Violinisti, violini e maestri di violino a Bologna al tempo di Corelli

The diffusion of the violin increased significantly after the 1630s. The success of the instrument involved not only art music, but it also infiltrated in all social strata, orienting taste and, as a consequence – beginning in the 1670s – establishing professional models and a commercial market with long-term effects. During Arcangelo Corelli’s training in Bologna, the city was one of the pivotal centers for the expansion of the violin, and presented a fervor of activity that, in terms of size and quality offers one of the richest pictures in the history of the instrument. Instrumental technique – and the establishment of a ‘Bolognese school’, successful beyond the city limits – craft and commerce, with the opening of many instrument makers’ shops, and a new repertoire (through music printing and its diffusion) all progressed rapidly. In order to describe the exceptional situation of Bologna in the forty years between 1670 and 1710, this study looks at specific aspects of life and activity of Bolognese violinists, placing them within three socio-professional areas: the popular milieu, that of the «pratici» with some artistic aspirations, and that of the masters who invested in the violin their entire economic and intellectual resources. Even if some flexibility can be noticed among these groups, their characteristics clearly influence the repertoire, the musical instruments, and the professional opportunities for the violinists.