THE VIOLIN VS THE FIDDLE Part One

THE VIOLIN VS THE FIDDLE Part One by Eliseo Mauas Pinto

The term " fiddle" , has survived as a popular mote applied to the violin and specifically wherever it is performed in the traditional way, recreating fok dances, songs and airs . The term " fidil" was employed for the first time in an irish bardic poem " The Fair of Carman" , that dates from the VIII C. This bow instrument was used along with the harp like introduction and musical ending to extensive epic poems related or sung by " filí" or poet of the court.The filí conserved the chronicles, history along with the tradition. People in charge of the intellectual task and their transmission first in rythmical verse, soon in prosa and verse. The Lebor Laigneach (Book of Leinster) contains the list of sagas which a trained good filí had to know: just only close to 350। But before the fidil was employed an evolution of the so called lyra " crwyth" it has been employed in Wales and the Shetland Islands (like " gue") until aims of century XVII, a।d. Gentleman and Mrs. Michael Kelly. The fidil had successors like the " rebec" brought from the East by the Cruzados, which still survives today in performances of medieval music, and in Spain, in regions like Leon, Asturias, Zamora, and Castile we may find this instrument (also denominated " ravel") in its repertoire folkloric. In the XVI century more music was written for viola than for the rebec. Certainly, with the invention of the violin, in the XVII century began the decay of the viola began. Making his way from Italy it was adopted in Scotland and Ireland in the XVIII C. like " the" instrument for dance music, beside its employement in the so called " clasical music" , thus getting to make in remote places and lowering the price of its cost. . The difference between the fiddle and the violin states basically in the attitude and technique of the performer, because all the folk music can be interpreted in first position, it's no longer necessary the classic way of how maintaining the violin. The violin can be hold against the chest, shoulder or superior part of the arm with the neck inclined, while holding the instrument. For that reason also some variation on how to grip or move the bow exist. In the last years an upset has arisen towards the classic way since it is simply much more easy for the beginner. Some prefer to use the bow tensed , and others don't; some strike it against the chords, others use all the length; somehold it forward with the thumb; others underneath. The tuningalso differs from the traditional one (G/D/A/E). We find (A- E' - A' - E'), and even in some cases below the A 440 tuning. In Ireland we can register traditional styles that can be distinguished of the staccato of the region of Donegal,or a more larghetto like the one of Kerry. The young people even so tend to play with the style developed in Sligo much more ornamented, unlike those of the North that incline to the one of Donegal. The coming of the " melodeon" and " concertina" it contributed
in incredible way to the blossoming of new melodies composed for sets of dances. Being few the well-educated ones in the art of staff reading, the melodies taught to their children went away losing according to which these pleased to them or no, and many crossed the Irish Sea till Scotland and vice versa.
Between the traditional musicians many think that in Ireland the bagpipe preceeded to the violin in Ireland like the instrument usually destined to perform dance music (XVIII C.). It is difficult to precise if some primitive form of bow instrument existed. In Scotland the status of the national instrument competed with the bagpipe. There appear composers of reel and strathspeys (4/4) with which another influence of his Irish pairs. Breandan Breatnach (Irish musicologist) affirmed already in ' 71, that a great part of the folk music for the dance this composing without a doubt by violinists. In spite of the fact that few traditional melodies passed to the violin, it indicates that the bagpipe had a dominant influence in the creation of music.

Unquestionablily the greatest influence in the execution of this century were the disc recordings of Michael Coleman in the USA during the decade of ' 20 and ' 30. (thanks to the spread of the CD it is possible to secure compilations nowadays). Its style ornamented with rolls, triplets, and melodic variations hit in contrast to the used simple forms in the style of the counties of Tyrone and Fermanagh. The United States, the Earth of the opportunity, where the emigrants conquered the world, thus gets to move with new interpreters in 78 rpm disc recordings to fiddlers in the social dances. Nowadays the search is in inverse sense. Young people from the United States and rest of America without a discernible irish inheritance , look forward to Ireland and Scotland like " their" America, without thinking about in an economical but in a cultural way.-. Those are now the discs published in the circle of the celtic countries that reasemble that
moment of personal communication and keep the tradition alive Experience that never had opportunity to feel like compilers as Francis O' Neill, who in 1903 at Chicago, United States ( then employee as police captain), would publish a compilation of more than 850 melodies gathered directly of the emigration long before the golden age of the Irish recordings We find in Ireland an ingrained tradition in the counties of Kerry, Clare, Tyrone until the coast of Donegal. Young people and elders perform the music that by hundreds of years was growing next to the generations. The visitor is welcome with joy. The violins appear behind the lockers or between the old coats. The chairs are changed from the corners to the center of the rooms.
The movements are slow, the chords are tuned, the bows move through used resin pieces. There is no haste, the dusk always find them in shadowy kitchens where they perform with passion and pride their music.