The bass instrument of the violin family. In the Hornbostel-Sachs system it is classified as a bowed lute (fiddle). The violoncello’s present name means, in Italian, a ‘small large viol’, as it employs both the superlative suffix -one, and a diminutive one, -ello. Such a bizarre name suggests that its early history is not straightforward. In this article the term Bass violin will be used for the earliest forms of the instrument: not until the early years of the 18th century did the smaller model of cello become standard, and the name violoncello was generally adopted at about the same time. The bass violin was given myriad names before this date: ‘bas de violon’ (Jambe de Fer, 1556, p.61f); ‘basso di viola’ (Zacconi, 1592, p.218); ‘bass viol de braccio’ (Praetorius, ii, 2/1619, ‘Tabella universalis’, p.26); and ‘basse de violon’ (Mersenne, 1637, ii, p.185). Other terms given in Italian prints from 1609 to 1700 include: bassetto, bassetto di viola, basso da brazzo, basso viola da brazzo, viola, viola da braccio, viola da brazzo, violetta, violoncino, violone, violone basso, violone da brazzo, violone piccolo, violonzino, violonzono, vivola da brazzo. The variety of names shown here were often localized in time, place, or both. They further suggest that in the 16th and 17th centuries the instrument existed in several sizes. For a discussion of the use of the term ‘violone’, see Violone.
The two earliest prints that are known to include music for bass violin are Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo (Venice, 1609), under the name ‘basso viola da braccio’, and Caterina Assandra’s Motetti op.2 (Milan, 1609), under the name ‘violone’. G.C. Arresti, in his Sonate op.4 (Venice, 1665), was the earliest known composer to use the term ‘violoncello’. This newer term was soon generally accepted in Italy and Germany, and after 1700 in France and England, though the term ‘bassetl’ (see Bassett (i)) persisted in Austria during Haydn’s younger years. The abbreviation ‘cello’ is commonly used in English and German.
See also Organ stop.
I. Origins and history to c1700
STEPHEN BONTA (introduction, I), SUZANNE WIJSMAN (II), MARGARET CAMPBELL (III, 1–2), BARRY KERNFELD, ANTHONY BARNETT (III, 3)
The history of the bass violin has yet to be thoroughly traced, primarily because of the confusion arising from the many names applied to the instrument and the great variety of sizes it took in pictorial sources throughout its early years. In Italy, until the early years of the 18th century and with the exception of Venice, the term ‘violone’ probably indicated bass violin. (From the 1660s Venetians seem to have applied this term to a contrabass instrument.) Depending on time and place in Italy, the terms ‘violetta’ and ‘viola’ could apply either to alto or bass instruments. What seems certain is that the bass violin first appeared and attained its present size, name and tuning south of the Alps.
The earliest-known evidence of the instrument's existence is found in Agricola's Ein kurtz deudsche Musica (Wittenberg, 1528), where the Geige appears as the bass member of a newly emergent, four-part violin consort. The earliest-known pictorial representation appears in an ‘Angel Concert’, painted by Gaudenzio Ferrari in 1534–6 on the dome of the sanctuary of the Madonna dei Miracoli in Saronno (fig.1).
The history of the instrument, before it was called violoncello, may have been directly related to the material used for its strings (see also String, §3). Originally, all four were made solely of sheep gut. Numerous illustrations of early bass and contrabass instruments demonstrate how great was the disparity in thickness between top and bottom strings (fig.2). Thick strings, regardless of material, are afflicted by inharmonicity (the overtones are badly out of tune, resulting in a poor quality of sound). Moreover, the volume of sound produced with thick gut strings is much less than with thin strings. Longer strings could be thinner and hence better sounding, so string length on early bass violins was made as long as the maker dared without exceeding the reach of the fingers of the left hand in first position; hence one of the commonest names for the early bass violin was ‘violone’.
Development of the wirewound string, produced by winding a fine wire around a gut core, provided a solution to several of these problems by increasing the density of the strings, allowing them to be made much thinner and also shorter. Two pieces of evidence pinpoint the time and place of this development: a notice in the fourth edition of Playford's Introduction (C1664), mentioning that wirewound gut or silk strings, a ‘late invention’, sounded ‘much better and lowder than the common Gut strings’; and a request in 1701 for reimbursement for a set of four strings purchased for a violone by Andrea Mauritij, a viola player at S Maria Maggiore in Bergamo, who specified of the bottom string: ‘la quarta coperta d'Argento di Bologna’.
The cumbersome violone could thus be cut down in size – many literally were so – and the name ‘violoncello’ emerged. Two bass violins, made by Gaspar Borbon and now in the Musée des Instruments de Musique of the Brussels Conservatory, illustrate the drastic results of these operations. One, dating from 1702, was unaltered and hence retained its original, larger size. In contrast to a typical modern cello, whose sounding string length is 68–69 cm and body length 75–76 cm, this instrument has a sounding string length of 73 cm and a body length of 80 cm. The other instrument, of 1670, has been altered in a rather drastic and unsightly fashion. Among the operations performed on it was the relocation of the f holes. The original ones were filled in with pieces of wood whose grain necessarily differed from what was found in the original belly; the holes were subsequently recarved at another, higher location.
Fig.3 shows the earliest known representation (1681) of a wirewound bass string. Significantly, the two smaller string instruments, a viola and violin, do not have wirewound strings.
The
early bass violin existed in two sizes with different families of higher and
lower tunings. Instruments with the higher tunings are somewhat older. It is
possible that such an instrument is pictured in the fresco by Ferrari (fig.1). Agricola (C1529) and Ganassi (Lettione seconda,
Venice, 1543/R) were the first to mention a three-string bass instrument
tuned F–c–g. Hans Gerle (Musica teusch, Nuremberg,
1532) was the earliest to describe a four-string cello, and gave the tuning
that is used today: C–G–d–a. Praetorius (Syntagmu
Musicum, ii, 2/1619) was the next to give this tuning. However in the
intervening years, and even later, the tuning of the bass violin was most often
one step lower, B
'–F–c–g,
given by Lanfranco (C1533), Jambe de Fer (C1556), Zacconi (C1592), Cerone (El
melopeo y maestro, Naples, 1613), Mersenne (Harmonie Universelle)
and Playford (C1664). This tuning continued the downward progression based on
fifths established for the violin, the common note between soprano and bass
instruments being g.
Later writers give one or another version of a higher family of tunings, adding a fourth string to the treble end of Agricola's tuning: Zacconi and Praetorius both give F–c–g–d', Banchieri (Conclusioni nel suono dell'organo, Bologna, 1609) gives G–d–a–e'. An instrument probably intended for one of the higher tunings belongs to the Gemeentemuseum, The Hague; made by Jan Boumeester in 1676, it has a sounding string length of 52 cm and a body length of 53 cm.
An
analysis of the tessitura used by Monteverdi favours the tuning of C–G–d–a.
Other composers, such as Giovanni Valentini, (Musiche concertate, 1619),
wrote bass lines that call for B'. The tuning based on B' was in use in France and England until the
18th century; Corrette (Méthode … pour apprendre … le
violoncelle, 1741) stated that the tuning based on C was introduced to
France around 1710, and J.F. de la Fond's A New System of Music
indicates that by 1725 it was in use in England.
Although the term ‘violoncello’ was increasingly used in publications in the latter years of the 17th century, the earlier name for this instrument, ‘violone’, persisted well into the 18th century. Corelli used the term ‘violone’ for the bass string instrument in all his prints. The partbook for the bass string instrument in G.A. Silvani's Il secondo libro delle litanie op.14 (Bologna, 1725) was entitled ‘Violone o tiorba’. Ten years later, G.A. Perti's Messa e salmi concertati op.2 was published in Bologna, including a partbook entitled ‘Violoncello o violone di ripieno’.
Andrea Amati and his descendants in Cremona (c1511–1740), and Gasparo da Salò (1540–1609) and his successor G.P. Maggini (c1580–?1630/1) in Brescia, were among the earliest makers of bass violins. Other somewhat later makers included Francesco Rugeri (c1630–1698) and members of the Guarneri family (1623–1744) in Cremona, G.B. Rogeri (fl c1670–c1705) in Brescia, and members of the Grancino family (1637–c1726).
It appears that the neck on the early bass violin was, like that on the early violin, directly aligned with the belly of the instrument, requiring a wedge under the fingerboard to make it parallel with the strings. One unaltered example with this construction, made by Egidius Snoeck in 1736, survives in the Musée des Instruments de Musique of the Brussels Conservatory. By installing a neck that canted backward the downward force on the bridge is increased, thereby conveying more energy from the strings to the instrument and producing the louder sound needed for an instrument expected to compete with an orchestra in a concerto. By the early years of the 18th century Stradivari had established a body length of 75–6 cm, which has served as the standard ever since, although some makers continued to make larger sizes into the 1750s.
The early bass violin rested on the floor while being played (fig.4). This position was still used as late as the 1750s, as can be seen in a drawing by P.L. Ghezzi (fig.5). Towards 1700 it became usual for the player to raise the instrument off the floor, supporting it with the calves, in the traditional posture of the bass viol player. This higher position made it easier for the performer to explore more demanding fingering and bowing techniques. Published tutors for the instrument do not exist before the 18th century. It is clear that the performer in Metsu's painting (fig.4) holds the bow as a viol player, using an underhand position, although other pictures (e.g. fig.1) show an overhand grip.
Little is yet known about performers on the instrument, especially those north of the Alps. In the last decades of the 17th century, three men made reputations as solo cellists performing in and around Bologna: Petronio Franceschini (c1650–80); Domenico Gabrielli (1651–90), and Giuseppe Maria Jacchini (c1663–1727). All three were cellists at S Petronio.
