Page 3 - Info magazine Strings Class nr 1 january 2021

from past to future

The origins of the Violin

The eastern ancestors of the violin

Instruments like the violin that use a bow to produce a sound
are called bowed stringed instruments. The Arabian rabab and
the rebec, which came from the orient in the middle ages and
was played widely in Spain and France in the fifteenth century,
are said to be the ancestors of the violin. Near the end of the
middle ages, a bowed stringed instrument called a fiddle ap-
peared in Europe.
In the East, the Chinese erhu and morin khur evolved from the
rabab, and so they are relatives of the violin.
Who made the first violin?
Compared to its ancestors, the violin is in a class by itself in
terms of completeness. In addition, it was not improved gradually over time, but appeared in its
current form suddenly around 1550. Yet, none of these early violins exist today. This history of the
violin is inferred from paintings from this era that feature violins.

The two earliest violin makers in recorded history are both from northern Italy: Andre Amati from
Cremona and Gasparo di Bertolotti from Salon (Gasparo di Salon). With these two violin makers,
the history of the violin emerges from the fog of legend to hard fact. Violins produced by these
two still exist today. In fact, the oldest violin in existence today is one built by Andre Amati around
1565.