Farmington High School - Laurel Yearbook (Farmington, ME)

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THE L enters upon her journey across the heavens, shedding a silver sheen on the silent earth. Our journey is ended. Many beauties of our state have been passed by unheeded. Yet it is my earnest hope that from these few glimpses of Nature's wonders we may have gained a fuller appreciation of her hidden secrets, and that in this way we may have become more closely attuned with our Creator. .llarian Svnitlz '37, YT' THE VIOLIN T has always been with a kind of rever- ential awe that l have contemplated that in a world that is constantly changing and improving there is something which cannot be improved because it has already attained perfection. This is true of that hollow wooden box whose four strings. when set in vibration by the bow, send forth tones which hold the whole earth spcllbound. XVe, who are in- clined to ridicule the tallow-candle status of life, must in one instance humbly step aside and pay due homage to those who molded instruments of unsurpassable quality over two centuries ago. Although the violin is very simple in its construction, every detail of shape and po- sition of parts is very important and has been evolved by experts. The violin is the offspring of many gen- erations -Jmf cruder instruments. Its ancestry is enveloped in a mist. livery authority has different conjectures concerning its prede- cessors. ln vain do we search the records of ancient ligypt, Greece and Rome for a stringed instrument played with a bow. However. in India there is an old tra- dition which says that about seven thousand years ago, Ravana, the mythical King of Ceylon, invented a crude bowed instrument and called it the Ravanastron. To this day the beggars of lndia find comfort by drawing forth its nmted tones from its two strings. ls it not possible that a similar instrument was brought to Europe by conquering East- A UREL 23 ern races and in that way became the seed of our own violin? We know that during the Dark Ages Vagabond minstrels wandered from one European country to another play- ing various kinds of stringed instruments. Because of this, instrumental music was scorned by the church and all respectable people. In the fifteenth century we are con- fronted with the unmistakable sires of our own violin, the viol family. The viols possessed many of the characteristics of modern stringed instruments but were more awkward to handle. VV ith the coming of the viol, the disreputable minstrel ceased to exist and instrumental music was widely used to beautify all of life. .-X century or more later the violin itself received a cordial welcome from many peo- ple throughout Europe. The person who deserves the credit of inventing it was prob- ably either Duiffoprugcar or Gasparo da Salo. The job of perfecting it went forward in leaps and bounds. From the latter half of the sixteenth to the middle of the eigh- teenth, Cremona, Italy, the home of the great violin makers, fairly buzzed with the busi- ness of Fiddle making. Most famous of all her sons was Stradi- varius. There is something about the story of Stradivarius that appeals to everyone. His lifetime of ninety-three years was spent in carving instruments from dawn tillndark. VVhat a monotonous and yet what a grati- fying existence that must have been! Un- like many geniuses Stradivarius was an heir to wealth, and therefore he could experiment unhampered by the necessity of earning bread for his family. He was born in the middle of the seventeenth century, at a pe- riod when many boys cherished the ambi- tion of becoming violin makers. At the age of thirteen, Stradivarius made his first vio- lin in the workshop of his teacher, Nicolo Amati. During his youth and early man- hood he learned every detail of his art and made many fine instruments in the style of his teacher. Between the ages of forty and Efty-five, however, he made few instruments and we know very little about his life at .l