The only repertory for the early bass violin that has thus far been investigated with any thoroughness is music that was used in the Roman Rite. Among the earliest surviving prints of pieces with a part for the bass violin (called ‘violone’ in each instance) are two published in Milan. The first, a motet entitled O salutaris hostia in Motetti à due, & tre voci op.2 (1609) by Caterina Assandra, a nun at the convent of S Agata, Lomello, near Milan, has a violone part with a very limited range, F–c', and could be performed in first position on either size of bass violin or on some kind of bass viol (ex.1). The second, the Concerti ecclesiastici by G.P. Cima, was published the following year, and contains a Sonata per violino e violone. Here the writing is somewhat more demanding in terms of fluency of execution (ex.2). The range of Cima's part for violone C–d' indicates that at least one of Assandra's contemporaries may have been writing parts for an instrument tuned C–G–d–a. Certainly Legrenzi was writing for an instrument with this tuning when he published his Sonate op.2 (1655) in Venice (ex.3).
In 1665, the year following Playford's announcement of the development of the wirewound string (see §I, 1, above), Cazzati's semiquaver broken octaves in the violone part of his Sonate op.35 require greater bow control than the previous examples as well as e' (ex.4). G.C. Arresti's Sonate op.4 appeared in the same year and was the earliest print to call for the ‘violoncello’. G.M. Placuzzi's violoncello part in his Suonate op.1 (1667) (ex.5), and Cazzati's Capriccio detta il Lambertini, in his Varii, e diversi capricci op.50 (1669) (ex.6), both contain rapid broken octaves. In Ferrara, Sebastian Cherici published his Inni sacri op.1 (1672), including a bass part labelled Violetta, with a range of D–e' (ex.7).
Evidence that in late 17th-century Italy the violone had become distinct from the violoncello appears in G.A. Perti's Messa à 5 concertate con instromenti (c1675–85), which includes partbooks for violoncello, violone and contrabasso (ex.8). The range of the violoncello part is D–c'.
The appearance of the term ‘bassetto’ adds to the confusion: the title of Andrea Grossi's op.1 (1678) reads Balletti … a tre, due violini e violone, and Giorgio Buoni's op.2 (1693) is entitled Suonate a due Violini, e Violoncello, yet in each case the bass partbook is labelled ‘Bassetto’.
Other early Italian composers for the bass violin (using various terminology) include (published in Venice): Claudio Monteverdi (viola da brazzo), Vespro della Beata Vergine (1610), Selva morale (1641), and Messe à 4 et salmi (1650); Alessandro Grandi (violone), Il secondo libro de motetti (1613) and (viola) Motetti a una, et due voci, libro III (1629); Giovanni Priuli (violone), Missae [8vv] (1624) and (viola), Delicie musicali (1625); Tarquinio Merula (violone), Libro secondo de concerti spirituali (1628), Canzoni overo sonate (1637), and Il quarto libro delle canzoni da suonare (1651); G.B. Buonamente (basso da brazzo), Il quinto libro di varie sonate sinfonie, gagliarde, corrente, & ariette (1629) and Sonate et canzoni … libro sesto (1636); Maurizio Cazzati (violone), Canzoni op.2 (1642), Sonate op.8 (1648). Composers who published in Bologna include Cazzati, Sonate op.35 (1665), and Varii, e diversi capricci op.50 (1669); Cherici (violetta), Inni sacri (1672) and (bassetto), Harmonia di devoti concerti op.2 (1681) and Compieta op.3 (Bologna, 1686). The following composers, publishing in either Bologna or Venice, specified ‘violoncino’ as the bass: G.B. Fontana, Sonate (1641); Domenico Freschi, Messe e salmi op.1 (1660); Simpliciano Olivo, Salmi di compieta op.2 (1674); Francesco Cavalli, Musiche sacre (1656) and Gasparo Gaspardini, Sonate op.1 (1683).
3. 18th-century use, performers and repertory.
Violoncello, §II: 18th and 19th centuries
Although there is evidence that Maggini, Francesco Rugeri and members of the Amati family manufactured a small type of cello before 1700, Antonio Stradivari is credited with standardizing and perfecting its dimensions in about 1707 with his smaller model, labelled ‘forma B’ and ‘forma B piccola’ on original patterns found in Stradivari’s workshop. The ‘forma B’ body length measured 75–6 cm, and its maximum width was 44·5 cm, being both shorter and narrower than at least 30 cellos that he made between 1680 and 1701. The most famous extant example of his older, larger model is the ‘Servais’ cello of 1701 (whose proportions have not been altered except for the modern neck, bridge and fingerboard) which measures 79 cm in body length and 47 cm in width. By the end of the 18th century, however, Stradivari’s ‘forma B’ dimensions, exemplified by his ‘Duport’ and ‘Mara’ cellos (both of 1711), had become accepted as the norm.
Some makers, such as the Austrian-born David Tecchler (b 1668; d after 1747) in Rome, were still making larger cellos (known as ‘church basses’ in England) into the middle of the 18th century. In his treatise on playing the flute (Versuch, Berlin, 1752), J.J. Quantz also mentions the need for cellos of two sizes: the larger with thick strings for orchestral (ripieno) playing, and the smaller with thin strings for solos.
During the course of the 18th century, many of these larger, late 17th- and early 18th-century instruments were cut down in size to conform to the smaller dimensions established by Stradivari. This reconstruction often also included a new, stronger bass bar and a longer, thinner neck. At the time, such ‘repairs’ were considered desirable by players, but the unfortunate results of such alterations were often detrimental to the integrity of an instrument's acoustic design. Very few examples remain today of early cellos with original body dimensions, neck, fingerboard or bass bar. Those that have survived in original condition point to an early 18th-century cello with a fingerboard pitch (upwards angle from the plane of the table) giving a bridge height of at least 7·6 cm, achieved by inserting a wedge under the fingerboard. This degree of fingerboard pitch is high when compared with that of contemporaneous examples of violin construction, on which the fingerboard is generally closer to the parallel with the table of the instrument.
The earliest documented measurements for the neck and fingerboard of a cello are those of James Talbot (c1695) who gives 10 inches (25·4 cm) as the length of the neck (nut to shoulder) and 13 inches (33·8 cm) from the nut to the end of the fingerboard, allowing for a range of stopped notes to approximately a'. A string length, from nut to bridge, of around 68·8 cm was standard by the middle of the 18th century. The fingerboard gained length as the range of hand positions demanded by players increased during the 18th century to encompass four octaves, and playing in thumb position became more widely used. Iconographical and documentary evidence indicates that the standard fingerboard length was about 60·7 cm by the early 19th century. Frets were still used on some cellos in the mid-18th century, as observed by Quantz (1752), and advocated by Robert Crome in his tutor (C1765). (For a discussion of use of the Endpin and other methods of supporting the cello, see §II, 2(i), below.)
Although cellos with four strings predominated in Italy by the end of the 17th century, cellos with more than four strings were still used elsewhere. The advent of thumb position fingerings (the technique in which the whole hand is put on top of the strings with the thumb placed across and perpendicular to them, functioning as a moveable nut in relation to the other fingers) may have caused the redundancy of cellos with more than four strings at the beginning of the 18th century. However, five-string cellos were used in Germany into the middle of the 18th century. In addition to J.S. Bach’s solo cello suite no.6 bwv1012, written for a five-string cello, the cello part of his cantata Gott ist mein König bwv71, requires a range extended to c'' (f'' in Bach’s original, unorchestrated version), suggesting that an E string would have been required for the execution of this part. Five-string cellos also appear in numerous Dutch, Flemish and German paintings and etchings from the 17th and 18th centuries. (see fig.2).
The correct definition of the violoncello piccolo has been widely debated. At least eight of Bach’s cantatas written between 1724 and 1726 have obbligato parts designated as such. The term piccolo means ‘small’. An original cello pattern of Antonio Stradivari is labelled forma B piccola di violincello but it is likely that Stradivari sought simply to distinguish this new smaller pattern from his earlier larger instruments. But these violoncello piccolo parts by Bach imply that a four-string cello tuned G–d–a–e' was used.
A late 18th-century account by E.L. Gerber (whose father was a student of Bach) claimed that Bach invented a special sort of small cello or large viola – called a viola pomposa – to facilitate the execution of rapid obbligato parts in the bass (see W. Neumann and H.-J. Schulze, D1972, p.469). Dreyfus (D1987) has suggested that this instrument may have been the same as the Viola da spalla (‘shoulder-viola’) mentioned by J.J. Walther in his Musicalisches Lexicon (Leipzig, 1732), which was tuned like a cello but with an added fifth string and held over the shoulder by a strap. However, there is evidence of the earlier existence of both small and large four- and five-string instruments (Stradivari, apparently, also made a five-string viola), and it seems doubtful that this was actually Bach's invention. Rather, it reflects the broad variety of instrument sizes and types still being used in Germany around 1720, and the terminological amibiguity associated with them. (Surviving instruments that may be examples of the viola pomposa, viola da spalla, or violoncello piccolo are listed by M.M. Smith, B1998.)
The basic design of the cello changed very little in the 19th century from that established in the 18th century. 19th-century cello manufacture continued to rely principally on older Italian models, especially Stradivari's model ‘B’. However, crude alterations to older cellos at the beginning of the 19th century were very common. Exhortations against these practices occur frequently in 19th-century treatises and literature on violin-making, and suggest that efforts to establish more firmly the standard dimensions of the cello at this time occurred in response to the damage to many fine old instruments caused by these ‘repairs’.
The German cellist B.H. Romberg (1767–1841) experimented with minor modifications to the cello’s set-up and was responsible for inventing the practice (known as the ‘Romberg’) of slightly scooping out and angling the upper surface of the bass side of the fingerboard to accommodate the wide vibrations of the C string; this is especially necessary when played in high positions. It is clear from contemporary accounts that this invention, as well as alterations to the neck, did not meet with universal approval until the end of the 19th century.
It is possible that the two sizes of cello continued to be used into the 19th century. Two different terms were still used in the Paris Conservatoire Méthode (1805): violoncelle to describe the solo instrument, and basse for the accompaniment and orchestral instrument.
