The Origins of Solo Cello Literature and Performance

8/9/2019 The Origins of Solo Cello Literature and Performance

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The Origins of Solo Cello Literature and Performance

The seventeenth century was a time of transition and formation for the violin

family. Whether one looks at the literature, the development of an idiomatic

techniue, the standardi!ation of instrumental design, the appearance of prominent

players, or the esta"lishment of distinct schools of playing, the violin family and its

impact on music was entering a new and significant stage of development. #or the

violin, this evolution was marked "y rapid progress and increased prominence as a

solo instrument. #or the cello, this progress was delayed almost one hundred years.

$ventually all mem"ers of the violin family were to attain a distinct and eminent

legacy, "ut the cello%s evolution into a solo instrument provides a uniue chapter in a

fascinating history.

&elatively little is known a"out the violin family "efore '()), though it is

widely accepted that the violin was esta"lished within popular culture such as

village f*tes, taverns, in homes, and also at aristocratic court functions such as the

#rench "allet, $nglish masue, and +talian intermedio. The a"ility to produce a

strong rhythmic articulation and tone made the violin especially useful for dance

music, with violin "ands improvising upon familiar melodies.' +n the siteenth

century, instrumental music separated into two main categories- works modeled on

forms derived from vocal works not idiomatic to the instrument including pre/

' 1+1 Royal Delight, The 0ing%s 1oyse, liner notes "y 2avid 2ouglass, 3armonia4undi 56)787), 5))9.


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eisting vocal music and ensem"le music that could "e played optionally for voices

or instruments: and instrumental works such as dances and instrumental fantasias.5

;y '()), the violin "ecame important, not only in the opera orchestra "ut

also in other forms of sacred and secular music. Solo and trio sonatas, intended for

any tre"le instrument, "egan to appear in the first decade of the seventeenth century

and were freuently played on the violin.


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interludes, take the position of the primary melodic line there are many such

eamples in Orfeo:.8

3owever, it was the sonata and its various interchangea"le la"els: that

"ecame the primary genre in which noticea"le advancement of the violin family

occurred. This technical and musical progress came primarily from +taly or +talians

living a"road. This is not to say that other $uropean countries, namely @ermany and


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The appearance of these works was not ar"itrary, as this development seems

to coincide with a num"er of significant factors that occurred in or around ;ologna

at a"out the same time. The most nota"le is the first true lineage of cellists,

cultivated within the intense concentration of ecellent string players in that region

;ologna was argua"ly the most important center of violin playing in +taly from the

'(()s:.( The second factor leading to solo cello playing, which will "e addressed

later in the paper, was the dramatic improvement of string technology originating in

;ologna around '(() that allowed gut strings to "e wound with metal wire, thus

ena"ling shorter and thinner strings that produced a stronger tone and greater facility

on the instrument. This almost undou"tedly led to smaller instruments and greater

virtuosity on the instruments.7

Such locali!ed enthusiasm toward the cello as a solo instrument provides the

uniue opportunity for a detailed account of the origins of solo cello repertory while

also permitting a comprehensive summary of this literature. +t is the intent of this

paper to offer a historical perspective on the emergence of solo cello literature in the

$milian region of +taly "y eploring the reasons "ehind this sudden interest in the

cello as a melodic instrument and defining what elements contri"uted to and

encouraged this development. This investigation will "e limited to the $milian

region in the final two decades of the seventeenth century and will "e accomplished

prominent composers and were the first to write sonatas for their instrument.( $lvidio Surian and @ra!iano ;allerini, =;ologna- &eligious +nstitutions>, #ro"e

$%sic Online ed. L. 4acy


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"y surveying the earliest solo works for cello, eamining a few of these pieces in

detail, identifying the maHor player/composers and defining their significance,

looking at some of the precedents that led to solo works, and eploring the musical

environment that encouraged this development.

using a wide variety of terms. ')


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points out, printed music alone demonstrates this "road array of references to a "ass

violin &assetto, bassetto di "iola, basso da bra--o, basso di "iola, "ioletta, "iolone,

"iolone da bra--o, and, in the second half of the seventeenth century, "ioloncino and

"ioloncello are Hust some of the twenty/four names that ;onta cites as common

references to the "ass violin.''

1ot only did the "ass violin have am"iguous nomenclature, it was made in a

wide range of si!es. +n the siteenth and seventeenth centuries, "ass violins were

"uilt as small as 7' cm in length to at least A) cm. When


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This view is supported in the treatises of Bohann Boachim Kuant! '795: and

Leopold 4o!art '79(:, "oth descri"ing two si!es of cellos, a small version for solo

playing and a larger one for orchestral playing.'

