill to hear it.

The sound is perfect!!!

It seems the large volume of this beautiful instrument enhance, liberate upper harmonics, in such a way that it is silkier and less constraint than a more thin instrument, if I can say. I love this violin and I can see your smile while playing it. Thank you for this sharing.

This is my favorite violin of the bunch. Thanks!

@aTonalHits

3 жыл бұрын

Isn't it gorgeous?? One of my favorites too :)

Than You for showing us so many of the great makers. It is hard to tell the difference between them except in one where you played a Strad it just showed how incredible they can be. So many things can affect the sound of a Violin from the strings,the sound post,the wood( This is what I think separates them all) Humidity,temperature, how often it is played. I could go on and on. Stradavari was the absolute best at choosing the wood .varnish and many other issues. The testing that goes on and on about which Violin sounds the best is a waste of time. How you feel the instrument while you play it and feel it resonating through your body is the one thing no one can explain. As a Guitar guy I have always been amazed at how a Guitar that was not played very much is so different then one that was played a lot shows the real difference.I had two exact Guitars made about 65 years ago. One was perfect the other was played a lot and the difference was incredible. What you like can be very different than any other person that plays the same instruments. It is a waste of time to try to show which Violin is different from others based on a few times of playing it. Just enjoy the power of the instrument and the tone which develops over hundreds of years. Thank You

Beautiful sounding violin. deep ad clear. i love your voice also.

We talked about that some days ago. The bass is from another planet ... You are so totally right...

I love your videos.

The clarity in the sound when you are double stopping is so good that it sounds like two instruments playing in sync! Wonderful videos thank you for the knowledge and beautiful playing

@aTonalHits

3 жыл бұрын

What a compliment! Thank you, and thanks for watching! :)

By far my favorite violin so far.

Liked this violin. I do like earthy sounding tones.

Wonderful series on historical violins! Thanks for these! Truly fascinating! Would you also be able and willing to do a series on historical celli and their makers?

Best violin sound ever!

What a beautiful video n ur music was so soothing the 1602 song was lovely just like u n ur music 🎶 ur so very talented on the way u play the instruments 2 bring out there 300 year old sound is a gift from God .wish my violin was fixed I can only imagine how its 300 year old vibes would bring! 😯🤗

Wooow gorgeous violin

Great balance in this one.

Awesome 👏

Thanks! Nice introduction!

Wow! That arching! Crazy!

It is a fantastic violin, strong in the bass but extraordinary soft in every register. The treble is not so shiny like in Cremona instruments to come, more of a short breathed character but the sound overall is superb... Maybe the taste of instrument tones these days was that kind of sound. (His pupil Maggini made the archings much lower to obtain a stronger tone but that is another story ;-)) Pleasant vowels in projecting its tone to make the instrument sound like the human (female) voice ... A real master violin with handwriting of the master... :-) I never heard a Gasparo da Salo, so thank you very much to make this possible to the audience in the world....

@aTonalHits

4 жыл бұрын

I'm so glad you were able to hear da Salo's sound now! This is, hands down, one of my all time favorite instruments. It has such a nuanced, interesting sound!

Thumbs up for the Da Salo like the high arching, also the rich dark sound because of the arcing. Guess the cello takes on the same dimensional arching .

Our collection is of modern master violin copies with some not played since 2003 baking the varnish to one polymerized coating after twelve years. 5AAAAA registered master violins vma. With the brilliant Gaspar even eighteen years had great skill in his hands. We love to play all the day through. Byee and thank you😃🙏

To me, it sounds bit narrower, sweeter than a Strad or a later violin with a flatter arching. It's quite charming

I play tested that same violin when I visited the Chi Mei museum in 2012. Great video!

@aTonalHits

5 жыл бұрын

Ah, you played this one! I'm so glad enough people get to play them- when the G string popped at the beginning I was wondering 'when was the last time this got played??' Glad you enjoyed the video!

@genehuangviolin

5 жыл бұрын

aTonalHits I had similar difficulty tuning that violin and wondered too when it was last played. I did enjoy the dark tone of the instrument, perhaps more so than the Strad and Guarneri I tried that day.