The high demand for cellos in Italy during the period 1680-1740 was reflected the growing output of Italian makers. In addition to Stradivari, other North Italian makers of good cellos in the late 17th and early 18th centuries included Domenico Montagnana, Sanctus Seraphin, Pietro Guarneri and Matteo Goffriller in Venice; Francesco Rugeri, G.B. Rogeri and Andrea and Guiseppe Guarneri in Cremona; P.G. Guarneri in Mantua; the Grancino and Testore families in Milan; and (slightly later) G.B. Guadagnini in Turin. The Gagliano family in Naples made cellos from about 1700 for well over a century. An important 19th-century maker was Giuseppe Rocca in Turin (later in Genoa).
Jacob Stainer (c1617–1683), worked in Absam in the Austrian Tyrol but may have been trained as a luthier in Italy. Tyrolean cellos are distinct in their high arching and square upper bouts. Stainer’s influence can be seen in the prevalence of these characteristics in cellos of successive Austro-German makers, particularly the Klotz family (founders of the Mittenwald School), and in the instruments of early English makers.
In addition to Stainer, 17th- and 18th-century English violin-making was influenced by the Brescian school of Maggini. The earliest cello identifiable as ‘English’ was made by William Baker in Oxford in 1672. Other important early makers of cellos in London were Barak Norman (1651–1724), Nathaniel Cross (c1689–1751) and Peter Wamsley (fl 1725–45). Succeeding generations produced a large number of excellent makers of cellos. Among these were Benjamin Banks, Richard Duke, Thomas Kennedy, Vincenzo Panormo, and the Betts, Dodd, Forster and Hill families. Makers in the second half of the 18th century were influenced by the work of Stradivari and the Cremonese school, although features of the earlier English style were retained, such as high arching of the back and belly, and square bouts.
In France the documented ownership of good Italian instruments by prominent 18th-century French cellists, such as J.L. Duport, suggests that fine Italian cellos were readily available and preferred over locally manufactured instruments. However, French makers later achieved high standards in the production of cellos, such as the Lupot family in the second half of the 18th century, and Vuillaume in the 19th.
The evolution of the cello bow in the 18th century was influenced by that of both the violin and viola da gamba. Early cellists used bows of many different sizes; measurements of pre-Tourte, 18th-century bows range from approximately 67 cm to 74 cm in length and weigh from 65 to 86 grams. Italian players were known to use thicker strings and correspondingly heavier bows that produced more sound. Quantz also provides evidence that cellists may have used different types of bow hair: coarser black hair on a heavier bow for orchestral use and white hair on a lighter bow for solo playing.
Experiments with violin bow design in the second half of the 18th century affected cello bow manufacture. The technical requirements of repertory composed by cellists associated with Mannheim, such as Anton Fils (1733–60) and Peter Ritter (1763–1846), suggest the use of a concave rather than convex bow in Germany as early as 1760, because of the leverage required to make many passages in thumb position on the thick lower two strings sound well.
François Tourte perfected his bow design by 1786. J.L. Duport (1749–1819) discussed the merits of different bow lengths, weights and hair tightness in his Essai (c1806), and specifically recommended Tourte’s bows, stating that ‘there is no one who has succeeded better in our day in the manufacture of bows than Mr Tourte jr’, and that Tourte’s pre-eminence as bowmaker was generally acknowledged at the time. With the perfection of the modern bow design by Tourte, most players began using the concave bow because of its strength of tone and capacity to sustain a legato line. The length of the stick of Tourte’s cello bows ranged between 72 cm to 73·6 cm, with the hair length 60 cm to 62 cm. The balance point of the bow was approximately 18·2 cm from the end of the frog.
There were relatively few changes to bow design after Tourte’s, and these were mainly concerned with increasing the power of the bow or affording the player greater convenience. The leading French makers of cellos bows in the mid-19th century were F.N. Voirin and Dominique Peccatte, both of whom worked in the Parisian workshop of Vuillaume and whose bows often bear his stamp. Other fine French makers of cello bows included A.J. Lamy, E.F. Ouchard and Pierre Simon. The Dodd family produced excellent bows in London in the early 19th century, although some bear the stamp ‘Forster’, representing the shop where they worked (see Bow, §I, 3–4).
Violoncello, §II: 18th and 19th centuries
Although all treatises and tutors of the 18th and early 19th centuries advocate supporting the cello by holding it solely with the legs, iconographic and documentary evidence indicates that endpins, stools and boxes were used by cello players, probably for reasons of acoustic enhancement or comfort, throughout the 18th century. The use of a wooden peg to support the cello is mentioned by Robert Crome in his Compleat Tutor (Cc1765) and by Corrette in his Méthode (C1741), as an aid for cellists when they were required to stand.
J.-L. Duport (C1806) noted that the cello could be held in varying ways according to the ‘habits and stature of persons’. He stated that the usual method of supporting the cello was to sit very far forward on a chair with the left foot forward and the right drawn back, so that the left-hand corner of the cello falls into the hollow of the right knee with the weight of the cello resting against the left leg. The right leg steadies the instrument against the lower right side of the cello. Etchings from 18th and 19th century treatises often show the right calf enveloping the top of the lower right bout, probably for stability. Romberg (C1839) emphasized the importance of maintaining good posture when sitting with the cello, warning against slumping: ‘stiffness in the arm generally proceeds from bending the body too much forward, and raising the elbows too high. This defect may be also avoided in playing the violoncello, by sitting quite straight, and taking care not to raise the shoulders’.
The endpin re-emerged only at the end of the 19th century. Its use was recommended for the first time in print only from 1882, by Jules de Swert (The Violoncello, London, 1882), a pupil of A.F. Servais. Servais began to use an endpin to support his cello about 1860, when he became too portly to hold his large-sized Stradivari cello solely with his legs. Being such a prominent performer and teacher, he has been erroneously credited with its invention because he promoted its use. Since cellists in the 19th century did not generally use endpins, his adoption of this manner of supporting the cello was considered innovative at the time.
Other cellists in his circle followed suit, probably encouraged by his example and relishing the greater comfort it afforded, especially when playing in high positions. The adjustable endpin was introduced after 1890. An increase in the number of women cellists in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, especially in England, may reflect the greater freedom the endpin offered, allowing the cello to be held in a side-saddle manner that did not conflict with prevailing rules of decorum. Lisa Cristiani (1827–53) was the only notable female cellist before the late 19th century.
Various types of endpin material – such as wood or metal – were thought to have special acoustic properties; Hugo Becker (1864–1941) apparently used not only a wooden endpin, but rested it on a box to enhance and augment his cello’s tone. Many prominent late 19th-century cellists, such as Alfredo Piatti (1822–1901) and Robert Haussmann (1852–1909), never used an endpin. Haussman was closely associated with Brahms and known to produce a very powerful tone. A photograph of the young David Popper from 1861 shows him holding the cello in the older manner, without an endpin.
According to John Gunn in his Theory and Practice of Fingering on the Violoncello (C1789), earlier cellists held the neck of the cello with the fingers of the left hand at a slanted, oblique angle and the thumb behind the first finger (fig.6). This position, a diatonic fingering system adapted from the violin, was adopted by English cellists, probably following Italian models, and is documented elsewhere as being used by some late 18th-century cellists, such as J.B. Janson (1742–1803), J.B. Tricklir (1750–1813), and Romberg as late as 1839.
The earliest French cellists, who were usually trained as viol players (such as Martin Berteau), adapted the left-hand technique of the viol, which is based on semitones, to the cello. In this technique the fingers are perpendicular to the strings and fingerboard, with the thumb opposite the second finger of the left hand. Corrette also advised placing the thumb opposite the second finger, stating that ‘those who play the bass viol learn the neck of the cello more easily than do the others. They already possess the finger technique and almost the positions of the cello’. Duport was quite specific in his instruction that the thumb should be placed exactly between the first and second fingers of the left hand, and parallel with them. This system, as developed and systematized by Duport, was widely accepted by cellists at the beginning of the 19th century and provides the basis of modern left-hand technique. Romberg stated that an oblique left-hand position in the higher positions of the neck, with rounded fingers, afforded the player greater power in the left hand, and he commented on the relative lack thereof in Duport’s position, although being more perpendicular to the fingerboard, the latter allowed greater relaxation of the palm and base joints of the left hand.
Virtuoso left-hand techniques, such as the use of thumb position, were developed early in the 18th century by Italian cellists such as Salvatore Lanzetti (c1710–80). The origins of thumb position are unclear, although it may be linked to the technique of playing the trumpet marine, on which harmonics were produced by placing the left thumb lightly on the string and drawing forceful bow strokes. Corrette’s Méthode contains the first documented reference to the use of thumb position, although earlier cello compositions indicate that thumb position was already being use by Italian cellists at this time. French cellists, beginning with Berteau, used harmonics as a technical effect, and works written by prominent 18th-century French cellists such as Jean Barrière, J.-B.-A. Janson, J.-P. Duport and J.B. Bréval often feature passage-work in the highest positions. 18th-century German virtuosos favoured thumb position fingerings for passage-work, using stationary, ‘blocked’ hand positions with fingerings across the strings, thus avoiding frequent position changes. They also had a propensity to use the fourth finger in thumb position. French cellists avoided using the C string until the early 19th century, possibly because of the lower pitch standard in Paris and the resulting lower tension of the string.
Vibrato is mentioned in a few 18th- and 19th-century treatises. Called the ‘close shake’ or ‘tremolo’, Dotzauer (C1832) referred to it as being practiced primarily by Italian players, and suggested that it should be used to intensify long notes. Romberg gave examples with specific notation for vibrato on long notes, but stated that it should occur only at the beginning of the note and not be sustained. Both Dotzauer and Romberg recommended using vibrato judiciously. Romberg comments ‘formerly, the close shake was in such repute that it was applied indiscriminately to every note of whatever duration. This produced a most disagreeable and whining effect, and we cannot be too thankful that an improved taste has at length exploded the abuse of this embellishment’. Later cellists, such as O.-C. Vaslin (1794–1889) and Bernhard Cossmann (1822–1910), also seem to have used vibrato sparingly and commented that its over-use was in poor taste. It is likely that cellists of the French school used little, if any, vibrato, focussing instead on nuances of bowing for beauty of tone and expression.
