The Messiah

1716, Antonio Stradivarius

Gallery 44

About the Maker

Antonio Stradivarius, the maker of the Messiah, was born in about 1644. He probably learned the craft of violin making with Nicola Amati, grandson of Andrea Amati, in Cremona in Italy. There is a fine violin by Nicola Amati in the case in the centre of the Hill Room which is smaller than the Messiah and has a more curved body. The larger, flatter violins, like the Messiah, made by Stradivarius in the early years of the 18 th century produce a more powerful sound than the earlier violins but they are also very expressive. The violins made at this time by Stradivarius are much sought after by violinists and have been imitated by instrument makers ever since. Stradivarius was still making violins when he died in 1737.

Violins - The Instrument
A violin is a shallow box which makes a sound when a bow strung with horse hair is drawn across the strings. The box is shaped like a letter 8 so that the bow can be held at an angle when playing. Most violins are made of maple wood on the back and sides and spruce wood on the front. There are four strings and these are stretched across a wooden bridge fixed near the centre of the box and tightened with pegs at the end of a long neck. The sound can be varied by tightening the string and by altering the length along which it vibrates by pressing it with the fingers against the fingerboard. The violin developed in Italy between 1520 and 1550 out of bowed instruments like the medieval rebec. In appearance, violins look very like viols, a family of bowed instruments which developed earlier than violins but with many small but important differences in the way they are made. There is a violin made by Andrea Amati in the Hill Collection dated 1564 which is almost identical to the modern instrument.