François Nicolas Voirin (1833–1885) was a French

archetier A bow maker is a person who builds, repairs, and restores antique or modern Bow (music), bows for bowed string instruments. These include violins, violas, cellos, double basses, viola d'amore, viola da gamba, etc. The French word for bowmaker (b ...

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bowmaker A bow maker is a person who builds, repairs, and restores antique or modern bows for bowed string instruments. These include violins, violas, cellos, double basses, viola d'amore, viola da gamba, etc. The French word for bowmaker (bow maker) ...

), known in his time as the "Modern Tourte." F.N. Voirin (the son of a gardener) was born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, the brother of Joseph Voirin (also a talented bowmaker) and cousin to Jean Baptiste Vuillaume. At the age of 12, he served his apprenticeship in

Mirecourt Mirecourt () is a Communes of France, commune in the Vosges (French department), Vosges Departments of France, department in Grand Est in northeastern France. Mirecourt is known for lace-making and the manufacture of musical instruments, particula ...

, 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 François Xavier Tourte (1747 – 25 April 1835) was a French bow maker who made a number of significant contributions to the development of the bow of stringed instruments, and is considered to be the most important figure in the development of ...

; 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 th
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 Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also ...

and Claude Thomassin, and Charles Nicolas Bazin. Voirin was one of the great makers of the 19th century along with his predecessors

Dominique Peccatte Dominique Peccatte (15 July 1810 – 13 January 1874) was a French luthier and above all a renowned bow maker. He was apprenticed in Mirecourt and later worked with Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume. He is notable for adapting the "hatchet-shaped" typ ...

, 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 Jean-Delphin Alard (8 March 181522 February 1888) was a French violinist, composer, and teacher. He was the son-in-law of Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, and had Pablo de Sarasate amongst his students. Biography Alard was born in Bayonne, the son of an ...

Charles Dancla (Jean Baptiste) Charles Dancla (; 19 December 181710 November 1907) was a French violinist, composer and teacher. Biography Dancla was born in Bagnères-de-Bigorre. When he was nine years old, violinist Pierre Rode in Bordeaux heard his music; he ...

Eugène Ysaÿe Eugène-Auguste Ysaÿe (; 16 July 185812 May 1931) was a Belgian virtuoso violinist, composer, and conductor. He was regarded as "The King of the Violin", or, as Nathan Milstein put it, the "tsar". Early years Born in Liège, Ysaÿe began ...

Mischa Elman Mischa (Mikhail Saulovich) Elman (; January 20, 1891April 5, 1967) was a Russian-American violinist famed for his passionate style, beautiful tone, and impeccable artistry and musicality. Early life Moses or Moishe Elman was born to a Jewish fa ...

Jacques Thibaud Jacques Thibaud (; 27 September 18801 September 1953) was a French violinist. Biography 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 th ...

Isaac Stern Isaac Stern (July 21, 1920 – September 22, 2001) was an American violinist. Born in Ukraine, Stern moved to the United States when he was 14 months old. Stern performed both nationally and internationally, notably touring the Soviet Union a ...

Emanuel Feuermann Emanuel Feuermann (November 22, 1902 – May 25, 1942) was an internationally celebrated cellist in the first half of the 20th century. Life Feuermann was born in 1902 in Kolomyja, Galicia, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Kolomyia, Ukraine) to ...

Pinchas Zukerman Pinchas Zukerman (; born 16 July 1948) is an Israeli-American violinist, violist and conductor. Life and career Zukerman was born in Tel Aviv, to Jewish parents and Holocaust survivors Yehuda and Miriam Lieberman Zukerman. He began his musica ...

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and today Jian Wang and Viktoria Mulova." — Gennady Filimonov.

Quotes

"François Nicolas Voirin was the most skilled maker of his generation, one of the finest makers ever, and he produced a uniformly high quality product...The best Voirin bows are exquisite playing tools; they are strong and nimble and produce a beautiful tone. By 1880 many makers were beginning to consistently aim for an even heavier, stronger model, with varying degrees of success. Lamy père picked up where Voirin left off." — Stefan Hersh 2003

References

* * * * * Les Luthiers Parisiens aux XIX et XX siecles Tom 3 "Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume et sa famille - Sylvette Milliot 2006 * *
François Nicolas Voirin, the master of the light violin bow: notes on his life and work
* Violins & Bows - Jost Thoene 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Voirin, Francois Nicolas 1833 births 1885 deaths Luthiers from Paris Bow makers 19th-century French businesspeople