The bow was held in a variety of ways by 18th-century cellists. The underhand grip, derived from viol technique, was still used towards the end of the 18th century by some players, such as Antonio Vandini (c1700–73) and J.G. Schetky (1737–1824). Quantz makes reference to its frequent use in Germany in the mid-18th century (see fig.4 above).
The most common way of holding the lighter, convex bow was the violin-influenced overhand grip, above the frog, with the thumb under the stick (fig.7). Corrette (C1741) reported that Italian players held the bow in this manner, although he gave two alternative overhand grips that he considered to be equally good: one as that described above, but with the thumb under the hair; and the other with the thumb underneath the frog.
Tourte’s perfecting of the concave bowstick design greatly affected cello bowing technique and tone production. Duport advocated holding the bow with a flat thumb on the stick above the frog, between the second and third fingers, with the little finger balancing the movements of the hand and bow. He also recommended that the second finger should bear on the hair, and suggested that mobility in the fingers of the right hand on the stick is necessary to facilitate expression in the bow. The use of the bow grip above the frog is documented in France, England and Spain to the end of the 19th century.
French bowing in the 18th and 19th centuries was characterized by use of regulated bow strokes and varied bowing styles. The custom of holding the bow above the frog allowed for development of light and off-the-string virtuoso bowing techniques, such as slurred staccato.
In Germany, Romberg and his pupils, including Friedrich Dotzauer (1783–1860), held the bow on the frog, allowing for increased leverage and bowing power. It is possible that this manner of holding the bow developed when concave sticks began to be used in Mannheim in the third quarter of the 18th century, although this manner of using the bow was not univerally adopted in Germany. It was consistent with bowing technique of the French violin school of Viotti, whom Romberg greatly admired. Romberg advocated holding the bow very firmly in the hand, with a straight thumb and fingers, in a position which he stressed should remain constant while bowing, irrespective of direction. The arm should remain low and relaxed, hanging close to the body. He admonished the student:
it is only by placing the hand firmly on the bow, that a strong, powerful tone can be drawn from the instrument … if the strength of the tone proceed from the arm, the instrument must be played with the arm held stiff; which entirely prevents a fine execution, and this is the cause that so few players arrive at perfection, they play with the arm and not with the hand.
The pervasive influence of the Dresden school, originating with Romberg’s pupil Dotzauer (see §II, 4(ii)(a), below), can be seen in 19th-century German and Russian cello technique, and throughout the 20th century; today the frog-held bow is the standard practice of most modern cellists.
In the early 18th century, when Italian cellists dominated the field, vocal clefs were most commonly used, i.e. bass (F4) clef, combined with movable c clefs to notate passages in high positions. In the middle of the century, this practice changed and passages not written in bass clef were written in g2 clefs, both at pitch and transposed one octave below. By the latter part of the century, it was common practice for high solo passages in cello music to be notated in the g2 clef an octave above the actual pitch played, although accompaniments and lower parts were still written in bass and tenor (c4) clefs.
The art of accompaniment was a special skill, the importance of which was emphasized in 18th- and early 19th-century cello methods (e.g. Baudiot, Baumgärtner, Corrette, Gunn, Kauer, Mozart, Quantz, Schetky). The accompanying cellist was seen as a subordinate partner to the principal melodic voice, instrumental or vocal, in aria, melody and recitative. Required skills for the cellist in this role included the regulation of time (rhythm, metre and tempo) in an ensemble, and the expressive articulation of musical character through the sensitive and appropriate use of bow strokes. There is some disagreement about adding ornaments to the bass in early sources, although this apparently was practised by the English cellist Robert Lindley well into the 19th century. J.B. Baumgärtner’s Instructions de musique … à l'usage du violoncelle (Cc1774) provides detailed advice for cellists about how to accompany recitatives and harmonically embellish a bass line, with arpeggiated chords and double stops. Several 18th-century writers advocated using larger-sized instruments for the purpose of accompaniment (e.g. Gunn, Quantz).
Violoncello, §II: 18th and 19th centuries
Violoncello, §II, 3: 18th-century use, performers and repertory
Notwithstanding the terminological ambiguity associated with the larger members of the violin family, lasting well into the 18th century, there is ample iconographic and musical evidence to show that the cello was firmly established as a member of the continuo group in Italy by the beginning of the 18th century. At that time the cello played an important role in the opera orchestras of Venice and Naples as an obbligato instrument in vocal accompaniment. The orchestra of the Teatro S Carlo in Naples had a well-fortified bass section in the mid-18th century, with two to three cellos, and an equal or larger number of double basses as the century progressed. Benedetto Marcello’s comments (1720) about the excessive improvisational liberties taken by cellists when accompanying singers is indicative of both the players’ high skill and the soloistic nature of their role in both arias and recitatives. In chamber ensembles the cello was the most common bowed instrument in the continuo group by the beginning of the 18th century. Italian compositions for solo cello increased in the early 18th century with the growing importance of the solo cellist in the orchestra and chamber ensemble (see §3(iv) below).
Numerous cellists were employed at the Basilica of S Marco in Venice in the late 17th century and the 18th as maestri de’ concerti or as instrumentalists. Some of these were notable composers as well, such as Antonio Caldara (c1670–1736). Caldara is of special interest because of his migration to the Hofkapelle in Vienna after about 1700 and the resulting spread of Italian influence. His extant works include a collection of 16 cello sonatas and a chamber concerto. His manuscript Lezioni (A-Wn EM 69), consisting of 44 two-part pieces (alongside over 100 similar, though unattributed works), are among the earliest pedagogical works for the cello. Other significant Venetian repertory includes the six sonatas for cello and basso continuo by Benedetto Marcello (Amsterdam, c1734), and a large number of pieces for cello by Vivaldi, including nine extant continuo sonatas, and 27 concertos. Domenico Della Bella was a cellist and maestro di capella at Treviso (c1700–15) whose compositions include four cello sonatas and a set of sonate da chiesa (Venice, 1704). These are characterized by contrapuntal writing and virtuoso solo parts, including multiple stopping.
Naples became an important centre of cello playing in the early 18th century, probably due to the rise of Neapolitan opera and the need for good cellists to accompany singers. Francesco Scipriani (1678–1753) wrote one of the earliest known instruction manuals: Principij da imparare a suonare il violoncello e con 12 toccate a solo (undated MS, I-Nc). His Sonate a 2 violoncelli e basso also require advanced fingering technique. The famous conservatories in Naples produced internationally recognized virtuosos in the early 18th century, such as Francesco Alborea (1691–1739) and Salvatore Lanzetti (c1710–80). Alborea, known popularly as ‘Francisc(h)ello’, was the most famous and admired virtuoso of the early 18th century, and his skill on the cello remained legendary for later generations of musicians including Quantz, Geminiani (as quoted by Burney) and Benda, although little documentary or musical evidence of Alborea’s career has survived. From Naples he travelled to Rome and abroad, and in 1726–39 was employed as solo cellist to the Hofkapelle in Vienna, where he was the highest paid cellist there in the 18th century. Two attractive sonatas in manuscript are attributed to him.
Lanzetti, also became a touring cello virtuoso. He made his way to Paris and London, where he resided for an extended period until about 1754. He then went to Germany and returned to Italy, where he was employed in the royal chapel in Turin from about 1760. His Principes is among the earliest instruction manuals to pay special attention to fingering. Lanzetti’s technical skill and innovative approach can be seen in his cello sonatas, which are some of the most interesting pieces for the instrument from this period. His Sonatas op.1 (Amsterdam, 1736) contain unusual and imaginative special effects, both musical and technical, and extend the upper range to b''. Thumb position is used extensively in these works, along with double, triple and quadruple stopping, rapid string crossings and passage-work and slurred staccato bowings.
Luigi
Boccherini (1743–1805) was possibly the greatest cellist of the late 18th
century. Evidence of Boccherini’s virtuosity can be seen in his many
technically challenging and attractive solo and chamber works for the cello,
written in an elegant rococo style. The range is extended as high as b''' in his sonatas, and
florid passages in the highest positions abound. Boccherini wrote 11 cello
concertos, 34 sonatas for cello and basso continuo, and dozens of string
quintets with two cellos.
Although a violinist, Francesco Geminiani (1687–1762) wrote six remarkably original and technically challenging continuo sonatas for cello (Paris, 1746), which he later transcribed for the violin. Other significant 18th-century Italian works for the cello include sonatas by Boni, Vandini, Platti, Porpora, Antoniotti, Bononcini, Pergolesi, J.-B. Canavas, Caporale, Cervetto, and Graziani. There are two concertos by Cirri, six by Leo, one each by E.F. Dall’Abaco, Porpora and Vandini, and 20 by Platti.
Violoncello, §II, 3: 18th-century use, performers and repertory
In Austria and Germany the cello appears to have been used primarily in dance music, or as a part of the continuo group to reinforce the bass or to play obbligato parts. It did not gain a more independent role until the second half of the 18th century.
In 1730 J.S. Bach’s orchestra at Leipzig had two cellists and one violone player. By the second half of the 18th century, the number of cellists in German court orchestras began to increase to balance the expanding wind and brass sections. In the orchestra of the Prussian court at Berlin, for example, the ratio of cellos to basses were, respectively, 4:2 in 1754, 6:3 in 1783, and 8:4 in 1787. The orchestras at Mannheim in 1782 and Dresden in 1783 had slightly more modest sections with four cellos and three basses. At the same time, the numbers in Haydn’s orchestra at Eszterháza remained relatively small: still only two cellos and two basses in 1783.
The six solo suites by J.S. Bach, along with the numerous obbligato parts in his cantatas and Brandenburg concertos, are anomalous in German music of the period, since music written specifically for solo cello before the middle of the 18th century is extremely rare. Composed at Cöthen about 1720, the technical demands of the suites suggest they were written for a player of high skill, either Christian Ferdinand Abel (according to the supposition of Spitta, although it is by no means certain that he played the cello) or C.B. Linike (1673–1751). Characteristic of the suites are complicated bowing patterns, the use of batteries, bariolage, arpeggios, multiple stopping, chords and a high degree of left hand virtuosity in the positions of the neck. Suite no.5 uses scordatura tuning. These demands are associated more with contemporary violin and viol performing practice than contemporary German cello technique as represented in obbligato and continuo cello parts. The sixth suite uses a five-string cello.