Thus, the confusion for modern/day scholarship is considera"le. The names

given to a "ass violin could "e generic, referring to a num"er of different

instruments, each a different si!e, with varied tunings, and even from distinct

families. Or the same instrument could have had several different names, reflecting

the disparity in regional dialects within +taly. Stephen ;onta summari!es this

disparity of terminology and instrumental design when he states-

The use of so many terms for the "ass violin suggests that there eisted a

variety of instruments of differing si!es, reflecting a period of time when

there was continual eperimentation'9

What is indisputa"le is that "ass instruments from various families served

primarily as mem"ers of the "asso continuo throughout the seventeenth century.

There is a minority of scholars, though, who "elieve it was also common practice

for musicians, from the very earliest time, to take melodic parts from the violin

literature and play them on the "ass violin. 1ona Pyron, in an appendi of William

Pleeth%s "ook !ello, contends this was actually uite common in the seventeenth

century-

One of the mysteries of music history is that when idiomatic virtuoso writingfor the violin "egan to develop in the early decades of the seventeenthcentury there was no rise of an euivalent repertoire for the cello.

3istorians from the late eighteenth century onward have taken this to mean

' Laird, .'9 ;onta, =Terminology,> (.

A


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that cello playing was in a more primitive state of development at this time

than was violin or viola da gam"a playing and reasoned that it could have

coped with nothing more taing than the "asso continuo line'(

Pyron proposes this alternative interpretation, "ased on the assumption that

idiomatic distinctions were not as firm as they are today-

Cellists, considering themselves to "e Mviolinists% al"eit M"ass violinists%:,uite naturally adopted the violin repertoire as their own transposing it

down an octave:, making no more distinction "etween the various voices

within the family of violins than do singers today with their solo repertoire. '7

The prevailing sentiment among contemporary scholars, however, is

summari!ed "y &o"in Stowell in The !ambridge !ompanion to the !ello-

The cello was emancipated from its purely "ass role towards the end of the

seventeenth century when works for solo cello and for cello and continuowere composed "y musicians in the "asilica of San Petronio in ;ologna.'A

When solo works were written for "ass instruments, the composer often did

not designate a specific instrument, especially in the first half of the century. The

"ass violin was slow to achieve success as a solo instrument, pro"a"ly due to its

cum"ersome uality initially, "ass violins were usually larger to produce a decent

sound on the gut strings, and thus were somewhat awkward to play:, and during the

seventeenth century had little solo music written for them.'6 Therefore, this gradual

and often erratic early history was marked "y continual eperimentation with si!e

and form well into the eighteenth century, several generations after Stradivari

'( 1ona Pyron, = in !ello, "y WilliamPleeth, London- 4ac2onald and Co., '6A5:, 58'.'7 Pyron, 585.'A &o"in Stowell, =The Sonata,> in The !ambridge !ompanion to the !ello Cam"ridge- Cam"ridge ?niversity Press, '666:, ''(.'6 Laird, 5/8.

6


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produced his now/standard =#orma ;> cello in '7)7.


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position.

+n the '(()s, the development of wire/wound strings dramatically altered

this situation. @ut strings wound with metal increased the mass without adding a lot

of thickness, making it possi"le for them to "e thinner and shorter.55 Small "ass

violin instruments now had proHection in the lower register, and the player had more

facility with less space "etween intervals and increased response of string to the

"ow. Large "ass instruments did not disappear, "ut now there was a "ass instrument

that could handle more demanding and virtuosic literature.

The earliest printed music to use the term "ioloncello appeared in '((9 in a

work "y @uilio Cesare


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image we have of $milian music in the seventeenth century is one that decidedly

favors instrumental music, specifically strings and trumpet.59 This region

contri"uted greatly to many of the maHor trends and characteristics of ;aroue

music. #oremost of these was the shift from instrumental music as a supplemental

etension of social functions accompaniment to dance or theater, for instance: to an

emphasis on instrumental music as a professional activity within a distinct genre of

music.


