Appearing on the west end, for one week only, a violin bow by Jacob Eury circa 1830! So how was a recent arrival from Copenhagen going to fair, playing a week of contemporary music sitting as co-leader? Three days of six hour rehearsals then eight shows in four days! Plenty of time to get to know the bow and put it through its paces. The music was technically challenging so it was a great test of a bow approaching two hundred years of age.
So what did I learn? Firstly, it seems impossible to make an unpleasant sound! The sound is silky, smoothe, lithe and elegant, there were very little difficulties in control. The stick vibrated through the fingers, I always love this zingy feel, it shows a stick with ideal equilibrium.
Under intense duress I thought the stick might be a bit soft, this turned out to be a silly school boy error, I soon learnt to allow the stick to show me how I should be using it at these times. The bows flew through all my tests and is a delight.
A great deal rarer than both F. X. Tourte and Dominique Peccatte it is a delight to have this bow in the collection for a discerning violinist.