The Mannheim court was an important centre of cello playing in the 1750s. Anton Fils wrote numerous works for cello while employed at the Kapelle in 1754–60, including four concertos, sonatas and chamber works. They show an innovative approach to left-hand technique in the use of stationary, blocked hand positions for virtuoso passage-work, especially in thumb position. He also used thumb position on the G and C strings as a technical effect for contrasting registers. The Mannheim tradition was continued by Peter Ritter (1763–1846), who composed many solo works for the cello, as well as operas and chamber works.
Early Viennese works for the cello include concertos by M.G. Monn (1745) and G.C. Wagenseil (1752 and 1763). These show an emerging virtuosity in the Austrian school, the range employed by each composer extending to d'' and e'' respectively. Special techniques, such as batteries, brisure, double stopping and arpeggios are also used.
The cellists in the employ of the Kapelle of Prince Esterházy at the time of Haydn’s association with the court provided the stimulus for an expanding repertory of significant works for the cello, and the emergence of a role distinct from its traditional bass line accompaniment function in ensembles. Already in the op.20 string quartets (1774), Haydn explored the concept of equal four-part writing and treated the cello as a principal melodic voice like that of the violin. His Concerto in C (c1761–5) is the first cello concerto by a major composer of the Classical period, although Haydn’s interest in exploring the cello's technical possibilities in a concertante role can be seen already in several of the early symphonies (nos.6, 7, 8, 15, 31 and 45). Written for Joseph Weigl, then principal cellist at Eszterháza, the Concerto in C is a musical masterpiece and a virtuoso showpiece for the cellist. It uses techniques similar to those employed by Fils in his concertos: fast passages implying the use of horizontal thumb position fingerings across three strings in blocked hand positions, arpeggios, batteries, brisure, double stops alternating with lower open strings, and lower-register sonorities. The range of the cello part extends to a''.
The Concerto in D (1783) was written for the Bohemian cellist, Anton Kraft (1749–1820), principal cellist at Eszterháza from 1778 to 1790. It was erroneously attributed to Kraft in Schilling’s Lexikon der Tonkunst (1837), leading to a century of doubt about its authenticity until Haydn’s autograph was found in Vienna in 1951. Its style and special technical effects give ample opportunity for virtuosity and expressiveness, suggesting that a high degree of collaboration between Kraft and Haydn may have occurred in the compositional process. Kraft’s own compositions for the cello include virtuoso sonatas, duos, salon pieces and concertos for cello. These works, as well as the cello part of Beethoven’s Triple Concerto op.56, written for Kraft, show his technical fluency. Techniques such as lower string octave passages, double stops in thumb position, brisure, passages specifically intended to be played on lower strings, arpeggios, bariolage, batteries, and bowing sul ponticello, are employed in these works. His playing was noted for its power and expressiveness, and he performed the premières of numerous works of Beethoven.
Beethoven demonstrated an early interest in writing for the cello. The two sonatas op.5 represented an experiment with a new type of ensemble: cello alone with piano. Written for performance by Beethoven and Duport in 1796 at the royal court at Berlin, these works incorporate technical effects characteristic of Duport’s style and give the cello an unprecedented equality with the piano part.
The interest of 18th-century Prussian monarchs in music, and the cello in particular, provided the stimulus for a large number of good compositions for the cello. In addition to the works by Beethoven, C.P.E. Bach wrote three concertos for cello, and Boccherini, as court composer to Friedrich Wilhelm II, dedicated numerous pieces to the king. The cello also has a prominent part in chamber works written for this monarch, such as Mozart’s three ‘Prussian’ Quartets k575, 589 and 590, and Haydn’s Quartets op.50.
Other prominent expatriate Bohemian cellists of the 18th century include J.B. Mara (1744–1808), whose dissolute lifestyle ruined his promising career, Josef Reicha (1752–95), who was employed as musical director at the court in Bonn from 1787, and Jan Šťastný (c1764–c1826), whose works for the cello have retained a place in the repertory.
Violoncello, §II, 3: 18th-century use, performers and repertory
Although it is possible that the cello came to England in the first half of the 17th century, the earliest cello identifiable as ‘English’ was made by William Baker in Oxford in 1672. This date corresponds with the rising popularity of Italian-style opera and chamber music in 17th-century England, which would have called for a cello rather than a bass viol. The cello, sometimes known as the ‘church bass’ or even ‘bass viol’ in this context, also had an important role in 18th-century England as the favoured continuo instrument in those parishes which used an instrumental ensemble to accompany the church choir, instead of an organ (see Bass viol; this practice carried on in the British and US churches well into the 19th century). The cello in England also has associations with the aristocratic class: both Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales (1707–51; see Mandolin, fig.2), and George IV (1762–1830) played the cello. Numerous instruments were commissioned by the royal family from contemporary makers (e.g. the younger William Forster’s ‘Royal George’ cello, c1782). The instrument’s popularity undoubtedly was enhanced by the large number of tutors and music published during the 18th century for the amateur market, and by the London performances of Italian and French cellists, beginning early in the century.
It was migrating Italian cellists, such as Lanzetti, Giovanni Bononcini (1670–1747) and Giacobbe Basevi Cervetto (1680–1783), Andrea Caporale (fl mid-18th century), Guiseppe Dall’Abaco (1662–1726) and Pasqualini de Marzis (fl 1740s), who established cello playing in England in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Many of these produced works for the burgeoning English music publishing market. Cervetto’s son, James (1748–1837), and John Crosdill (1751–1825) were the leading English cellists of the latter half of the 18th century and both men enjoyed highly successful performing careers. Robert Lindley (1776–1855), a pupil of James Cervetto, exceeded his master in ability and reputation.
John Gunn’s Theory and Practice in Fingering on the Violoncello (C1789) is the most comprehensive English treatise of the 18th century on cello technique and the history of stringed instruments. Aimed at the musically literate amateur, it provides a detailed glimpse into technical practices and musical aesthetics in England at the time. Gunn’s discussion of fingering includes reference to the Italian oblique left hand position as being ‘formerly much in use’ (fig.6). It is not clear what caused the old-fashioned, consecutive diatonic system of fingering to be superseded by the semitone system of finger spacing, although it may be indicative of French influence on the English school, possibly through Crosdill, who studied with J.-P. Duport.
Violoncello, §II, 3: 18th-century use, performers and repertory
Although the cello was used for the basso continuo in Italy by the middle of the 17th century, supplanting the viol, in France the latter remained the favoured chamber music instrument into the 18th century. Hubert Le Blanc’s Defense de la basse de viole contre les entreprises du violon et les prétensions du violoncel (C1740) colourfully expresses the resistance with which the cello, along with other Italian influences, was greeted by musical conservatives in France. Le Blanc wrote that the cello, ‘a miserable dunce, hated, & a poor devil … now flatters himself that in place of the bass viol, he will receive many caresses’, and compared its tone quality to the trumpet marine. However, from the late 17th century there is clear evidence that the cello was preferred to accompany the violin. The penetrating tone of the violin and cello was better suited to public concerts, such as the Concert Spirituel, which was inaugurated in the 1720s.
In his Méthode (C1741), the earliest dated instruction manual on playing the cello, Michel Corrette described the cello as the ideal bass-line instrument, attributing to it excellent sonority, capacity for volume, articulate and clean tone, and versatility as the bass instrument in different types of ensembles. Other testimony to the rapid rise in the cello’s popularity in France is the fact that the Parisian music publisher Le Clerc produced at least 26 volumes of French and Italian cello sonatas between 1738 and 1750. A relatively large number of low string instruments were used in the orchestra of the Paris Opéra: eight basses (combined) in 1713, eight cellos and four double basses in 1763, and 12 cellos and five basses in 1790. Four sets of cello sonatas were published by Jean Barrière (1707–47) between 1733 and 1739. A member of the Académie Royale de Musique from 1730, he was noted for the precision of his playing. His works require an advanced command of left-hand and bowing techniques, and show a strong Italian influence in style, possibly due to Barrière's sojourn in Italy, 1726–9. They are unusual in that the accompaniments are sometimes written with separate parts for keyboard and a second cello, often as elaborate as that of the solo part.
Corrette’s Méthode was directed at both the beginner and the viol player taking up the cello for the first time. Martin Berteau (1708–71) was one such player who, according to legend, abandoned the viol for the cello after hearing Francischello (Francesco Alborea) play, and became the founder of the French school of cello playing. Of his cello compositions, only a set of six violoncello sonatas (Paris, 1748) and one study attributed to him (no.6 in J.-L. Duport’s 21 exercices, c1813) are extant. However, his influence as the teacher of a small but important group of Parisian cellists had a profound impact on the development of cello playing. Berteau’s noteworthy students included François Cupis (1732–1808) and his nephew Jean-Baptiste (b 1741), J.-P. Duport (1741–1818), J.-B.-A.J. Janson (1742–1803) and J.B. Tillière (c1740–90). Tillière published a cello tutor in 1764 which was followed by a more detailed method by Jean-Baptiste Cupis in 1772, but the most highly regarded of Berteau’s pupils was Jean-Pierre Duport. Among Duport's distinguished pupils were his brother Jean-Louis Duport, John Crosdill, Nikolaus Kraft (1778–1853), Peter Ritter and Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia. The players of the French school were distinguished by smoothness and purity of tone, and a high degree of left-hand skill, especially in high positions.
J.-L. Duport’s Essai (C1806), which credited Berteau with the development of technical principles for the cello, is an advanced exposition on both left-hand and bowing techniques. Although it is unknown how many students he taught, the methodical, thoroughly tested principles presented in the Essai shows Duport’s extensive experience as a teacher. His systematic standardisation of fingering and bowing principles, and the 21 exercices (Paris, c1813) that comprise the second part of the Essai, influenced successive generations of cellists and remain an important part of the advanced study repertoire to the present day.
