Chapter One: Individual Efforts, Individual Instruments

In this chapter, I'll write about the reasons a vibrant and diverse 17th-century family of stringed instruments shriveled down to just a handful that have survived into the present time. I'll also give an overview of the efforts made by some individuals since then to restore various individual instruments, mostly in the middle voices. In Chapter Two, the focus will be more on individuals or groups who attempted to restore or recreate entire new violin families.

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There has been ample opportunity throughout the history of bowed string instruments to create ensembles similar to the modern New Violin Family octet. Indeed, the practice of building instruments in families is centuries old. We can start by looking at Michael Praetorius' epic work, Syntagma Musicum, published at Wolfenbeuttel in 1619, to get an idea of the state of the violin family at that time (see woodcut, left). Incidentally, many musicologists referred to Renaissance violins as the "new" violin family to distinguish them from the "old" family of viols!

The difference in size of the instruments shown by Praetorius indicates that quite a wide range of octaves was possible, even given the technical limitations of string making in that day. Since Syntagma Musicum was published in 1619, and the earliest violins date from the 1520s or 1530s, we can assume that the violin was then about 100 years old. Praetorius noted that the violin "family" had become so well-known and attained such widespread use that he did not think it was necessary to describe them! Because the woodcut from Syntagma Musicum includes a measurement reference in Brunswick inches, we can tell the sizes of the instruments quite closely. Most of them fall very nearly at the optimal size for their musical compass, and several turn out to be almost exactly the size of their counterparts in the original "New Violin Family" developed by Carleen Hutchins and the Catgut Acoustical Society over 325 years later.

Although considered members of the same family, a close look at the woodcut will show that many of the instruments are dissimilar in shape and even in the number of strings, and that the development of the violin family was still in progress. Nevertheless, we see available counterparts to the treble, soprano, mezzo, alto, tenor, baritone, and bass violins of the late 20th century. Although we do not have records of an ensemble that regularly used all the available instruments for the widest possible range, the potential certainly existed. Praetorious deals with the contabasses of his time on a separate page, as I will, too, since they are not violins but more properly members of the viol family.

The String Quintet.

The standard string ensemble up through roughly the middle of the 17th century was a quintet consisting of a small-pattern violin, a large (or grand-pattern) violin, a small contralto viola, a large tenor viola, and a bass (a large cello). Cellos also came in many different sizes, some of them varying wildly. Mersenne, writing 20 years after Praetorius, said that in France the string quintet consisted of one violin, three violas of differing sizes all tuned alike, and a bass violin. Absent is the true tenor voice-- an instrument an octave below the violin with all violin dimensions doubled. Quintet violins were tuned alike and read the same clef, which was true of the violas as well. I am not sure if the smallest violin was ever the "descant violin a fourth higher" as described by Praetorius, although the possibility of this seems to have been higher in France than in Italy.

Many composers of the day wrote in open score, which means a given part was notated in the clef designating the equivalent vocal range without indicating which instrument was to play it. Thus, an instrument tuned as an alto could be called a tenor if it were used to play the tenor part and possessed the range of notes called for in the score. In fact, any instrument that possessed the desired range could play the part, which has led to some confusion about what these instruments were actually called, how they were tuned, and in which clef they were normally written.

Changes in Musical Style.

In the latter half of the 17th century, as the Renaisssance turned into the Baroque era, a great change in musical style swept across all of Europe. While the causes underlying this change are too many to discuss at length here, in general the dense and complex style of polyphonic writing with its relatively narrow range for individual instruments was giving way to a more open style that achieved its characteristic sound by eliminating many of the inner voices and replacing them with a single continuo instrument, usually a lute, an organ, a cembalo, or a harpsichord. Instruments were being improved to the point where many had ranges much greater than any human voice could match, and some overlapping instrumental voices became redundant. Instruments that were weak, lacked range, had tonal deficiencies, or were difficult to play were discarded.