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environment. The church of San Petronio and the , #ro"e $%sic Online ed. L. 4acy


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;ologna, was founded in '((( "y a ;olognese no"leman, Count Dincen!o 4aria

Carrati, and had the support and encouragement from other local aristocracy.85 This

academy went "eyond the usual concept of an accademia as an informal gathering

of literary intellectuals or amateurs. +nstead, this institution was controlled "y

professional musicians who had a vested interest in cultivating and epanding the

musical environment. +t was a guild and conservatory com"ined within one

institution. 4em"ers met weekly or more: to hear each other%s works or to discuss

composition. These were known as the eserci-i for composers and the conferen-e for

performers.88 The of the $stense 2ukes. Like

;ologna, 4odena had a formida"le musical tradition, with a lively and professional

atmosphere that played a central role in the development of $milian instrumental

85 1ewman, '.88 ;arnett, 55/59.8 $lvidio Surian and @ra!iano ;allerini, =;ologna- The , #ro"e $%sic Online ed. L. 4acy


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music. +t too had a cathedral that employed musicians in its !appella m%sicale

often hiring as its director some of the well/known ;olognese composers as well:.89

3owever, the difference lay in the secular realm, for the musical environment at the

$stense court at 4odena was uite unlike that of the


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$stense in 4odena +/ $oe:, however, contains mostly manuscripts, written "y

accomplished musicians for the entertainment of ducal court. These works tend to

"e more virtuosic with an emphasis on the solo sonata, "oth accompanied and

unaccompanied.86 This virtuosity, com"ined with the fact that the compositions were

composed "y the most accomplished performers of the time, gives the impression

that these manuscripts were written "y player/composers for their own use and, as a

result, were unpu"lished. Conseuently, these manuscripts, unlike most of the

printed music, tend to show more accurately the cutting edge of performance and

level of string techniue during this period.

The earliest generation of cellists that had a significant association with

;ologna or 4odena consisted of @iovanni ;attista Ditali '(85/'(65:, 2omenico

@alli '(6/'(67:, Petronio #ranceschini c'(9)/'(A):, 2omenico @a"rielli

c'(96/'(6):, @iuseppe 4aria Bacchini c'((8/'757:,


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Torelli '(9A/'7)6:, who were competent on all instruments of the violin family, an

almost epected trait of that period.5

Of those cellists listed a"ove, some played a more significant role in the

early development of the cello. Ditali, as a cellist/composer, was a founding mem"er

of the 9 Bacchini and @a"rielli

are perhaps the most significant of this list, not only for their fame as performers,

"ut especially "ecause of their innovative and imaginative contri"ution to the

literature for solo cello.

The first printed music for solo cello of which we can "e certain is @iovanni

5 ;arnett, 5'.8 Thomas Walker and 4arc DanscheeuwiHck, =#ranceschini, Pietro> #ro"e $%sicOnline ed. L. 4acy


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2egli in The !ambridge !ompanion to the

!ello Cam"ridge- Cam"ridge ?niversity Press, '666:, '87.

'A


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the first cello continuo sonatas to appear in print.A Other printed collections with

cello sonatas emerged within a few years of Bacchini%s output. Luigi Taglietti%s

%onate da camera Op. ' ;ologna- Silvani, '(67: has eight =Capriccios> for cello

and "asso continuo and , ''(/'7.6 Stowell, =The Sonata>, ''7.9) ;arnett, (o%rnal of e"enteenth5!ent%ry $%sic 9-', par. .9' Cowling, 7A/76.95 Lindgren, viii.

'6


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#lorid, melodic writing for cello had already "een common prior to the

appearance of solo works. #rom a"out '((9, the cello at times assumed a role that

was significantly more independent from the "asso continuo operatic arias,

ensem"le sonatas, and trumpet sonatas all "egan to feature a "ass line that was

distinctly separate from the "asso continuo.

+n opera, this was commonly referred to as a ="asso solo o""ligato> as

;enedetto 4arcello descri"ed it in *l teatro alla moda I'758J:, or otherwise known

as the ="asso o""ligato aria,> and predated the conventional tre"le o""ligato.98 +n

this role, the o""ligato cello line shares in the presentation of melodic material. This

could "e accomplished in a ritornello/like form, wherein the cello provides an

introduction, melodic interludes, and perhaps the final melodic statement while

taking a su"servient role during the vocal sections: or "y treating the cello and voice

as eual partners throughout the aria in imitative counterpoint: or "y giving the

cello an ostinato "ass line, which could "e uite ela"orate. $amples from the

literature include arias from 4.4 thesis, ;owling @reen State ?niversity, '67A:, 75/78.97 Lindgren, viii.

5)


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Bacchini and @a"rielli, "oth prolific writers for the trumpet, incorporated in

many of their trumpet sonatas a very active and at times virtuosic cello line, creating

in effect a trio sonata that featured the trumpet and cello as the two principal

melodic lines or, in the case of two/trumpet sonatas, three melodic lines:.9A

+ndependent cello lines also occurred in ensem"le sonatas, the cello often assuming

a concertante role with the designations =violoncello o""ligato> or =violoncello ad

li".> or simply =violoncello>:. $arly eamples of this ornate writing occur in @iulio

Cesare


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The works that will "e eamined in more detail, the unaccompanied

ricercari of


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original seventeenth/century editions, such as the use of accidentals, are thus

unrelia"ly treated in this source. < more recent pu"lication is a reprint of the

original '(A7 edition.(8

The information availa"le on


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surrounding this work. One, that , and > . We can look

to the title for assistance, for it suggests an option to perform these on the

harpsichord sopra il Violoncello = !la"icembalo:. The words =U Clavicem"alo> are

in smaller print than the rest of the title, implying perhaps that this was the less/

preferred option. 1evertheless, confusion remains as to the intent of these

compositions. +t might "e that these solo cello works were also meant to "e played

on the harpsichord, taking the place of the cello, and that the figures are provided to

aid in the reali!ation. This is all the more possi"le since


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for the cellist to improvise upon. < fourth possi"ility is that these works were

originally intended as accompanied violin ricercari and the printed version is an

instructional pu"lication that provided practice material for the continuo ensem"le.

This would correspond with one of the meanings of the term =ricercare,> a work for

didactic purposes.

This last possi"ility might hold the most potential, for in his dedication,

implying perhaps that these

pieces were instructional works. Without the violin part, what remains are eamples

of typical "asso continuo parts that a cellist would encounter and standard "ass

lines, figured and unfigured, that a harpsichordist might "e reuired to reali!e.

3owever, this view is not conclusive, for it was the unaccompanied version that was

dedicated to no"ility and pu"lished, not the duo version.((


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listed a"ove, although it is virtually impossi"le to prove his theory. With this

proposed tuning, these pieces would "ecome much more idiomatic to the

instrument, the maHority of notes "eing in the lower positions where there is more

sonority and more facility.

"egins as a

fugue would, with a direct and forthright statement in C maHor meas. '/: answered

"y another voice in the dominant meas. /A:-

$ample '- , meas. '/A

Throughout this ricercare, a two/voice, imitative dialogue in style bris3

5(


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dominates the teture, as in the following eample-

$ample 5- , meas. (A/7'

This eample is one of many that are similar to passages in the B.S. ;ach

%ites for olo !ello, such as the following eample-

$ample 8- @igue from B.S. ;ach, %ite in ! $a?or , meas. A/5'

;oth composers show a preference for providing an essentially single/line,

monophonic instrument with compound melodies. These melodic lines represent

two or more implied voices that create a multilinear, polyphonic teture.

Seuences in Ricercare *> are pervasive, as seen in this passage-

$ample - , meas. 89/8

+mplied counterpoint and use of seuential passages are often com"ined, as

57


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the opening of Ricercare >* demonstrates-

$ample 9- * , meas. '/9

The ricercari that are sectional all ehi"it the use of a recurring theme.

These ritornellos occur within the framework of a single movement "ut each time

they appear they are a free variant of the original. Ricercare ** demonstrates this

well. The original theme meas. '/8: is su"Hected to a continual evolution

throughout the ricercare, sometimes ornamented meas. 8/(: and sometimes as an

inverted variation meas. ')/'5:-

$ample (-


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$ample 7-


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epectations Iemphasis addedJ.>7' 2ieter Staehelin, editor of the '679 Schott

edition, has an eually assertive approach to editing these ricercari. +n the Preface,

Staehelin claims that =a few passages in the movements would seem to demand the

addition of arpeggiated chords, figurations, or other types of em"ellishment.> 75

Thankfully, these are included in an appendi, not in the music itself.

There are two separate manuscripts of @a"rielli%s cello works, "oth

preserved in the $stense li"rary in 4odena. The earlier version la"eled @. 76:

contains seven ricercari, a canon for two cellos, and one continuo sonata. +n the

sonata, the first three movements are titled =ricercare.>78 This manuscript is

indiscriminate in its organi!ation, leading some scholars to speculate that it was

intended for @a"rielli%s private use, perhaps to circulate among his students.7 <

later manuscript la"eled #. '(: is much more orderly and written with precision. +t

is in two volumes and contains two continuo sonatas for cello, the first merely a

reworking of the one found in the @. 76 manuscript and the second a new sonata in

< maHor.

+t would "e interesting to know how @a"rielli viewed his collection of

ricercari +n the @. 76 manuscript, the first ricercare is originally la"eled =Le!ioni,>

a word that is later marked over with the title =&icercar Primo.> This may imply that

these pieces were originally meant for instructional purposes and later evolved into

7' ;ettina 3offmann, foreword to 2omenico @a"rielli, Amtliche Ber@e fCrVioloncello 0assel- ;Vrenreiter, 5))':, i.75 2ieter Staehelin, foreword to 2omenico @a"rielli, ieben Ricercari Violoncello

olo 1ew York- Schott 4usic Corp., '679:, 5.78 ;arnett, $%sical *ss%es of the 0ate eicento, '85.7 3offmann, viii.

8)


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works for performance.79 3owever, this is speculative and, considering the fact that

they were never printed, it may also "e possi"le that these pieces were written for

private use.7( Overall, these ricercari for cello are preludial and rhapsodic rather

than imitative and, with the possi"le eception of Ricercare * , avoid a purely

didactic spirit. The main intent for these works seems to "e an ehi"ition of

technical virtuosity within an improvisational style of writing.

@a"rielli%s cello works were most likely written with a four/string instrument

in mind although a five/string cello cannot categorically "e ruled out: and was

pro"a"ly tuned !5#5d5g , a tuning that was popular in ;ologna.77 +f this were indeed

the case, the upper range of the ricercari often eplores fourth position "ut rarely

"eyond. There are several compelling reasons for playing all of @a"rielli%s works on

a cello tuned !5#5d5g . Ricercari V* and V** , the early version of the @ maHor sonata,

and many o""ligato passages in @a"rielli%s arias make freuent use of two/ and

three/note chords that are unplaya"le on a cello tuned entirely in fifths, as these two

ecerpts show-

$ample 6- $ample ')-

@a"rielli, Ricercare V* , meas. (A/(6 @a"rielli, onata in # $a?or , meas. 89

Secondly, there are many passages that, while playa"le on an < string, are

79 0inney, 585/88.7( 3offmann, viii.77 3offmann, i.

8'


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significantly more idiomatic with the top string tuned to # as to leave little dou"t

that this was the intended tuning. When the top strings are tuned in fourths, for

instance, third position on the 2 string is no longer necessary since the notes can "e

played instead on the top @ string: and second position is minimi!ed. This is

significant for a "ass instrument with gut strings, for playing in the upper positions

tends to produce a muddy, inarticulate sound on lower/pitched strings. One eample

of how a !5#5d5g tuning is advantageous occurs in Ricercare *V where the recurrent

a5flats can "e played on the top string, whereas with a !5#5d5a tuning that which is

customary today: the cellist must play those notes in fourth position on the 2 string.

+n regard to character, form, and style, each of the seven ricercare is uite

distinct from one another. 0inney provides an insightful view to analy!ing

@a"rielli%s style when he says,

;ecause of the very spontaneity of this music, in which new ideas are

continually spun, with effortless ease, out of the previous ones in endless

profusion, it poses difficulties to the analyst for here material and structureare so amalgamated as to resem"le organic growth rather than construction. 7A

The first ricercare resem"les closely a basso contin%o line with ascending

and descending seuences to create a somewhat wandering, leisurely character. The

pulse occasionally shifts into a hemiola "ut the overall effect of this short ricercare

is rather peaceful and unassuming. Ricercare ** , however, is "y far the longest of the

seven and one that 0inney descri"es as a =patchwork can!ona> that foreshadows the

four/movement ;aroue sonata.76 Similar to some of the


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section is marked "y a sudden and decisive change of meter, such as F time

changing to 8F5 which gives the new meter a strident, almost raucous uality: or

F turning into '5FA which creates a rapid, virtuosic effect:. $ach section "ears

little resem"lance to one another, as in a =patchwork> can!ona.

Ricercare *** opens with loose references to fugal writing- a strong, rhythmic

opening su"Hect followed "y a contrasting countersu"Hect that serves as a transition

to a tonal answer in the dominant.


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$ample '5- @a"rielli, Ricercare V , meas. 58/5(

The lower voice often acts as the "ass line, articulating the harmonic motion.

+n the opening measures, for instance, the lower voice outlines a "asic +/D/+/+D/D/+

progression in C maHor-

$ample '8- @a"rielli, Ricercare V , meas. '/8

This lower voice then assists in a modulation to the dominant "y providing a

pedal 2, signifying the D chord in @ maHor-

$ample '- @a"rielli, Ricercare V , meas.

