Viol
From Free net encyclopedia
Image:Viola da gamba.png The viol or viola da gamba is a family of musical instruments and is related to and descending from the vihuela and rebec.
Contents |
History
It is thought that vihuelists began playing their instruments with a bow in the 15th century. This eventually led to the evolution of an entirely new instrument, which had many of the features of the vihuela: flat back, frets and arched bridge (hence its Spanish name vihuela de arco), but was bowed rather than plucked. This new instrument began to be held upright, either resting on the lap or held between the legs like a cello. This gave rise to its Italian name viola da gamba, for "viol of the leg." This differentiates it from the similar but only distantly related violin family, known earlier as the lira da braccio or viola da braccio (lit. "viol of the arm") family. During the Renaissance, the viola da braccio was considered to be a very inferior instrument to the viol.
One of the earliest illustrations of viols is in an altarpiece by Lorenzo Costa, in the church of San Giovanni in Monte in Bologna. This picture, dated 1497, includes a depiction of two young musicians playing viols: the curved bridges, use of bows and resting the instruments on the players' legs all mark these instruments out as early viols.
Construction
The viol usually has six strings, although examples with only five strings do exist. It is fretted like a guitar but by means of moveable, tied-on frets made of gut. A low seventh string (A'', a minor third below the cello's lowest C) was supposedly added in France by the Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe (c. 1640-c.1690), who taught many of the French gamba virtuosi of the 18th century. However, "Saint Cecilia with an Angel" (1618) by Domenichino (1581-1641) clearly shows a seven-string viol.[Saint Cecilia with an Angel] Unlike members of the violin family, which are tuned in fifths, the gamba is tuned in fourths and one third in the middle, mirroring the tuning employed on the lute during the sixteenth century and similar to that of the modern guitar.
Historians, makers and players generally distinguish between renaissance and baroque viols. The latter are more heavily constructed and are fitted with a bass bar and sound post like modern stringed instruments.
Viol bows
The bow is held underhand and is generally convex as were violin bows of the period, rather than concave like a modern violin bow. The "frog" (which holds the bowhair and adjusts its tension) is also different from that of modern bows: whereas a violin bow frog has a "slide" (often made of mother of pearl) to hold the hair flat across the frog, viol bows have an open frog that allows more movement of the hair. This is essential to allow the traditional playing technique in which the player tensions the bow hair with one or two fingers of the right hand whilst playing. Image:Vdg1.jpg
Versions
The gamba (as the name is often abbreviated for convenience) comes in six sizes: "pardessus de viole" (which is relatively rare), treble, alto, tenor, bass, and double bass (also known as a violone). The treble is about the size of a violin (but with a deeper body); the bass is a bit smaller than a cello. The English made small basses known as division viols; German consort basses were larger than the French instruments designed for continuo. A closely related instrument is the viola d'amore, although the viola d'amore is played under the chin, viola-fashion.
Tuning
The standard tuning of the viol is in 4ths, with a 3rd in the middle (like the standard Renaissance lute tuning). For treble and bass viols the notes would be (from the highest) d',a,e,c,G,D. For the tenor viol the tuning is g,d,A,F,C,G'. The treble viol is one octave higher than the bass.
Alternate tunings (called scordatura) were often employed, particularly in the solo lyra viol style of playing, which also made use of many techniques such as chords and pizzicato, which were not generally used in consort playing. An unusual style of pizzicato was known as a thump. Lyra viol music was also commonly written in tablature, and there is a vast repertoire of this music, some by well-known composers, and much anonymous.
Popularity
The instrument was common among amateurs, and many homes would have a so-called chest of viols which would contain one or more instruments of each size. Gamba ensembles, called consorts, were common in the 16th and 17th centuries, when they performed vocal music (consort songs or verse anthems) as well as that written specifically for instruments. Only the treble, tenor, and bass sizes were regular members of the viol consort, which consisted of three, four, five, or six instruments. Music for consorts was very popular in England in Elizabethan times, with composers such as William Byrd, John Dowland and during the reign of King Charles I by composers such as John Jenkins and William Lawes. The last music for viol consorts before their modern revival was probably that written in the early 1680s by Henry Purcell.
