Violone

The term violone means "large viol" and refers to several big, bowed musical instruments that belong to either the viol or violin family. It can be a fretted instrument and may have six, five, four, or even three strings. Not all violones are the same size; some are not as big as a contrabass instrument.

Today, people often add a special name to the violone to make it clearer, like "G violone" or "D violone" based on how it is tuned, or "Viennese violone" based on where it comes from. Other names that are used include "bass violin," "violoncello," or "bass viol." Even though the word violone can correctly describe many different instruments, it can be hard to tell them apart without knowing more about the old instruments of the viol and violin families and how they were tuned.

Usage

The word "violone" usually means the double bass viol today. This is a big string instrument that plays its notes one octave lower than written in old music from the Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical times. But the term can also describe smaller instruments from both the violin and viol families that play at the written pitch. Only a few musicians play these special instruments, and some use modern copies instead of very old ones.

Main article: early music

Types

There are many different instruments that have been called a "violone" throughout history. Some are about the size of a cello and play notes at the written pitch. Others are larger than a cello—sometimes even bigger than modern double basses—and these usually play their notes an octave lower. What really makes each type of violone special is how it is tuned, which can place it in either the viol or violin family.

During the Renaissance and Baroque music eras, musicians and composers often did not clearly say which exact type of violone they meant. Some pieces did not even tell players which instruments to use, leaving it up to the leader of the group to decide. This changed during the Classical music period, when instruments became more standardized.

Today, music experts try to be more precise about which instrument a composer might have intended. They classify violoni based on their tuning, family, and how they are used. This helps us understand what composers wanted in different times and places.

Cello-sized instruments

Cello-sized instruments are usually the "tenor" members of the viol or violin families, but they can sometimes play higher or lower notes, too. There are three main types:

• The bass viol. This is a 6-string viol family instrument, most often tuned in D. Later Baroque versions might have a seventh string tuned to A₁.
• The bass violin or basse de violon. This is usually a 4-string violin family instrument, a bit larger and lower in pitch than the cello. It is often tuned a whole step lower than the cello: (lowest to highest) B♭₁–F₂–C₃–G₃.
• The violoncello or "cello". Still used today in modern symphony orchestras, it has four strings tuned (lowest to highest) C₂–G₂–D₃–A₃.

Larger instruments

• The great bass viol, also called the G violone or the A violone. This is the next largest viol after the bass viol, usually with 6 strings, and it can be tuned in A or G. It can play at 8′ or 16′ pitch, and there is a lot of music for it as a solo and chamber instrument, as part of a viol consort, playing basslines, and as a double bass in large ensembles.

Double bass-sized instruments

There are several instruments in this group, but they are not all easy to tell apart by name. One is a true viol family instrument, while others share features with the violin family but have different tunings, sizes, or construction.

• D violone. This is the largest viol family instrument, with six strings, tuned in D, a full octave lower than the bass viol.
• The Viennese violone was a hybrid instrument with features of the viol family (frets, gamba shape, flat back), but as a four- or five-string instrument with a D major tuning in thirds and fourths (F₁–A₁–D₂–F♯₂–A₂); four-string versions lack the bottom string. It played mostly at 16′, and was used as a chamber and solo instrument from the 17th century onward. It was the preferred double bass in the Viennese Classical period (around 1760–1820). Some concertos for the bass were written with this tuning in mind.

