First violins imitated human voices: study
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Friday, November 8, 2024


First violins imitated human voices: study
In this file photo two musicians play in the street Norvins, in Montmartre, on April, 17, 1976, in Paris 18th arrondissement. AFP.



WASHINGTON (AFP).- Music historians have long suspected that the inventors of the violin wanted to imitate the human voice, and a study out Monday shows how 16th to 18th century luthiers in Italy did it.

Researchers at National Taiwan University asked a professional violinist to play 15 antique instruments, including one from 1570 by Andrea Amati, the early 16th-century luthier from Cremony, Italy who is considered to be the father of the modern four-string violin.

Others played in the study were from the Stradivarius family, conceived by Antonio Stradivari, who improved upon Amati's design.

First, researchers recorded scales played on the 15 antique instruments played by a professional violinist and recorded at Taiwan's Chimei Museum.

Then, they recorded the voices of eight men and eight women, ranging in age from 16 to 30 years, who sang common English vowels.

Performing a thorough acoustic analysis, they found that an Amati violin dating to 1570 and a Gasparo da Salo violin dating to 1560 mimicked the basses and baritones of male singers, "raising the possibility that master violinmakers from this period may have designed violins to emulate male voices," said the report.

"In contrast, Stradivari violins were marked by elevated formants, making them relatively more similar to female voices," such as tenors and altos, the researchers added.

"These properties may explain the characteristic brilliance of Stradivari violins."


© Agence France-Presse










Today's News

May 27, 2018

Russian police arrest man who vandalised Ivan the Terrible painting

Moonwalking astronaut-artist Alan Bean dies at 86

Association of Art Museum Directors sanctions Berkshire Museum and La Salle University Art Museum

Vintage 1774 French wine sells for record 103,700 euros

Decades-long hunt for bronze sculpture looted by Nazis leads to posh German hotel

Picasso's ties to the kitchen explored at Barcelona show

First violins imitated human voices: study

Winnipeg Art Gallery celebrates groundbreaking for Inuit Art Centre

Indonesian artist Ichwan Noor's first Benelux solo show opens at Reflex Gallery Amsterdam

Han Nefkens donates eight pieces by Dutch fashion house Viktor&Rolf to the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen

Exhibition challenges architects and designers to envision what it means to be a citizen today

Archives of American Art announces digitization of material donated by Matt Mullican

Sotheby's New York Important Watches auction brings $9.1 million

Group of rare Edward Sawyer's Native American portrait Galvanos offered by Heritage Auctions

Remai Modern premieres new installation by New York artist Paul Chan

Amy Judd's third major solo show with Hicks Gallery on view in London

Taipei Cultural Center in New York opens [和heʼ] Contemporary Art Exhibition

Taravat Talepasand's first exhibition with Jack Fischer Gallery opens in San Francisco

Portuguese artist turns trash into animal sculptures

Turner Auctions + Appraisals announces Fine Japanese Prints & Decorative Arts auction

David Levine's 'Some of the People, All of the Time' challenges the meaning of a crowd

Morgan Lehman opens an exhibition of recent paintings by Amy Lincoln

Christie's New York announces 'An Evening of Exceptional Watches'

Exhibition presents a new series of clay pot sculptures by Francis Upritchard

CHART Art Fair announces exhibitors for 2018 edition




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful