François Nicolas Voirin
Encyclopedia
François Nicolas Voirin (1833-1885) was a French
Archetier
(bowmaker
), known in his time as the "Modern Tourte
."
F.N. Voirin (the son of a gardener) was born in Paris
France, the brother of Joseph Voirin (also a talented bowmaker) and cousin to Jean Baptiste Vuillaume
. At age of 12, he served his apprenticeship in Mirecourt
, with Jean SIMON, brother of Nicolas SIMON, also known as SIMON FR, and later worked in the workshop of Vuillaume from 1855 to 1870 where he succeeded Nicolas Maline
and revolutionized bow design and construction.
After his tenure at the Vuillaume shop, he established his own business at 3 rue du Bouloi, Paris, where he worked until his sudden death. He was a prolific maker and is generally regarded as the most important bowmaker of the second half of the 19th century. His bows are of superb quality. Voirin produced a radically different bow from François Tourte
; Slimmer head; the camber moved closer to head, yielding a stronger stick and reducing the thickness of the shaft especially at the heel. Primarily, Voirin made bows with the Vuillaume-style frog. The micro-photos of Vuillaume were placed mainly in bows by Voirin using the Stanhope lens.
Voirin taught Charles Peccatte
(1850-1920), son of François Peccatte
as well as others including Joseph Alfred Lamy
also known as Lamy père, Louis
and Claude Thomassin
, and Charles Nicolas Bazin
.
Voirin was one of the great makers of the 19th century along with his predecessors François Tourte
, Dominique Peccatte
, Jean Pierre Marie Persois
, and Etienne Pajeot
.
Though the earlier bows of Voirin were stamped with the Vuillaume brand, his later work bears his own stamp, F.N.Voirin.
"François Nicolas Voirin has had a lasting effect and influence over many generations of bowmakers.
His bows have been used by the greatest soloists, among them Jean-Delphin Alard, Charles Dancla
, Eugène Ysaÿe
, Mischa Elman, Jacques Thibaud
, Isaac Stern
, Emanuel Feuermann
, Pinchas Zukerman
, William Primrose
and today Jian Wang
and Viktoria Mulova . " - Filimonov Fine Violins
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
Archetier
Archetier
A bow maker is a person who builds, repairs, and restores ancient or modern bows for instruments of the violin family. These include violins, violas, cellos, double basses, viola d'amore, viola da gamba, etc....
(bowmaker
Bow (music)
In music, a bow is moved across some part of a musical instrument, causing vibration which the instrument emits as sound. The vast majority of bows are used with string instruments, although some bows are used with musical saws and other bowed idiophones....
), known in his time as the "Modern Tourte
François Tourte
François Xavier Tourte was a Frenchman who, though trained as a watchmaker, soon changed to making bows for playing classical string instruments such as the violin....
."
F.N. Voirin (the son of a gardener) was born in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
France, the brother of Joseph Voirin (also a talented bowmaker) and cousin to Jean Baptiste Vuillaume
Jean Baptiste Vuillaume
Jean Baptiste Vuillaume was an illustrious French violin maker. He made over 3,000 instruments and was also a fine businessman and an inventor.-Early life:...
. At age of 12, he served his apprenticeship in Mirecourt
Mirecourt
Mirecourt is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France. Mirecourt is known for lace-making and the manufacture of musical instruments, particularly those of the violin family...
, with Jean SIMON, brother of Nicolas SIMON, also known as SIMON FR, and later worked in the workshop of Vuillaume from 1855 to 1870 where he succeeded Nicolas Maline
Nicolas Maline
Nicolas Maline was a luthier and an archetier/bow maker.He was apprenticed in Mirecourt and worked for Etienne Pajeot, J.B...
and revolutionized bow design and construction.
After his tenure at the Vuillaume shop, he established his own business at 3 rue du Bouloi, Paris, where he worked until his sudden death. He was a prolific maker and is generally regarded as the most important bowmaker of the second half of the 19th century. His bows are of superb quality. Voirin produced a radically different bow from François Tourte
François Tourte
François Xavier Tourte was a Frenchman who, though trained as a watchmaker, soon changed to making bows for playing classical string instruments such as the violin....
; Slimmer head; the camber moved closer to head, yielding a stronger stick and reducing the thickness of the shaft especially at the heel. Primarily, Voirin made bows with the Vuillaume-style frog. The micro-photos of Vuillaume were placed mainly in bows by Voirin using the Stanhope lens.
Voirin taught Charles Peccatte
Charles Peccatte
Charles Peccatte was a French Archetier . He was born in Mirecourt, the son of François Peccatte.He was probably trained by August Lenoble with whom he later had a partnership which lasted until 1881....
(1850-1920), son of François Peccatte
François Peccatte
François Peccatte was a very talented and excellent archetier / bow maker who was destined for greatness, but he died at the age of 34 before he was able to reach the height of his craft...
as well as others including Joseph Alfred Lamy
Joseph Alfred Lamy
Joseph Alfred Lamy , was an important French archetier of the early twentieth century known as Lamy Père.He was born in Mirecourt, Vosges, France where he apprenticed from 1862-1868, and later worked from 1877 to 1885 for François Nicolas Voirin in Paris.He started his apprenticeship in 1862...
also known as Lamy père, Louis
Louis Thomassin (archetier)
Louis Thomassin was a French bow maker, or Archetier.He learned his craft in Mirecourt where he worked for the Bazin Family. In 1872 he went to Paris to work for François Nicolas Voirin and carried on Voirin's shop after his death....
and Claude Thomassin
Claude Thomassin
Claude Auguste Thomassin was a French bow maker, or Archetier.Son of Louis Thomassin with whom he learned his craft in Mirecourt....
, and Charles Nicolas Bazin
Bazin Family
Bazin Family / Bazin Dynasty.Highly esteemed family of bowmakers operating in Mirecourt, France, from around 1840 through most of the 1900s, produced bows in Mirecourt....
.
Voirin was one of the great makers of the 19th century along with his predecessors François Tourte
François Tourte
François Xavier Tourte was a Frenchman who, though trained as a watchmaker, soon changed to making bows for playing classical string instruments such as the violin....
, Dominique Peccatte
Dominique Peccatte
Dominique Peccatte was an influential French luthier and bow maker. He was apprenticed in Mirecourt and later worked with Jean Baptiste Vuillaume....
, Jean Pierre Marie Persois
Jean Pierre Marie Persois
Jean Pierre Marie Persoit [Persois] - was a great and intriguing French bowmaker or Archetier.One of the first bowmakers to be hired by the young Jean Baptiste Vuillaume....
, and Etienne Pajeot
Etienne Pajeot
Etienne Pajeot [Pageot], was an illustrious French Archetier / Bowmaker.-Biography:Son of, Louis Simon , who was also a bowmaker. Pajeot was a student, then a business partner of Nicolas Remy Maire.He produced excellent bows."Pajeot remains one of the most brilliant crafstmen of his generation...
.
Though the earlier bows of Voirin were stamped with the Vuillaume brand, his later work bears his own stamp, F.N.Voirin.
"François Nicolas Voirin has had a lasting effect and influence over many generations of bowmakers.
His bows have been used by the greatest soloists, among them Jean-Delphin Alard, Charles Dancla
Charles Dancla
Jean Baptiste Charles Dancla was a French violinist, composer and teacher.-Biography:...
, Eugène Ysaÿe
Eugène Ysaÿe
Eugène Ysaÿe was a Belgian violinist, composer and conductor born in Liège. He was regarded as "The King of the Violin", or, as Nathan Milstein put it, the "tzar"...
, Mischa Elman, Jacques Thibaud
Jacques Thibaud
Jacques Thibaud was a French violinist.Thibaud was born in Bordeaux and studied the violin with his father before entering the Paris Conservatoire at the age of thirteen. In 1896 he jointly won the conservatory's violin prize with Pierre Monteux...
, Isaac Stern
Isaac Stern
Isaac Stern was a Ukrainian-born violinist. He was renowned for his recordings and for discovering new musical talent.-Biography:Isaac Stern was born into a Jewish family in Kremenets, Ukraine. He was fourteen months old when his family moved to San Francisco...
, Emanuel Feuermann
Emanuel Feuermann
Emanuel Feuermann was an internationally celebrated cellist in the first half of the 20th century.-Biography:...
, Pinchas Zukerman
Pinchas Zukerman
Pinchas Zukerman is a world-renowned violinist, violist, and conductor. He is considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th and 21st centuries, and his ongoing 45-year career has seen him perform with the world's best-known orchestras and record over 100 works...
, William Primrose
William Primrose
William Primrose CBE was a Scottish violist and teacher.-Biography:Primrose was born in Glasgow and studied violin initially. In 1919 he moved to study at the then Guildhall School of Music in London. On the urging of the accompanist Ivor Newton, Primrose moved to Belgium to study under Eugène...
and today Jian Wang
Jian Wang (cellist)
Jian Wang began to study the cello with his father when he was four. While a student at the Shanghai Conservatoire, he was featured in the celebrated documentary film From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China...
and Viktoria Mulova . " - Filimonov Fine Violins