This strong "ass line is always present ecept in the middle section: and

anticipates "y over thirty years ;ach%s use of this same approach in the Courante

from %ite * . +t is remarka"le how similar this courante is to the fifth ricercare, the

opening measures also using a strong "ass line that articulates the harmonic motion

in much the same way-

8


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$ample '9- B.S. ;ach, %ite in # $a?or , meas. '/

Ricercare V** is "y far the most reflective and profound of the group. +t is in

the style of a prelude, the music constantly evolving through motivic development

and pervasive use of seuential patterns. The opening three phrases demonstrate

ascending and descending seuences move the phrases to points of high and low

tension-

$ample '(- @a"rielli, Ricercare V*** , meas. '/'5

Compare this approach to the opening of the Prelude to ;ach%s second suite

for cello, where seuences are also used to develop the phrase-

$ample '7- B.S. ;ach, %ite in D minor , meas. '/(

4y interest in researching the earliest music for solo cello has "een a steady

89


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development, starting with the years + spent as an undergraduate cellist at the

O"erlin Conservatory and continuing to the present. +t stems from a curiosity not

only of the su"Hect matter itself, "ut also from the relative ignorance that + and

many other cellists: have in regard to the origins of our literature. This ignorance, of

course, is understanda"le since our training, aside from the ;ach suites and 3aydn

concertos, usually "egins with the Op. 9 sonatas of ;eethoven, written over one

hundred years after the first solo literature appeared. We play the occasional sonata

"y


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of Cerone and Praetorius, is also cited freuently to support this theory. 3is

!oncl%sioni descri"ing the "iolone as the principal "ass instrument and a small "ass

violin tuned with # as its lowest string that did not have the low range of the

"iolone. +n a later treatise, 0Eorgano s%onarino, ;anchieri refers to the alto and "ass

instruments of the violin family as "iolette and lists the lowest as tuned to #.

Similarly, 0ircher%s $%s%rgia %ni"ersalis '(9): and ;artolomeo ;ismantova%s

!ompendio m%sicale '(77:, the latter calling it a "ioloncello da spalla, mention a

small "ass violin with this tuning.A8 ;orgir goes on to say, citing eamples, that the

small "ass violin had diminutive names such as basso "ioletta, bassetto, and "iola

da spalla or "ioloncello da spalla. Listing printed works from the '(5)s to the

'(7)s, he further su"stantiates the eistence of a small "ass violin "y matching the

diminutive terms listed a"ove with printed scores and parts whose range never falls

"elow #.

The large "ass violin, according to ;orgir, later "ecame known as the

"ioloncello.A 3e claims that the large "ass violin was ignored "y early seventeenth/

century +talian theorists in favor of the small instrument descri"ed a"ove. 3e

rationali!es that this happened "ecause the larger instrument simply did not eist

prior to '(9) since it was not asked for in printed music the "iolone and those

diminutive terms listed previously dominating print music in the first half of the

seventeenth century:. This, however, is inaccurate, for there are etant "ass violins

A8 ;orgir, A8.A ;orgir, A(.

8A


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made prior to '(9), such as the =0ing>


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that the cello eisted from the very "eginning of the violin family, sometime in the

early siteenth century.: Other scholars allow for greater flei"ility in interpreting

the availa"le facts and thus are more cautious in their conclusions, as Peter : and as 4arc DanscheeuwiHck

o"serves in his article The &aro'%e !ello and *ts Performance.

Our limitation to descri"e accurately the cello%s forerunners crystalli!es in

the case of the "iolone, a "ass instrument common in the seventeenth century that

has so far defied an accurate, definitive description. Tharald ;orgir summari!es this

disparity-

The term Mviolone% without dou"t causes the most comple terminological

dilemma in that it was used for three of the four instruments Hust mentioned

I"ass gam"a, the dou"le "ass gam"a, and two kinds of "ass violinsJ. Stephen;onta '677, '67A: argues that the term, after the first decade of the

seventeenth century, refers to the "ass violin.


41/42

This, at least, is evidence that no mem"er of the da gam"a family is implied

"y this term IvioloneJnor, + "elieve, the dou"le "ass of the violin family. +n

other words Mviolone% \ M"asso%, and a""reviation for M"asse da "ra!!o% \cello.AA

'


42/42

Outside of &ome, however, it is dou"tful that the term violone referred to the

"ass violin until sometime after '7)).69

The term "iolone undou"tedly "elongs to the long list of am"iguous names

that were used for the "ass instrument of the violin family.

The Origins of Solo Cello Literature and Performance

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