Case cane or Dance master cane
The Dance master
The Case cane or Dance master cane was also named Pochette fiddle or Kit
violin cane
Dance masters where part of the
instrument player community in Paris. Their headmaster was designated as the
"King of violin"; from 1659 on, the Dance masters were
controlled by approved status and confirmed by letters of patent . A Dance master was
required to pass an exam and to pay to be admitted in the brotherhood; he couldn't
practice his work, give lessons at home or in town, without to be one of them.
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"Royal Academy of dance founded in 1662"
From there, started many law suits that, for almost one century, occupied various
courts of law; by the way, in 1773, the last "King of
violin", named Guignon, decided to renounce to his suzerainty. From this day on,
to be a Dance master by profession became free. |
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We understand that the so called Case cane, Pochette fiddle or Kit violin canes have
had a certain popularity during the Century that followed the French revolution.
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Case cane also called Pochette fiddle-cane. The left
cane is in it case, the right is out of its case. |
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The
canes
The figure opposite shows us the cane of a dance master, the
case cane, also called Pochette fiddle because of the small violin
that the dance master used to put into his pocket, in order to give his lessons in town.
"The Kit violin, or Kit
(Tanzmeistergeige in German), is a stringed musical instrument. It is essentially a very
small violin, designed to fit in a pocket — hence its other common name, the
"pochette fiddle". It was used by dance masters in royal courts and other places of
nobility, as well as by street musicians up until around the XVIII century." Source:
Wikipédia
"The term "kit" is believed to first have been used in the first quarter
of the 16th century, in England where is was mentioned in "Interlude of the Four
Elements" (circa 1517)."Wikipédia
Below is an explanation on how it was used: |
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Usage
Unscrew the handle, take off the horn ring; by pulling the bridge hidden in flat under the fingerboard; place it at the level
of the sound post and, after having removed the bow from the
inside of the musical instrument, screw the cane handle back in order to raise the violin
up to the shoulder.
It could give a sufficient note to accompany chasses-croises (set to
partners) dance or steps of minuet .
This case cane, from the XVIII century, is one of M. A. Jubinal's
collection. |
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Source: The Dance master definition is extracted from "Larousse du
XXe siècle "en six volumes - Published under the editorship of Paul AUGE
-"
The Case cane and his illustration come from the "Dictionnaire de
l'Art de la curiosite et du Bibelot" (1883).
Some citations and illustrations are taken from Wikipédia
free encyclopedia .
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