Alfonso Ferrabosco the Elder (1543-1588) - Fantasia 'Di Sei Bassi’ from the Sambrook Manuscript, New York. NYp, Drexel 4302, p.255, no.45 (ca.1613-19)_-Fantasia'Di_Sei_Bassi’_NYp,_Drexel_4302,_p.255,_no.45.ogg

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Orlando Gibbons (bap.1583-1625) - Fantasia à4, VdGS No.1GB, Oxford. Christ Church, Mss.732-35 (ca.1630)_-_Fantasia_à4,_No.1_for_Treble,Tenor&_Bass_Viols_with_Great_Bass.oga

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Orlando Gibbons (bap.1583-1625) - Galliard à3, Dublin. Marsh's Library, IRL-Dm Mss.z.3.4.1-3 (ca.1650)_-_Galliard_à3,for_Treble&_Bass_Viols_with_Great_Bass.oga

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Orlando Gibbons (bap.1583-1625) - Fantasia à3 in d, VdGS No.3GB, Oxford. Christ Church, Mss.732-35 (ca.1630)_-_Fantasia_à3,No.3_for_Treble&_Bass_Viols_with_Great_Bass.ogg

Performed by Phillip W. Serna, Viols & Violones

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• Contrabass or double bass. These terms can mean slightly different things historically, but here they refer to three- or four-string instruments without frets—most similar to modern double basses. The strings may be tuned in fourths (E₁–A₁–D₂–G₂ like most modern double basses) or in fifths (C₁–G₁–D₂–A₂ a full octave lower than the cello), and if there are only 3 strings, the missing string is almost always the lowest one (i.e. A₁–D₂–G₂ or G₁–D₂–A₂). In the 18th and 19th century, many players used only three strings, as it was thought to make the instrument sound better. It may also be tuned in fifths (C₁–G₁–D₂ or G₁–D₂–A₂).

Other types

In the Renaissance and Baroque eras, and even today, some players changed or adapted their instruments in unique ways. This might include bass viols tuned in E (E₂–A₂–D₃–F♯₃–B₃–E₄) instead of D, or with the bottom string tuned lower to C₂. There are also tenor viols tuned in F (F₂–B♭₂–E♭₃–G₃–C₄–F₄) instead of G (called baritone viols), treble viols tuned in B♭ (B♭₂–E♭₃–A♭₃–C₄–F₄–B♭₄) instead of D (called contralto viols), or contrabass/double basses tuned in fourths but with a higher top string (A₁–D₂–G₂–C₃) or with the bottom string tuned down to a low C.

Looking only at modern Viol de Gamba-based instruments, there are five.

History

Both the violin and viol families of musical instruments began to be used around the same time, about 1480, and they existed together for many years. During the Renaissance and early Baroque periods, they had different uses. Viols were often played by well-educated people at home for fun, while violin family instruments were usually played by professionals at social events.

In the early days, the largest violin family instrument commonly used was about the size of a cello but often tuned lower. However, larger violin family instruments did exist, though they were less described and had many possible tunings. Large viol family instruments were much more common and were used from the beginning, playing at a lower pitch. There is evidence of Renaissance viol groups having many large instruments. Some music from this time needed these large viols because of its low range, and this music could be very skilled.

A key development happened in the 1660s in Bologna: the invention of special strings that could produce good low notes without being very thick. This was when the term "violoncello" was first used, and the standard cello tuning became common. Solo music for the cello began to appear, and the cello started to replace the larger viols as the main bowed bass instrument. These changes for the cello likely began the decline of the larger viols. However, this was also when ensembles grew, and people started to enjoy concertos and symphonies more.

When the cello took over the main bass role, larger viols could then play an octave lower than the cello. Descriptions of D violone tunings come from this time in the early 18th century. By then, most other viol family sizes had faded away, except the bass viol, which was still loved for solo and chamber music. The largest viol family instruments, G and D violoni, were used in some places even after others had started using double basses. This may explain why the modern double bass has so many different shapes and tunings today, combining features from both the viol and violin families.

Terminology

The word "violone" started being used in the 1500s. Back then, "viola" just meant any bowed string instrument, not specifically a viol or a violin. Historically, "violone" has been used for many different large fiddles, no matter which family they belong to. Today, the term is often used for old musical instruments from the past. It can also describe a special kind of pipe organ stop made from metal or wood, found in the pedal part of the organ. This stop plays notes one or two octaves lower than normal pitch.

Main article: pipe organ
Main articles: stop