This process was so pervasive that it practically left the string family with just two members, the violin (now the only soprano instrument) and the cello, the traditional bass of the family. Trio sonatas,which do not call for violas at all, and later trios for piano, violin, and cello became the rage. Popular demand for middle-voice instruments dropped alarmingly. A quick look at the output of the Stradivari shop will suffice to make the point, bearing in mind that Stradivari (1646 - 1737) is a contemporary of J. S. Bach. Of the total output of the Stradivari shop, about 680 violins remain. There are somewhere between 65 and 70 surviving cellos, but only about 14 contralto violas, and two tenors. David Tecchler (1666 - 1748), an Austrian violin maker in Italy whose career spans over 50 years, made only three violas. Some makers, such as Guarnieri del Gesu, made no violas at all, presumably due to a lack of demand.

The compostional style moved away from themes stated in the middle voices to melodies almost always placed in the highest voice. As this style gained in popularity, we see the loss of very high-voice instruments such as the soprano and piccolo violin, and middle-voice instruments such as the tenor viola and tenor violin. And almost immediately we see the first of many efforts to return at least some of these instruments to popular use, beginning within the lifetime of Johann Sebastian Bach.

Individual Instruments: Bach's Viola Pomposa.

It should come as no surprise that if anyone would endeavor to save the tenor viola, it would be Bach, who was well-versed in five-part string writing and who played the viola himself. He loved its sound, and he much enjoyed sitting in the violist's chair in the middle of the orchestra because from there he could best hear the harmonies all around. Forkel, writing in the late 18th century, was the first to promote the connection between Bach and the viola pomposa, although other researchers say that evidence of Bach's involvement is scant. There is no doubt, however, that the instrument was developed in Bach's lifetime and used most visibly in the city where he worked.

Bender cites a credible report that in 1724, shortly after Bach became the Kapellmeister of the St. Thomas Kirche in Leipzig, he commissioned the Leipzig Court violin maker, Johann Christian Hoffmann, to build his design for a viola pomposa. This instrument appears to have been lost, but another like it, constructed by Hoffmann in 1732, survived at least into the early 20th century. The pomposa had five strings tuned CGDAE and a rib height of 38 mm-- quite similar to that of a standard viola. It seems to have been intended to be held on the shoulder, but was large enough that it would have been tiring to play.

Some academics believe that the viola pomposa is a confused connection with the five-string violoncello piccolo, which is quite possibly the same instrument in the same tuning but with an extremely deep rib height of 80 mm as shown in the illustration, left. At least one such model was constructed by Hoffmann in the 1730s and called for as the "piccolo" cello in a number of Bach's Leipzig cantatas. Bender says both versions of the pomposa were held by a strap in front of the chest or leaned on the right shoulder in a manner similar to the Italian viola da spalla. But even someone of Bach's stature could not hold back the tide of a much simpler style that was even championed by two of his own sons, and by the end of the 18th century, the viola pomposa was seen and heard no more.

The J. B. Vuillaume Contralto:

Half a century later, the great French violin maker, J. B. Vuillaume (1798-1875), presented his improved middle voice, which he called, simply enough, the contralto. Vuillaume made over 3,000 instruments during his productive life, including a small soprano violin circa 1850 and three giant basses called Octobasse that were 3.5 meters in height and required either a two-man crew or a player who could bow with one hand, operate a series of levers with the other, and depress a set of pedals with his foot-- all at once! Of interest here, however, is that Vuillaume is the first luthier we know of to incorporate scientific findings into his work, which occurred as a result of his association with the French acoustician, Felix Savart.

