Grove's dictionary of music and musicians

428 sevCIk SEVEN LAST WORDS, THE
his reputation became established abroad.
Pupils offered themselves in such great numbers,
mainly from England and America, that only
a small proportion of them could be accepted.
Among them were the sons of Wilhelmj and
Hugo Heermann, the daughter of Wieniawski,
Zacharewitsch, Michel de Sioard, "Walter
Schulze, Vivien Chartres, Leon Sametini, and
many others more locally known, who, after
studying under Sevolk,reoeived teaching appointments
at various musid schools. The number
of students working under him varies from
75 to 100 during the winter months, some taking
two or three lessons monthly, and others,
who also learn from his assistants, one lesson
only a month ; whilst during the summer recess
many follow him to his country residence at
G-raz, and continue to get the benefit of his
advice in holiday time. Thanks to him, Prague
adds to its distinctions that of being a sort of
university town of the violin, where students
learn and draw inspiration from each other as
well as from the Professor. But the latter's
personal magnetism is the chief factor in his
success in bringing forward so many technically
accomplished pupils. He prides himself on
'
teaching them how to learn,' and has the gift
of stimulating them to an almost superhuman
exercise of patience. For as many hours daily
as their strength will allow, they play small
sections of passages backwards and forwards
hvmdreds, even thousands of times, in every
possible fingering and variety of bowing. No
other teacher of the violin has the knowledge
which §ev6Ik possesses of the anatomical
structure of the hand and arm. The position
of the hand holding the violin he regulates
according to the physique of the pupil, whose
muscles (those controlling the fingers) are
systematically trained by his exercises to
respond quickly, so that in the end remarkable
facility in shifting position is gained. The
fingers of the left hand are kept down more
rigidly than in the Joachim school, and the
management of the bow is taught with extraordinary
minuteness of detail. He divides it
not only into the usual three sections, but also
into subdivisions, and of course the pupil has
to apportion each accurately in accordance with
the nature of the phrase, thus acquiring great
command of tone and accent. In short, under
the Sev8ik system, nothing is left undone that
methodical training of ear or muscles can
accomplish. In regard to interpretation, the
professor (seated at the pianoforte) teaches all
the great concertos on sound technical lines,
but the development of the psychical side of
the student's nature, the bringing to bear upon
him of subtle influences which tend to make
"him a great interpretative artist, must come
from without. In the case of some of his pupils,
these influences appear to have been absent,
but that is no fault of Sevolk, whose lifework
lies in the domain of pure technique,
which he teaches not only to his pupils, but to
the world, with a passion which is akin to
genius ; to the world by means of his Method,
which is a monument of patient toil that will
secure him fame after his pupils are forgotten.
It consists of four books. Book I. is a Violin
Method for Beginners (in seven parts, op. 6).
In this he has adopted for the early stages of
practice what he calls his 'Semitone System.'
Whereas in the ordinaiy diatonic scale the
stoppings are unequal, the semitones which
occur being produced on almost every string
with the aid of difierent fingers, in this book
scales are placed before the beginner, in which
all the stoppings are the same on each string.
This helps him to acquire quickly pure intonation,
and enables him to devote his entire
attention to the holding of the violin and the
handling of the bow. Book II. contains Studies
preparatory to the shake and for developing
the touch (in two parts, op.. 7). Changes of
position and preparatory scale studies, op. 8.
and Preparatory Studies in double stopping, op.
9. Book III. is a School of Violin Technique
(in four parts, op. 1), for more advanced pupils,
and is §ev61k's magnum opus. Book IV. is a
School of Bowing Technique (in six parts, op.
2), in which appear some 4000 varieties of
bowing in progressive order, with metronome
marks, and exhaustive directions tending to
the development of the bow ann.
Such is the §evclk method, for the creating
of which he has drawn from the technical
storehouse of the past, taken from all schools
their characteristics and traditions, arranged
them in order, blended them, filtered them
through his own originality, and by adding
many new features carried them a step farther.
His publications include a series of Bohemian
'
dances' for violin solo. In 1886 the Czar
Alexander II. conferred upon him the Order of
St. Stanislaus for pedagogic services, w. w. c.
SEVEN LAST WORDS, THE— i.e. the
seven last utterances of the crucified Saviour.
A composition of Haydn's dating about 1785.
It was then the custom in the principal church
of Cadiz to have a kind of oratorio during
Passion week. The church was hung with
black, and a single lamp only was lighted. At
noon the doors were shut. An orchestral
prelude was played ; then the Bishop mounted
the pulpit, read one of our Lord's last 'words,'
and made an exhortation upon it. He then
came down, and threw himself on his knees
before the altar. During this there was again
orchestral music. He then mounted the pulpit
a second time, and pronounced the second
' word, ' and a second discourse, and so on till
the last. In 1785 Haydn received a request
from Cadiz to compose orchestral pieces for
this purpose, each piece to be an adagio of
about ten minutes long. This he did, sub-