L'arte del arco
The art of Bowing
ed. Per Hartmann
In Tartini's treatise Trattato di musica he suggests that the function of all technique is to achieve the expression of the human voice and the emotions behind human language. 'Ciascuna passione ha li suoi moti particolari, e il suo tuono particolare di voce' (Each passion has its own gestures and tone of voice).Hearing Tartini play, his pupil the French violinist Pierre La Houssaye (1755-1818) refers to '...le magie de l'archet'. Tartini's pupils would practice the same pieces of music at different points of the bow, and beginning with either down-bow or up-bow.
These variations are more than just technical exercises; we returned to the original text and the original phrasing is again visible.