The contralto viola had an unremarkable body length of about 16 1/4" (about 420 mm), but the bout dimensions were widened by half again in an effort to bring the air resonance of the body cavity a fifth lower into the range needed for a theoretically correct viola. The contralto was exhibited at the Exposition Universelle in 1855. Needless to say, the instrument presented severe challenges to the player, and reaching anything above third position was all but impossible. I think only two or three contraltos were constructed, including one that does not have the upper bout curves flattened at the neck joint. As with many such attempts to increase the air volume while keeping everything else more or less the same, the tonal results were disappointing. The contralto's role in musical life was brief: an example can be seen at the Musee de la Musique in Paris.

Alfred Stelzner's Violotta:

While many of the individuals mentioned in this section were primarily concerned with improving the weak alto voice, there were a few who worked on other related instruments. One such was the German violinist, mathematician, and physicist, Dr. Alfred Stelzner (1852-1906), who designed the violotta, an instrument tuned an octave below the violin to fill in the vacant space for the tenor voice in the string quartet. Stelzner's doctoral studies released a passion for acoustics, and he thought instruments designed with more elliptical curves would prove to be tonally superior. Stelzner invented a second instrument, the cellone, that was tuned one octave below the violotta, placing it between the cello and contrabass. He also redesigned the conventional violin, viola, and cello according to his acoustic theories.

Stelzner worked with German luthiers Richard Wiedemann and Augustus Paulus who made the instruments to his specifications. The violotta, while tuned as a tenor, had a viola-size body of only 410 mm. It could be played on the shoulder despite its high arching, 60 mm rib height, and wide bouts. The rather odd choice to specify such a low tuning on a small viola body perhaps continues the mischief inadvertently started by the Italians when they called a large alto instrument a "tenor." Several hundred instruments on Stelzner's designs were produced at a factory in Wiesbaden and later at another in Dresden. Unfortunately, much of the factory's unsold production and documents associated with Stelzner's business were warehoused in Dresden, a city that was utterly destroyed by allied fire-bombing during World War II. James Christiansen was able to document only about twenty Stelzner instruments that survived into the present.

Some notable musicians, including Joseph Joachim, Max Schillings, Eugène Ysaÿe, Frtiz Kreisler, August Wilhemj, and David Popper were impressed with the violotta, and the composers Krug, Behm, Kaletzsch, Gerspacher, and Draeseke wrote for it. Sadly, just a few works were composed. One could only wish it had been otherwise since German Romantic writing was in full flower and most of these seldom-heard works are quite beautiful. Stelzner suffered some devastating financial reverses and took his own life in 1906 while still a relatively young man. After his death, no one else stepped forward to promote the violotta and the cellone, and their popularity waned.

Hermann Ritter's Viola Alta:

Another attempt at restoring the tenor viola toward the end of the 19th century was made by German violist and music historian Hermann Ritter (1849 - 1926), who had his model built for him the by the violin maker Karl Adam Hoerlein in Wurzburg. Ritter had knowledge of an obscure manuscript on the geometric principles of violin design by Antonio Bagatella, printed in 1782 in Padua, Italy, in which Bagatella claimed to have discovered Stradivari's method for designing his violins. Although Ritter was able to incorporate Bagatella's principals in the design of the viola alta, it does not closely resemble a Stradivari viola. But I think we should conceed that the resulting instrument is in fact an enlarged violin that must be recognized as an historical predecessor of the New Violin Family alto. Bender says that the viola alta's cello-like tone was a departure from the conventional viola sound, although one that was welcomed by composer Richard Wagner and conductor Hans von Bulow, among others. Wagner, whose search for instruments with new tonal colors is well known, understood that he was hearing something different than just another large viola, and he called Ritter's instrument the "Altgeige." This reference, using the German words for "alto violin," is not surprising considering the nearly optimum size of Ritter's design.

A small number of Ritter's violas were included in a few orchestras where they bolstered the conventional violas in the lowest register. Wagner asked for six for the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, and we know that at one time at least five, played by Ritter's students, were seated. It's too bad that there was no recording technology available that would enable us to hear what those six big altos sounded like playing together in section!