Image:Viola da Gamba Isenheimer Altar.png There are several important treatises concerning the viol. The first was by Silvestro Ganassi: Regola Rubertina & Lettione Seconda (1542/3). Diego Ortiz published Trattado de Glosas (Rome 1553), an important book of music for the viol with both examples of ornamentation and pieces called Recercadas. In England, Christopher Simpson wrote the most important treatise, with the second edition being published in 1667 in parallel text (English and Latin). This has divisions at the back which are very worthwhile repertoire. A little later in England, Thomas Mace wrote Musick's Monument, which deals more with the lute, but also has an important section on the viol. After this the French treatises by Rousseau, Danoville (1685) and Loulie (1700) show further developments in playing technique.
The bass viola da gamba continued to be used (as a solo instrument and also to accompany the harpsichord in basso continuo) into the 18th century, by which time it had acquired associations of courtliness and antiquity; composers such as Marin Marais, Johann Sebastian Bach and Karl Friedrich Abel wrote music for it. However, the instrument fell out of use as concert halls grew larger, and the louder and somewhat more strident tone of the violin family became more popular. In the last one hundred years or so, the viola da gamba has been revived by early music enthusiasts, an early proponent being Arnold Dolmetsch.
The viol today
Today, the viol is attracting ever more interest, particularly amongst amateur players. This may be due to the increased availablity of reasonably-priced instruments from companies using more automated production techniques, coupled with the greater accessibility of music editions. Also, the viol is regarded as a suitable instrument for adult learners; Percy Scholes wrote that the viol repertoire "belongs to an age that demanded musicianship more often than virtuosity".
There are now many societies for people with an interest in the viol. The first was The Viola da Gamba Society, which was established in the United Kingdom in 1948 but has a worldwide membership. Since then, similar societies have been organized in several other nations.
The 1991 film Tous les matins du monde by Alain Corneau, based on the life of the Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe and Marin Marais, prominently featured these composers' music for the viola da gamba and brought viol music to new audiences. The film's soundtrack features performances by Jordi Savall, perhaps the best-known modern viola da gamba player.
In the early 21st century, a solid-body seven-string electric viola da gamba was developed by Ruby Instruments of Arnhem, Netherlands Ruby Da Gamba. The instrument has been adopted by such contemporary gambists as Gilles Zimmermann, Jay Elfenbein, and Tony Overwater. The Ruby Da Gamba has sliding frets in keeping with the adjustable (tied gut) frets on traditional Viols and Viola Da Gambas.
There is also the Togaman GuitarViols which are essentially a solibodied electric Tenor Viol the tuning is the same as a guitar in this case where the Ruby Da Gamba is a little more traditionally oriented. Togaman
References
- John Bryan. In Search of the earliest viols: Interpreting the evidence from a Painting by Lorenzo Costa, The Viola da Gamba Society of Great Britain, Newsletter No 131, 2005
- Alison Crum, with Sonia Jackson. Play the Viol: the complete guide to playing the treble, tenor and bass viol, Oxford University Press, 1992. ISBN 0198163118
External links
- The Sound of the Division Viol
- Megaviol: A Bibliography
- Modern Viol Portal and Forumcs:Viola da gamba
de:Viola da Gamba et:Viola da gamba es:Viola de gamba eo:Gambovjolo fr:Viole de gambe it:Viola da gamba he:ויולה דה גמבה hu:Viola da gamba nl:Viola da gamba ja:ヴィオラ・ダ・ガンバ nn:Gambe pl:Viola da gamba pt:Viola de gamba ru:Виола fi:Viola da gamba sv:Gamba