@aTonalHits

5 жыл бұрын

Gene Huang you know, the Strads are really a mixed bag. I really like the 1713 and the Elman, but just because a violin is a Strad it doesn’t necessarily make it the best! I agree, the da Salo is completely underrated.

I really enjoyed the Gasparo Da Salon violin video I have a request for Carlo Bergonzi violin video. Please he was also amazing. Thanks 😊. Roy J. Philadelphia PA. USA.

@aTonalHits

2 жыл бұрын

duly noted, and should be able to do something about that! :)

Very Good !!!

I play on a gasparo da salo copy violin. The label is almost illegible but the date looks to be 1583. I got it on eBay for 350$ about 11 years ago. For the price, it sounds absolutely beautiful especially in an a acoustically friendly room. I wish it was an original but unfortunately it’s not.

Very informative video.

@ atonalhits - This particular instrument sounds bigger than the Strad you played in your series. More "bloom" in the mid to high notes , and gutsy!!

This one reminds me of my violin that I inherited a few years ago. It has no label on the inside, but the luthier estimated it to have been made in the late 1700s. It too has a very arched body, but it's much more narrow across. It doesn't sound nearly as good, though. :p

This instrument kinda looks like Fiddles (yes “Fiddles - Bluegrass) that Bob Kogut makes. He has a KZread channel. I say because primarily of the trimmed down look of the sides/corners and the arching. Thanks for the series. I love the history!

I like this violin, it seems to have a lot more edge to it, not as sweet sounding as the strads but a lot of bite and well suits a variety of music. Nicely played as well.

Wonderful instrument; I prefer it to the Strads and the Guarneri del Gesu...

Very beautiful tone this has a very special curve with body soft and deep vibration,

Dear Katha! I wish you a Happy New Year and beg to upload an unedited video of you playing on this Gasparo de Salo violin with anything but playing. I and my mom are searching a new violin for her, that have to be neither even somehow nasal sounding and have a neck wide enough for 6 mm string spacing on the upper nut or worth a neck graft. From all of the violins you tried, this particular Gasparo de Salo sounded the best to our ears, and I feel it is really worth for setup upgrade and has unlimited potential for musician like my mom.

I agree 👍 give us more de Falla...it seems to bring out the characteristics of the instrument more efficiently than the Bach partita....

I have the 350mm 164 110 204mm master Copies like ten of them and He was a kid when he made this grand violin

I am truly impressed with the quality of sound some of these older violins and makers achieved, this violin is a great masterpiece created by a true renaissance man. :D I would like to see a Giovanni Baptista Rugeri play tested if possible. : )

Thank you

Thank you so much for this wonderful series. My taste in violins generally runs more towards the Guarneri patterns than towards the Strads, but since I reach for viola anyway when given the choice, any opinion I have on the matter is automatically suspect. I've heard that da Salo's violas were particularly interesting and desirable, and I can believe that. His violin here is certainly impressive, and sounds like it has quite a bit of subtlety on tap. I'm also interested in your take on the old German violins, so if you have a Stainer in the queue that's great.

@wannabecat369

Жыл бұрын

I am a violinist, and envy the viola for its lovely range. I'd like to play one once--or more than once :D But it is saddening to imagine the suffering afforded to violists by the great composers' neglect of this instrument of such potential. P.S. Gasparo's violas are known to attract violists with their rich tone, and irritate them with their large size. Watch out >;)

Update@! We checked out Messiah Copy and it's arching is like this one. Wow it's good too!

Love these videos. It's great to hear these instruments! I am interested in a builder by the name of David Tecchler. Please try to do a video with one of his violins. Thanks, and stay healthy!

@aTonalHits

4 жыл бұрын

We will put him on our list! Trying to branch out to modern players, but of course the status quo hasn't helped at all. Hopefully soon!

Impressive for its age!

This instrument is very round - physically! - quite different from most violins, really shows how varied they could be before Stradivarius design sort of standardized it a bit!

