Air on the G String Wilhelmj arranged the second movement of Bach's third Orchestral Suite for violin and an accompaniment of strings, piano or organ (harmonium). On the score he had printed (on the G string) above the stave for the solo violin, which gave the arrangement its nickname. In Wilhelmj's version the piece is transposed down from its original key (D major) to C major. Then the part of the first violins is transposed down a further octave and given to a solo violin that can play the entire melody on its lowest string, the G string. The dynamic markings added by Wilhelmj are
Baroque violin and is also well-suited for the orchestra. It can be fitted with a viola E string and tuned to GDAE and played in the same way as a violin. There were other German violin makers of the same period as Johann Heinl who continued to produce old German baroque instruments for the musician who especially wanted a traditional German violin. One interesting type of old German pattern made by Grunwald has the body similar in size to the modern violin but with the fingerboard an inch and a half longer than today's standard. This change in fingerboard length allowing for