Georg Muffat, Preface to Florilegium secundum, Passau, 1698.
Muffat’s pre-eminence as an authority has been based on the fact that he studied violin in France during Lully’s time, apparently with the master himself. As Herb Myers points out, however, he was only 16 when he left and wrote the treatise 30 years after that. It is Muffat who is primarily responsible for describing the Rule of the Down-bow, as exemplified by his minuet example. This is doubly interesting because it gives the German/Italian bowing for the passage in the top line, and the French bowings in the bottom line.
Note: v | = up down . = (craquer), no down-bow craquer, retake harder up-bow (reverse for viol)
Note: Ger./It. “as it comes”; Fr. use of craquer and retake (reprendre) to achieve down-bow on 1.
Pierre Dupont, Principes de violon…, Paris, 1718. Minuet. Violin teacher and dancing master(!)
Note: bowings above in source, below are extrapolations from established patterns and rules. M.2 pattern not | V | V which would give | on 1 of m. 3 that’s not only criterion. Last meas. of 1st line like Muffat m.6, and 2nd last meas. like Muffat’s 2nd last. Lot more retakes.
Michel Pignolet de Montéclair, Méthode facile pour apprendre à jouer du violon, Paris, 1711-12. Minuet. Composer, theorist, teacher (Fr. Coupérin’s daughters).
Note: bowings for experts above, for less experienced players below (reversed from orig. print). Bowings below correspond to Muffat bowings for faster triples and both Muffat and Dupont standard 3 quarter-note minuet bowings. So many retakes in top bowings. Two-measure groupings in bottom bowings framed by retakes. Exceptions in 2nd and 3rd meas. of 2nd line: bottom uses top pattern, top plays “as it comes”—hemiola? Why not bottom? It can’t be more difficult.