J.-B.S. Bréval (1753–1823), a student of Cupis, was a cello virtuoso, a prolific composer and a teacher. However his comprehensive technical method, the Traité du violoncelle op.42 (C1804), was overshadowed by the publication of Duport’s Essai. Bréval’s works for solo cello include seven concertos and several sets of continuo sonatas. When the Paris Conservatoire was founded in 1795, Janson and J.-H. Levasseur (1764–1823) were appointed as cello professors. The official Méthode (C1804) of the Conservatoire was co-written by Levasseur, C.-N. Baudiot, C.-S. Catel and Pierre Baillot. Although it preceded the Duport Essai in date of publication, the professors of the new Conservatoire, particularly Levasseur, were already heavily influenced by Duport’s teaching.
Violoncello, §II: 18th and 19th centuries
The role of the cello in large and small ensembles in the 19th century followed the practice established in orchestral and chamber compositions of the last decades of the 18th century. The increasing number of cellist-composers enlarged the solo repertory, developing with it an expanded range of virtuoso techniques for both the left hand and the bow, although many compositions written by cellists for their own concert performances have failed the test of time.
A number of first-rate works by pre-eminent early 19th century composers feature the cello prominently. Works with piano include three later sonatas by Beethoven (opp.69 and 102), two by Mendelssohn (opp.45 and 58), and one sonata (op.65) and several shorter pieces by Chopin. The cello’s capacity for cantilena playing in the tenor register, as well as for playing accompanying bass and tenor lines, is exploited by Romantic composers for dramatic and melodic effect in chamber works. Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Tchaikovsky and Dvořák all wrote string quartets, quintets, trios and other works that contain prominent cello parts.
The core of the late 19th-century repertory for solo cello and orchestra consists of Schumann’s Concerto in A minor op.129, the Brahms Double Concerto op.102, Dvořák’s Concerto in B minor op.104, Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations, Lalo’s Concerto in D minor and the first (in A minor) of two concertos by Saint-Saëns. There are numerous significant works for cello and piano from this period, including two sonatas each by Brahms and Mendelssohn, sonatas by Strauss, Grieg and Saint-Saëns, the Fünf Stücke im Volkston by Schumann and the Fauré Elégie. Short salon pieces also abound.
In
the operatic literature the cello section was often divided (e.g. Rossini’s Guillaume
Tell, Verdi’s Otello, Puccini’s La bohème), and many
19th-century operas have solo cello passages. In other orchestral works a solo
cellist is often given important obbligato parts, for example the piano
concertos in B and A
by Brahms and Liszt respectively, Le carnival des animaux by Saint-Saëns
and Don Quixote by Strauss. Romantic composers also wrote section solos
for the cellos in the symphonic repertory.
As the size of wind and brass sections of the symphony orchestra increased, the size of the cello section more than doubled for some large-scale works. Even as early as 1814, Beethoven’s Seventh and Eighth Symphonies were performed using 12 cellos and seven basses, compared with two of each for his Symphonies nos.4–6. The Ninth Symphony reportedly had 12 of each, matching the double winds. Berlioz recommended the use of at least 11 cellos and nine basses for the Symphonie fantastique, and 29 cellos and 18 basses for his Requiem. Richard Wagner’s orchestra at Bayreuth in 1876 had a relatively modest bass sections, consisting of 12 cellos and eight basses, the same numbers of players used by Richard Strauss for his major orchestral works, such as Ein Heldenleben. The Gewandhaus Orchestra, Leipzig, had three cellos and three basses in 1802, increasing to ten of each by 1890.
At the beginning of the 19th century distinct schools of cello playing existed in Austria and Germany, France, and England, with those of J.-L. Duport in France and Bernhard Romberg in Germany dominating. As a result of the migrations during the French Revolution there was interaction between the various schools. Duport and Romberg shared an orchestra desk in Berlin for a brief period and other important cellists of the time also had contact with them. Romberg’s powerful, expressive style of playing and technical prowess earned him the pre-eminent place among cellists of the early 19th century. He travelled extensively in Europe, giving concerts. His cantilena playing was particularly admired and many other sought to emulate his style of playing. His Violoncell-Schule (C1839) contains a comprehensive treatment of cello-playing and is an excellent source of information on early 19th-century performing practice in Germany, including elementary and advanced techniques, aspects of instrument set-up (including life-sized diagrams), elements of general musicianship, phrasing and expression, ensemble playing and musical style.
The ideas of Duport and Romberg were synthesized by Dotzauer, who studied with Duport’s student, J.J. Kriegk (1750–1814), and later with Romberg himself in Berlin. Although Dotzauer was well-known as a performer and composer in his own time, he is best remembered for his contribution to cello pedagogy as the founder of the ‘Dresden school’. His Violoncell schule (1832) predated Romberg’s by seven years, and was the first significant method to appear by a German cellist. Dotzauer’s many students included F.A. Kummer, K.L. Voigt, Karl Drechlser and Carl Schuberth, through whom the principles of Dotzauer’s teaching were preserved and disseminated to other regions, including (through Schuberth) Russia.
Kummer succeeded Dotzauer in Dresden in 1852, both as solo cellist in the orchestra and professor at the Conservatory. Kummer was renowned for his natural technique and elegant musical style. His pedagogical works are among the most musically interesting from this period and have remained in the étude repertory to the present day. The systematic and progressive instruction contained his Violoncell-Schule (c1839) remains an invaluable resource for teachers and shows the musical emphasis which he placed on the teaching of technique. Kummer taught several significant 19th-century cellists, among them Julius Goltermann (1825–76), later professor at the Prague Conservatory, and Bernhard Cossmann.
Karl Drechsler (1800–73) was based in Dessau, where he served as principal cellist and professor. His students included Cossmann, and Friedrich Grützmacher (1832–1903). Grützmacher’s influence dominated the Dresden school in the latter half of the 19th century. Hugo Becker (1864–1941), Diran Alexanian (1881–1954), and Julius Klengel (1859–1933), among the most influential cellists and teachers around the turn of the century, are all linked directly or indirectly to Grützmacher.
The technical principles of the French school, as outlined by Duport in his Essai and the Paris Conservatoire Méthode, were disseminated by his pupils and those of Janson. J.-M.H. Lamare (1772–1823) and Louis Norblin (1781–1854) were among the early graduates of the Paris Conservatory who became prominent cellists and teachers. N.J. Platel (1777–1835), a student of Lamare, eventually founded the Belgian school of playing when he was appointed professor at the Conservatory in Brussels in 1826.
Platel’s student, A.F. Servais (1807–66), known as the ‘Paganini’ of the cello, rose to prominence because of his technical brilliance, graceful style and beautiful tone. Servais was a prolific composer for the cello, writing many works for his own concert performances, which contain innovative and arresting technical effects. Servais is credited with developing left-hand technique to new heights of virtuosity. His Six Caprices op.11 (Mainz, ?1854) features much passage-work in thumb position and double stops including octaves and 10ths. He performed extensively in Europe, including numerous concert tours to Russia, where his performances were an important catalyst for interest in the cello in the emerging Russian school. Servais succeeded Platel in the cello professorship at the Brussels Conservatory in 1848, where he instructed cellists such as Jules de Swert (1843–1891), Joseph Hollmann (1852–1927) and Ernest De Munck (1840–1915).
Auguste Franchomme (1808–84), a pupil of Norblin and Levasseur at the Paris Conservatoire, inherited the mantle of Duport. Highly successful as a solo cellist and known for his impeccable musicianship and beautiful cantilena, Franchomme was a close associate of Chopin and the dedicatee of the Sonata op.65. In 1846 he was appointed principal professor at the Conservatoire, a position he held until his death. His pupils included L.A. Vidal (1820–91) and Louis Hegyesi (1853–94).
After Boccherini, no internationally prominent Italian cellist emerged until Alfredo Piatti (1822–1901), a pupil of Gaetano Zanetti and Merighi. Early concert successes led to an active career as both performer and teacher. His playing was greatly admired for its musical integrity, technical virtuosity and beauty of tone. His 12 Caprices (Berlin, 1875), explore a broad range of virtuoso techniques, such as slurred staccato, sautillé, ricochet, double and triple stopping, octaves and passages in thumb position.
Robert Lindley was England’s leading cellist for most of his life and taught at the RAM. His desk partner F.W. Crouch (c1808–44) was also an accomplished player and published a comprehensive treatise on the cello based on the Paris Conservatoire method. In 1846, Alfredo Piatti took up residence in London and, as professor at the RAM, influenced the next generation of English cellists, which included Edward Howell, W.E. Whitehouse and Leo Stern. Whitehouse and Howell were also very active as teachers at the RAM, the English pedagogical line from Whitehouse being particularly strong into the 20th century.
The patronage of the Russian Counts Saltïkov and Mateusz Wielhorski, and of Prince N.B. Golitsïn (the latter two of whom were amateur cellists), was an important factor in generating a rich Russian musical life in the 19th century, and helped to stimulate interest in the cello. The sojourn of Romberg in Russia, where he fled following the invasion of Prussia by Napoleon in 1806, and his close association with Wielhorski in particular, laid the foundation for the Russian school.
K.Y. Davïdov (1838–89), a pupil of Carl Schuberth, is particularly associated with the Russian school, being the first Russian cellist to gain a professorship at the St Petersburg Conservatory in 1862. His training was based on the teaching of Grützmacher, and his high level of technical skill, purity of intonation and expressive playing set a new standard in his native Russia and abroad. Davïdov adopted a new system of fingering on the cello (documented in his unfinished Violoncell-Schule Leipzig, 1888), in which the left hand has complete mobility over the entire compass of the fingerboard, without reference to fixed positions. Davïdov composed many attractive pieces for the instrument in the German Romantic style. Wilhelm Fitzenhagen (1848–90), a pupil of Grützmacher, was a soloist and chamber musician, and was also very influential as the teacher of many Russian cellists in the latter part of the century.