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l 1. 22 THE LAUREL the soft grey rocks. And in the depths of a limpid pool a silvery Hash betrays the hiding place of a wary trout. Listen! Was that the snapping of a twig? A slight movement disturbs the foliage. Carefully picking her way toward the tumbling waters is a small doe and at her heels, less cautious, a spotted fawn. Eagerly they taste the cool waters, then, as a gentle breeze carries to them the danger signal, they disappear with graceful bounds into the depths of the forest. With the last van- ishing flash of the white tails our tension relaxes, and our thoughts turn back to the way before us. Refreshed by the peacefulness of this lovely scene, once again we resume our journey. Gradually the murmuring of the little mountain stream fades away, and we find ourselves walking silently along a soft brown carpet. Tall pines like the giant pillars of a mighty cathedral tower above us, catching the secrets of the four winds. Softly they whisper among themselves, and one may well imagine he hears the hushed voices of angels mingled with the rustling of the pines. What lessons they might teach us there in that vast place of worship if we only understood the whispered words! A quiet peace, such as comes to one only in the deeper moments of life, rests upon us as we reverently stand in that hallowed at- mosphere. Filled with this new, rich ex- perienee, we reluctantly direct our steps onward. Not far beyond we enter the open Helds once more. Standing upon a grassy slope we look down at our right upon a tiny village nestled among the hills. Through the green leaves a white church spire, symbol of pur- ity and peace, lifts its slender form toward Heaven. At our left, in the valley below, a silver lake holds the clear reflection of the blue sky. Not a ripple stirs the water, and Heecy clouds are mirrored on 'its smooth surface. Heaven herself is smiling down at her likeness there below. Along the shore slender white hirches lean far out over the clear water, lovely maidens entranced by their own beauty. Mountains, softened by the distance to a deep blue, stand like silent sentinels over the peaceful lake. Far up in an inland cove the mournful cry of a loon re-echoes weirdly across the still water. But we must hasten on. Soon a broad expanse of newly-mown meadow land stretches before us, sending forth a mingled aroma of drying grasses and sweet clover. By their death only come such perfections. And now we have traveled many miles to a far different scene. An invigorating breeze greets us, and a new sound falls upon our ears. As we draw nearer a steady beat- ing, slow and rhythmic, gradually grows louder, and we taste the tang of the salty sea. Then, dashing high over jagged rocks, the sea rushes toward us like a thing en- raged, only to fall back again to receive new strength for the next onslaught. Some unseen, unfelt power rules those mighty waves, or breaking loose, they would fall upon us in all their fury. But they are slaves, those waves, driven throughout the ages to the endless task of rising and fall- ing, rising and falling. Far out across the swelling waves a tiny sail gleams in the sunlight. Nearer the shore, the sea's lonely companion, the gull, wheels to and fro, uttering its plaintive cry as it scans the bleak rocks for some small bit which the sea might bring it. And still the waves toil on and on, never resting, never WCZ1l'y- ing. To some small degree we are made to realize the omnipotence of our Creator. 'Wonder ills our being and we stand in awe as we see the glory and might of God. lt is good for us to be here. Then far inland a new voice calls us, and the Spirit of Winter directs us swiftly over paths of time. We finally come to a shadow of the protecting brow of a hill. The silence of winter lies upon the whole valley. Every field, every tree and shrub is sleeping under a soft blanket of pure whiteness. The shadows of day lengthen, twilight broods over the sleeping landg and, rising over the crest of the mountain, the queen of night

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Q4 THE L that time. Witliout doubt he was patiently experimenting with the wood. varnish and shape of violins. Although this period was the most unproductive in the quantity of in- struments it was probably the most im- portant, for it was in this period that all his powers as an artist were at play. Being a fine violinist himself, he knew exactly the tone that he wanted in his instruments. At last when most men are thinking of retiring, he began to give the best of his talent to the world. He confidently departed from the traditional style of violin making and for twenty-tive years molded instruments whose tones are the essence of beauty and power. People have payed as high as eighty thousand dollars to possess a Stradf' A poem by George Eliot, the words of which are attributed to Stradivarius, gives us the spirit in which the Cremonese maker worked: XVhen any man holds 'twixt hand and chin A violin of mine, he will be glad That Stradivarius lived, made violins And made them of the best. For while God gives them skill l give them instruments to play upon God using me to help Him. Stradivarius and the other Cremonese makers paved the way so that great artists might lay the foundations of modern violin playing. One of these artists was Henri VVieniawski who wrote several violin com- positions among which is the Plonaise Brilliante which I shall play for you tonight. Alszzleczz Tiicmnb 137. TY THE LURE. OF THE OPEN QW many people go through life miss- ing the natural beauties of this uni- verse: the glory of the sunset reflected on the tranquil lake, the star-studded night sky through the treesg the sound of a birds, chorus at morning, the lapping of the waves against the shore, the wind sighing in the treesg the fragrance of the pine or the earthy scent of the cool sod. I know of no better way to benent by these gifts of nature than AUREL to leave our conventional abodes, and roam to where the pine needles will be our carpet and the vast sky our roof. What lover of the outdoors does this scene not lure to thoughts of camping, of sizzling bacon, of the crackling fire? Camping is as old as the human race. ln our country long before Columbus touched the coast, the indians lived under the open sky, gained necessary skill in hunting, hsh- ing, paddling, riding, and in a primitive way overcame the forces of nature. XVhen our forefathers came to dwell in the wilderness, they found it necessary to gain their living much as the Indians. Per- haps, then, our enthusiasm for the freedom of the deep woodland might be due to a racial tendency. Before ISHN. farmers made up seventy- five per cent of the population: but after the Civil VVar the agricultural interests be- gan to give place to the manufacturing and commercial, and the people necessarily be- came urban, in their mode of living. At the beginning of this century, more than one- half the people lived in localities of 3,000 or more. A transformation had gradually resultedg it was no longer necessary to know how to roll a pack, make a fire, blaze trails, and live off the land. Yet. as rapid and inexpensive transporta- tion were developed and camping equipment was improved, people began to have a desire for a closer communion with nature: there- fore modernized roughing it became popular. In recent years, the state governments have done much to make camping more tempting by blazing trails, setting aside areas for motor camps, building fireplaces and shelters, and developing state and national parks. At the beginning of the twentieth century girls' and boys' camps were organized. There are many of these now especially in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Almost every young person who spends a summer at one of these camps has a glorious time that he will never forget. This is partly due to the carefully planned routine which has been proven to be so important to the