In general, however, violists who were asked to take on the Ritter viola viewed the large instrument with dismay. Ritter added an E string in 1898, following the earlier approach of J. S Bach with the viola pomposa, and shortened the model to 454 mm to make it easier to play. Ritter was not an imposing figure, but he was tall with long arms and quite able to handle the 480 mm (18.9") body length of his original model. Others found it far more difficult, and after Ritter's death the viola alta faded away. Michael Balling (1866 - 1925) was a great proponent of the viola alta and played concerts on it all over the world. Today, only a few players continue to use the instrument, most notably Carl Smith, a native of Binghamton, New York, who plays it on his shoulder, and Masatoshi Hirano of Tokyo, Japan.

Hiller's Viola Nova:

Not much is known about Hiller. I was not even able to learn his first name. Hiller was a Swabian state building contractor and a musician with unusual characteristics. His wife, Marja, was a fine painter. Her husband, who had no artistic training, could copy anything she painted so exactly no one could tell the difference. Von Albrecht relates that Hiller was a good and enthusiastic cellist, but he could not read a note of music. However, if he heard the cello part played even once, he would immediately have it memorized and could play it back without error. Hiller also made violins, and the viola nova was his invention. It was first introduced in 1926. I include Hiller here because his is the first large alto specifically designed to be played on a pin like a cello. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find a photograph of this instrument.

Bender notes that when the maker places such an instrument on a pin, rather than on the shoulder, he merely trades one set of problems for another. Hiller's viola nova of 1926 was a flop because, to paraphrase Bender, the violists could not play it, and the cellists would not play it. However, Von Albrecht, himself a cellist, spoke well of Hiller's invention, saying it did away with the notorious nasal twang of the standard viola.

Eugen Sprenger's alto and tenor:

The Frankfurt violin maker Eugen Sprenger had a couple of innovations to contribute in the early years of the 20th century. Some were more successful than others. His first effort was along traditional lines followed by others before him of lowering the pitch of the air tone by widening the bouts and increasing the viola rib height to 60 mm while keeping a standard body length. Sprenger's viola, created in 1930, turned out fairly well; reports speak of its dark tone and strength. Paul Hindemith played on a Sprenger viola and wrote pieces that called for it. Like many such attempts, Sprenger's viola had its moment in the sun before most musicians returned to conventional Italian-style altos.

A bit earlier, in 1926, Sprenger built his first violoncello tenore. It was a true octave violin, with all violin dimensions doubled. At about 720 mm in body length, the tenore was uncomfortably close in size to a standard B-form cello, but tuned a fifth higher. Sprenger's name for his instrument didn't stick because it was obvious that the instrument was not a small cello, but rather a large violin. Owing to its scaled dimensions, it arrived on the musical scene already in a highly perfected form. The main obstacle for the tenor violin is that there seems to be very little music written specifically for its tuning range, even though its singing voice makes it a natural solo instrument. Most seem to forget that because of its octave tuning, every piece of violin literature is playable on the tenor.

Lionel Tertis' Viola:

Lionel Tertis was especially fond of the sound of the bigger violas, and he was in many ways responsible for the emergence of the viola as a solo instrument in its own right in the 20th century. His favorite viola was his 1737 Montagnana over 17" in length, which he learned to play despite his relatively small stature. He understood that many other violists also appreciated the sound of the bigger viola but could not physically manage the size, so he designed his own model at 16.75" (about 425 mm). Most of Tertis' work on his viola model occurred after his first retirement in 1937 in a sometimes volatile relationship with luthier Arthur Richardson, who made over 100 violas on his design. Unlike many others who attempted to create improved violas as a commercial project, Tertis did not seek financial reward from his invention. The Tertis model had its time and found its proponents, and several other luthiers are known to have made them. Some are still in use today. In general, though, Tertis' viola is now considered to be too wide, too long, and with ribs too high for extended periods of comfortable playing.

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Last Updated April 7, 2008