Along with Davïdov, David Popper (1843–1913) was among the most influential cello virtuosos of the later 19th century. Born and educated in Prague, Popper was a prolific composer of advanced studies for the cello, as well as light showpieces, concertos and chamber works, all still very popular with modern performers. He was appointed professor at the National Hungarian Royal Academy of Music in Budapest in 1886, establishing the Hungarian school of cello playing. According to his contemporaries, Popper’s mastery of the cello was unsurpassed, and his playing was characterized by musical refinement and rich tone, as well as faultless virtuosity, even in the highest register of the instrument. Popper, along with Piatti, was among the first 19th century cellists to revive interest in older masterpieces, by playing works such as the Haydn Concerto in D and the Schumann Concerto.
Popper’s Hohe Schule des Violoncello-Spiels op.73 (Leipzig, 1901–5) is still among the most important pedagogical works for the cello, using advanced virtuoso techniques, such as double stopping and octaves, position changes in thumb position, trills, and bowing techniques such as slurred staccato, sautillé, spiccato, piqué, and rapid string crossings. The dazzling virtuoso salon pieces he wrote were innovative in their departure from the characteristically soulful quality of the cantilena style that was traditionally associated with the cello in the 19th century.
Violoncello, §III: The 20th century
With the proliferation of cellists the world over, the extraordinary development in the technique of the instrument under the guidance of the great teacher-performers and the way in which composers have accepted the challenges these developments offer, extending and enriching the repertory, the cello' identity as a solo instrument has been confirmed in the 20th century.
The endpin or spike was regarded as an accepted part of the instrument and revolutionized technique. It also allowed women to play the cello in a dignified manner. Before the 20th century, few women played the instrument owing to the way in which it was held, although a handful of women compromised by playing ‘side-saddle’. The invention of the endpin brought about the liberation of women cellists, and the pioneers included May Mukle (1880–1963), Guilhermina Suggia (1888–1950; fig.8) and Beatrice Harrison (1892–1965). Paul Tortelier later devised the longer, angled spike which was also adopted by Mstislav Rostropovich (fig.9). By raising the point at which the bow touches the strings and the incline of the strings towards the horizontal it is said to be easier for the left hand to negotiate the upper part of the fingerboard. However, most cellists today employ the shorter, straight endpin.
During the 20th century many large concert halls were built; consequently there arose a need for a larger sound. Players began experimenting with steel or steel-covered gut strings, replacing the gut strings in use until this time. Although steel strings are the most widely used today, some cellists have reverted to gut for some if not all of their strings.
In other respects, the construction of the instrument itself has not changed, having reached a standard form in the previous century. However, the proliferation of cellists throughout the world has called for more instruments to be available. The old Italian and German instruments still fetch high prices for those who can afford to pay, but there is a constant demand for good new instruments, and good makers are now emerging from all over the world who are responding to this demand.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the German school of cello playing was leading the field with many distinguished soloists and chamber music players, many of whom were also teachers. The two most influential figures were Julius Klengel (1859–1933) and Hugo Becker (1864–1941). Although both stemmed from the Dresden school, in their approach they were poles apart. Becker concentrated on the scientific aspect, having made researches into anatomy and physiology, whereas Klengel favoured an empirical approach.
Klengel was a fine soloist and a respected composer. He also wrote a number of teaching works, some of which are still in use. He taught at the Leipzing Conservatory, and many of his students achieved international reputations; these included Emanuel Feuermann, Guilhermina Suggia, Edmund Kurtz, Gregor Piatigorsky and William Pleeth. Piatigorsky said that he ‘taught without teaching’ and always allowed a student to play a piece to the end. Pleeth confirmed this view: ‘he had no whims, no sophistication and never encouraged us to copy. We were all different’.
Becker was also a fine performer in his earlier days, but latterly he concentrated upon teaching. In complete contrast to Klengel, he made explorations into the physiological aspects of performance and attempted to align these to the most natural way of playing. Many cellists criticized his dogmatic and logical approach; Raya Garbousova said that he was ‘obsessed with anatomy, but never took into consideration the fact that no two people are identical in this respect’.
But it was Pablo Casals (1876–1973) who brought the cello into equal popularity with the violin as a solo instrument. For him, technique was a means, not an end: ‘The purpose of technique is to transmit the inner meaning, the message of the music. The most perfect technique is that which is not noticed at all’. Casals popularized chamber music and, in particular, brought the Bach solo suites into the regular cello recital repertory.
Ever since the publication of Duport's Essai (C1806), the left-hand technique has been based on a series of positions, together with the use of the thumb. While acknowledging the notion of positions, Casals favoured giving weight and freedom to every finger, allowing the centre of gravity to shift from one finger to another. By using extension of the left hand undesirable glissandos, which were in common use before this time, could be avoided and portamento used only for special effect. The use of the first and second fingers to encompass a tone in the lower position required a different lay of the hand: the traditional ‘square’ lay of the hand had militated against a smooth flow of position changing and portamentos. These developments in cello playing released energy in the service of expression.
When Casals described his method as ‘Freedom with Order’, he was referring to his overall approach to playing the instrument. He taught the importance of relaxation and how to train the left hand to create a balance between tension and relaxation. Casals' principles are explained by his disciple, Diran Alexanian, in the Traité théorique et pratique du violoncelle (Paris, 1922). It covers half-step shifts with the same finger, shifting in repeated finger patterns, minimum shifting within phrases, contractions and extensions, as well as plucking the string with the left hand to ensure precise articulation in descending passages and percussive finger-falls in ascending passages.
Casals' pupil and close friend Maurice Eisenberg (with M.B. Stanfield) gave a full exposition of Casals' left-hand technique in his Cello Playing of Today (D1957). Eisenberg had previously studied with Klengel, Alexanian and Willeke; in his preface he states that working with cellists of different ‘schools’ enabled him to ‘see the changing outlook of our epoch in a clear perspective’. He also notes that Casals' more natural way of holding the instrument serves interpretative ends. Eisenberg's manual includes thumb-position drills, studies of unisons, tenths, fingered octaves and fingerings for major and minor scales and arpeggios on all strings, and for double stops, chords and harmonics. Eisenberg spoke of ‘vocalization’ and ‘the living hand’: ‘the hand must be trained to be so vital and flexible that as soon as a finger strikes its note, the preparation for the following note begins’ and, according to Eisenberg, ‘the hand shifting must never be audible. When the hand moves backwards across the strings to a lower position, the thumb should act as a pivot over which the extended fingers are shifted swiftly and smoothly’.
The Hungarian-born cellist Janos Starker systemized this by introducing position control: discarding the idea of seven positions and the thumb-position he developed a unique system of the same control for every half tone all over the cello, which represented a minor revolution in cello playing. In An Organized Method of String Playing: Violoncello Exercises for the Left Hand (1961), he offered examples from the repertory. More recently, Christopher Bunting's Essay on the Craft of ‘Cello-Playing (C1982) covered aspects of technique and also of mental attitude.
Many other 20th-century cellists have contributed to the development of the instrument. They include Alexander Baillie, Christopher Bunting, Gaspar Cassado, Orlando Cole, Rohan da Saram, Joan Dickson, Emanuel Feuermann, Amaryllis Fleming, Jacqueline du Pré, Pierre Fournier, Raya Garbousova, Maurice Gendron, Karine Georgian, Natalia Gutman, Lynn Harrell, Florence Hooton, Steven Isserlis, Antonio Janigro, Ralph Kirshbaum, Julian Lloyd Webber, Yo-Yo Ma, Enrico Mainardi, Mischa Maisky, Zara Nelsova, Siegfried Palm, Gregor Piatigorsky, William Pleeth, Gabor Reijto, Leonard Rose, Miloš Sadlo, Felix Salmond, Eleanore Schoenfeld, Luigi Silva, Daniil Shafran, Frances Marie Uiti, Raphael Wallfisch and Phyllis Young. Many are or were also great teachers.
In the latter part of the 20th century teachers such as Joan Dickson (1921–94) and William Pleeth (1916–99) became less bound to ‘schools’, and there was a great deal more individuality in the way they attempted to understand their students, not only as musicians but psychologically. Some, following Pleeth, are of the opinion that too much emphasis is placed on technical perfection and would like to see a better marriage between technique and creative musicality. Casals himself said: ‘Two things are essential – method and instinct’. He also maintained that, since his pupils had so many different opinions about his approach, it was proof that he never treated any two the same way.
Violoncello, §III: The 20th century
In the 20th century an enormous amount of music was written for the cello by composers from all over the world. Early in the century, cellists relied on the legacy of the late 19th-century repertory, and the early writing of the new century was in a lush, post-Romantic style: Rachmaninoff's Sonata in G minor (1901), Dohnányi's Konzertstück in D (1904), Bloch's Schelomo (1915–16), Fauré's two Sonatas (1918 and 1922) and Elgar's Concerto (1919) are but a few examples. Webern, in his atonal Drei kleine Stücke (1914), and Debussy, in his Sonata (1915), were among the first to break with Romantic tradition. The composers who followed include: in the UK, Bax, Benjamin, Bridge, Britten, Delius, Finzi, Holst, Ireland, Rubbra and Walton; in France, Caplet, d'Indy, Françaix, Honegger, Ibert, Milhaud, Poulenc and Tortelier; in Russia/former USSR, Denisov, Glazunov, Glière, Grechaninov, Gubaydulina, Kabalevsky, Khachaturian, Myaskovsky, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Tishchenko and Ustvol'skaya; in the USA, Barber, Carter and Piston, and US citizens born elsewhere: Bloch, Hindemith, Krenek, Schoenberg and Stravinsky; Wellesz (Austria); the Czech Martinů; Henze (Germany); Pijper (Holland); Bartók, Kodály (Hungary), Casella, Castelnuovo-Tedesco and Dallapiccola (Italy), Chávez (Mexico), Enescu (Romania), Villa-Lobos and Ginastera (S. America), Casals and Cassadó (Spain), Larsson (Sweden), Sallinen and Kokkonen (Finland).