@ivyssauro123

4 жыл бұрын

@ludlow 889 haha true, but I believe the results would vary

Heaven ❤️

And it would be great to hear about Maggini after that✨

Forgive me, the right pronunce is not Gaspàro da Sàlo but Gàsparo da Salò . Love from Italy.

The video was magnificando!!!!. However, i felt that the tone was slightly suppressed due to the woodiness of the violin, like the Steiner models. Gasparo was known for his elaborate Florentine etchings place on the back of the violin. His friend Maggini, was nown for his double purflings. Great video, great presentation. A +++

It is incredible that you have access to these violins. The playing and presentation are superb. My only problem is that you have a videographer who does not understand how to focus a video camera. You really can’t use auto focus on shots like this.

For anyone interested, Kurt Nikkanen plays on a Da Salo.

I love the sound of this 1560 Violin “in spite” of its high arching on the top and on the back. I always thought that such arching dampens the sound. I don’t know if it’s the acoustics in the room or your lovely playing, However I do bring out that very natural earthy sound as you mentioned. The Tomasso Balestrieri violin is one which I would love for you to present a KZread video for, …please-⁉️🥰

@aTonalHits

2 жыл бұрын

I will look for one! Thanks for watching!

I have these exact copies which insane

Violin Goddess

one of the first 4 string violins , or was it modernised ? amati made the first 4 stringed violins around 1550 and 1560 , awesome tight clean tones

This one you played more slowly and less aggressively. Nice job.

You should buy it. The violin seems to have chosen you.

Francescatti played on a Sanctus Seraphin violin quite a bit; Francescatti being known not only as a fantastic technical player, but he had a very lush tone. I'd like to hear a violin from that maker. I also heard a Joseph Hel violin that sounded great in all registers.

Very interesting videos indeed. Please show the front , back and scroll of the violins you play

@aTonalHits

4 жыл бұрын

I will certainly endeavor to now! A lot of this footage has already been filmed- but the next time we can film the instruments, absolutely! Thanks for tuning in!

Each one is like a crayon in a box, all the colors are individual and part of the total palette. Who can prefer one over the other?

@aTonalHits

5 жыл бұрын

Well put! They are all completely different beasts. But I do still definitely have my favorites! :)

@eliseiodagiu5519

5 жыл бұрын

well some colours are a blend of two others, which means the more complex the colour the more it was blended and adjusted. This is also true for violins.

Darker came to mind before she said it. It sounds beautiful, but with a darker, deeper more compressed tone than the Amati, Guarneri and Strads.

I like hearing all makers instruments and somehow the older they are the more mysterious they seem. From the poster shown at the start of the clip I see you are Katha Zinn! For casual observers you should be more obvious and upfront about who you are, it would be helpful! Thank you posting and show casing both beautiful instruments and your beautiful playing!

@aTonalHits

4 жыл бұрын

Wow, for some reason that never occurred to me!! Thank you pointing this out!! 😅

@barrywebber100

4 жыл бұрын

@@aTonalHits That's ok thank you! For some bizarre reason my google search for you came back blank, if you perform and release records/cd's I cannot think why the result was so anonymous! Even for just lowly commercial reasons I think you need to address this! :-) I hope you and your loved ones stay safe in these worrying pandemic times, with best wishes.

@barrywebber100

4 жыл бұрын

@@aTonalHits Hmmm, a 2nd google search has produced some useful results, google must have been having a fit with my first search for you. Sorry about that!

I love the sound of this instrument. It seem to embody a rich mixture, a broad palette of hues and color similar to some of the best Guarneri Del Gesu instruments, but with the brightness of a Strad. A great fiddle indeed. I am not sure if you have reviewed an instrument I am particularly interested in, so I will ask any. The Heifetz/Ferdinand David Guarnerius Del Gesu of 1742. I would love to hear you play this instrument.

I would love to hear a Ladislav F Prokop violin which also has very high arching and is of Czech origin.

@aTonalHits

3 жыл бұрын

I will see what we can do about finding those instruments! :)

@Rajeeve9810

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much, I love your reviews of the instruments by the well known and lesser know luthiers. Rajeeve NZ

A violin by Gaspar is very rare. Thank you for the Chaconne. I heard Milstein play it, I still have a piece of the hair he broke off his Tourte bow while was playing it. Maybe you could demonstrate a viola by DaSalo?

@aTonalHits

4 жыл бұрын

That is SO cool. Is it framed? Hah! He is my absolute, hands down favorite recording of the Chaconne. It leaves my soul in tatters every time. As for the viola- hah! Trust me, you don't want me to play the viola on this channel- I am miserable at it at best! (Maybe I'll get a violist to do that!). But thank you for taking the time to listen and comment, it is appreciated! :)

@dwightbrown2808

4 жыл бұрын

I love your channel and your playing is very fine. I did not frame it but it was in my boxed set of the Bach Sonatas and Partitas with the autograph program. I went to the concert with friends from college in about 1979 or so. We went back stage after the concert to meet him. My sister bought me the records after I graduated from Interlochen in about 1978. I gave the program away to my favorite professor from Ithaca College. He was at a low point after hand surgery I sent him a care package with a copy of the Liszt transcription of the Chaconne for the left hand alone. It really picked up his spirits.

What about the Hopf violin. I got one from around 1750. I love it.

Tommaso Balestreri - my favorite, esp. cir. 1760’s

Could you please let us know what songs you play pieces of, and why you choose them? Do you always choose the same measures in the songs that you choose? If so why?

@aTonalHits

Жыл бұрын

I always include a list of what's being played in the description. Most of the times, it's just whatever happens to be in my fingers at the moment- although in this case, the Monteverdi really fit the bill because it was closer to da Salo's time period than anything else! There's generally not much method to the madness :)

I keep returning to hear this instrument; I thirst for more info. F holes appear more open, fascinating to see it has a two piece back. Does it suggest 2 piece backs were a customary practice in early instruments, viols etc? Historically useful video very worthwhile.

@aTonalHits

2 жыл бұрын

That's a great question! So, two piece backs, as opposed to one piece backs, just tells us that the tree the wood was taken from wasn't large enough to create a whole back from- this is called a 'slab' back, as opposed to a 'quartered' back, which is the two piece. Funnily enough, the quartered back is actually more stable than the slab back, though the slab tends to produce a deeper, more rounded sound. So in terms of which style came first- I think it depends entirely on the trees that surrounded the area from our early instrument makers! Hope that's helpful!

@barrieclyne7518

2 жыл бұрын

@@aTonalHits This is a perfect answer, thank you. A logical reason doubtless matching sound production of the two halves... It points again to the wonder of human ingenuity and the magic of early luthiers. I enjoy your research.

You could imitate Ricci and play the beginning of the Brunch Concerto on all the instruments, and record it. Amazingly it will give a much, much better basis for comparison: goes from the open G to high up in the R string....what more can we want?

I can speak about the da Salo cello as mine is pattered after one. The high arches has an interesting effect as I think it delays the focus of the tone; I always seem a split second behind the production of the note and can be confusing initially. However, away from the instrument, this comes out as a more complex, less focused sound. It's like an effects filter, so when you play on a da Salo, you seem like you are doing additional 'graces' when you are actually playing it totally straight. It means you don't have to try as hard to sound interesting. The instrument does it for you. I love it and it should only be used with gut BTW.

@aTonalHits

4 жыл бұрын

This would sound amazing with gut strings, you're right! I will have to go back and play this instrument again with your comments in mind. A da Salo cello must be glorious! Thank you for watching! :)

I like this Gasparo da Salo violin but also like the Guarneri Del Gesu. Could you play on a Klotz violin as well as a E.R. Pfeschner violin?

You point out an area where work has been done and new wood inserted. I assume that all these lovely old violins you are showing us had a "neck job" performed on them in the 19th Century. It's curious to me that you never mention this major surgery, or discuss what difference it, together with modern pitch at 440 Hz, might have made to their sound.

i love your lipstick shade of color

Hi, have you played a Vuillaume violin? Thank you for your beautiful videos.

@aTonalHits

3 жыл бұрын

Not on the channel, but it should definitely be coming up! Thank you for watching! :)