Frank Bridge's Oration, Concerto elegiaco (1930) is, among English cello concertos, an early but important forward-looking work. Prokofiev wrote three concertos for cello, the first Symphony-Concerto (1950–51, rev. 1952), was published posthumously in 1955, completed by Rostropovich and orchestrated by Kabalevsky. Walton's Concerto (1955–6, rev. 1975), commissioned by Piatigorsky, exuding Mediterranean warmth and sensuality, came at the time when Romanticism became distinctly unfashionable and serialism was all the vogue. Written only six years later, Britten's Cello Symphony (1963, rev.1964) is dark, disturbing and highly innovative and incorporates many new ideas such as the clever use of trilled, stopped harmonics in the Scherzo.
Shostakovich's Cello Concerto no.1, op.107 (1959), brings several novel features such as a long passage where the cello is in dialogue with the celesta, playing harmonics and a cadenza which lasts for the entire third movement. Lutosławski's aleatory Cello Concerto (1969–70) is also a colourful and innovative work which is now firmly in the repertory; it uses quarter tones and employs rapid groups of notes to achieve percussive effects. Schnittke's First Cello Concerto (1986), written for Natalia Gutman, is an exceedingly difficult work and expressive on an epic scale. In the final apotheosis the cello leads a hymn-like processional, and in order to avoid being drowned by the orchestral crescendo, the cello is amplified, creating a very beautiful and unearthly effect.
Samuel Barber's concerto (1945) is one of the most challenging works known for the cello (Leonard Rose once proclaimed it to be the most difficult piece he had ever encountered). Rostropovich, one of the major musical figures of the latter half of the 20th century, commissioned over 100 works for his instrument from composers such as Britten, Lutosławski, Penderecki, Prokofiev and Shostakovich. Dutilleux's concerto Tout un monde lointain … (1967–70) was one of these: it is a carefully crafted work which is free in thought, and follows Debussy and Ravel in its colourful and evocative scoring.
Following
the revival of the Bach solo suites by Casals, there was a rush of compositions
for solo cello: from 1900 to 1960 there were over 160 composed. One of the most
popular is the Sonata op.8 (1915), by Kodály, who was a cellist himself. The
sonata uses left hand pizzicato extensively to accompany the melodic line, and
scordatura in a daring and original manner (the two bottom strings are tuned to
B
' and F
, which together with the
D string give an unusually resonant and evocative chord of B minor).
Hindemith's Sonata op.25, no.3 (1923), in five linked movements, is one of his
best compositions for cello. Iannis Xenakis in his Nomos alpha for solo
cello (1965–6), wrote the wide ranging chords on three staves and in three
clefs – two bass and one treble. His Kottos (1977) is even more
challenging. Franco Donatoni's Lame (1982), two pieces for unaccompanied
cello, are innovative and show influences of the composer's previous essay into
12-note serialism, Quartetto II (1958). Luigi Dallapiccola's Ciaccona,
intermezzo e adagio (1945), which uses large spread chords across the cello
to resemble a gutar, and Ernst Krenek's Suite op.84 (1939) have many original
features. Britten's three Suites for Solo Cello (1964, 1967, 1972) are
firmly established in the repertory. The Sacher Variations came about as
a result of Rostropovich commissioning 12 composers including Britten,
Lutosławski and Dutilleux to write short solo pieces based on the letters
of the name SACHER, to celebrate in 1976 the Swiss conductor Paul Sacher's 70th
birthday and the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Basle Chamber
Orchestra. Dutilleux later added two more movements to the original, calling it
Trois strophes sur le nom de Sacher (1982); in it he employs scordatura,
with the C string being tuned down to B' and the G string to F. George Crumb, who was influenced by
Debussy and Bartók, uses some vivid sonorities and instrumental effects in his Sonata
for solo cello (1955).
Most of the composers mentioned above, and many others including Poulenc, Janáček and Alexander Goehr, have written works for cello and piano. Elliot Carter's Cello Sonata (1948) is the first example of the composer's experimentation in ‘metric modulation’, involving complex contrasting polyrhythms between the cello and the piano, and proportional tempo changes. In Britten's Sonata (1961) a whole movement is played pizzicato. Julius Klengel was one of the first to compose for massed cellos, with his Hymnus for 12 cellos (c1922). The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra subsequently formed their own 12-cello ensemble, for which Jean Françaix wrote his Aubade (1975). Villa-Lobos wrote for at least eight cellos in Bachianas Brasileiras nos.1 and 5 (1930–45), no.5 (with soprano soloist) being the most popular.
Composers for the cello have experimented in ways hitherto unknown. James Dillon's Parjanya-Vata (1981) employs streams of double stops covering all the registers of the instrument (the score has the appearance of piano writing). Jonathan Harvey, in his Curve with Plateaux (1982), uses the sixth and seventh octaves of the cello, multiphonics with mute, clashing quarter-tones, glissandos over four strings with sul ponticello and sul tasto bow strokes. Karlheinz Stockhausen's Spiral (1969), for amplified cello and short-wave radio, requires the performer to improvise within specifications marked on impulses from the radio. Tavener's The Protecting Veil for cello and orchestra (1987) captured the public imagination as a spiritual minimalist composition on a religious theme, and exploits to the full the composer's exuberant lyricism. Other composers whose works employ quarter-tone and multi-stave writing, amplified cello and graphic effects, include Roger Redgate, Michael Finnissy, Mauricio Kagel, Brian Ferneyhough, Morton Feldman, James MacMillan, Colin Matthews and Arvo Pärt.
There is now a fresh conception of what can be achieved on the cello: two-bow technique, microtones, harmonics (both natural and artificial), variations in vibrato speed, extreme finger-extensions, extended tessitura etc. The 20th century has revolutionized almost every aspect of the cello and its literature, but time alone will assess the real influence of the current writing for the cello.
Violoncello, §III: The 20th century
The cello was used in a jazz-related context as early as 1916–17 when Walter Kildare, cellist from the Clef Club, recorded in London with his brother Dan’s string band, Ciro’s Club Coon Orchestra. In 1926 it appeared in recordings by singer Ethel Waters with Will Marion Cook. However, the cello was not used with any frequency in jazz until the bop era of the late 1940s and the 50s, when it was taken up by a number of double bass players, some of whom gained significant reputations on the smaller instrument. Harry Babasin recorded pizzicato cello solos with Dodo Marmarosa (Bopmatism, 1947, Dial). Oscar Pettiford recorded on the instrument in a quintet with Duke Ellington and in a quartet with Charles Mingus (Cello Again, 1952, Roost). The following year Pettiford and Brabison recorded on cello together. George Koutzen also recorded on cello with Mingus in 1952. Chico Hamilton’s band featured cello between 1955 and 1962, played at first by Fred Katz and then by Nat Gershman. Another important jazz cellist was Calo Scott (Vinnie Burke’s String Jazz Quartet, 1957, ABC-Paramount). Other bass players who adopted the cello included Ray Brown, Ron Carter and Sam Jones, but with Carter’s introduction of the piccolo bass (tuned an octave higher than the double bass) this practice lost impetus.
From the late 1960s the cello once again found use as a solo instrument in styles derived from bop, in fusions of jazz with ethnic and classical music and in free jazz. Exponents include Irène Aebi, David Baker, Diedre Murray and, in the 1990s, Matt Turner, Michelle Kinney and saxophonist Ivo Perelman. Three pre-eminent cellists since the late 1970s are Ernst Reijseger, Tristan Honsinger, who performs ferocious free improvisations, and Abdul Wadud who combines a virtuoso classical technique with heartfelt, incisive improvisations (e.g. By Myself, 1977, Bisharra).
A Histories, catalogues, bibliographies. B Makers, technical aspects. C Treatises and methods. D Performing practice, musical aspects.
GroveJ
MGG2 (T. Drescher, H. von Loesch)
W. Sandys and S.A. Forster: The History of the Violin (London, 1864)
V.-C. Mahillon: Catalogue descriptif & analytique de Musée instrumental du Conservatoire royal de musique de Bruxelles (Ghent and Brussels, 1880–1922, repr. 1978 with addl material; i, 2/1893; ii, 2/1909)
P. Roth: Führer durch die Violoncell-Literatur (Leipzig, 1888, rev. 2/1898 by C. Hullweck)
J.W. von Wasielewski: Das Violoncell und seine Geschichte (Leipzig, 1889, enlarged 3/1925/R; Eng. trans., 1894/R)
A.M. Clarke: A Biographical Dictionary of Fiddlers, including Performers on the Violoncello and Double Bass, Past and Present, containing a Sketch of their Artistic Career (London, 1895/R)
L. Forino: Il violoncello, il violoncellista ed i violoncellisti (Milan, 1905, 2/1930)
B. Weigl: Handbuch der Violoncell-Literatur (Vienna, 1911, enlarged 3/1929)
C. Liégeois and E. Nogué: Le violoncelle: son histoire, ses virtuoses (Paris and Bordeaux, 1913)
E. van der Straeten: History of the Violoncello, the Viol da Gamba, their Precursors and Collateral Instruments (London, 1915/R)
M. Vadding and M. Merseburger: Das Violoncell und seine Literatur (Leipzig, 1920)
A. Broadley: The Violoncello: its History, Selection and Adjustment (London, 1921)
E. Nogué: La littérature du violoncelle (Paris, 1925, 2/1931)
E. Nogué: Le violoncelle, jadis et aujourd'hui (Paris, 1937)
W. Mirandolle: De violoncel: haar bouw, geschiedenis en ontwikkelingsgang (The Hague, 1943)
L. Ginzburg: Istoriya violonchel'nogo iskusstva [The history of the art of cello playing] (Moscow, 1950–78); Eng. trans. of vol.iv (Neptune City, NJ, 1983)
A. Dioli: L'arte violoncellistica in Italia (Palermo, 1962/R)
W. Kaminski: Skrzypce polskie [Polish violins] (Kraków, 1969)
A. Planyavsky: Geschichte des Kontrabasses (Tutzing, 1970, 2/1984)
W. Kaminski: Instrumenty muzyczne na ziemiach polskich [Musical instruments in the Polish lands] (Kraków, 1971), 88, 94–5, 104
L. Malusi: Il violoncello (Padova, 1973)
E. Cowling: The Cello (London and New York, 1975, 2/1983)
W. Wilkins: The Index of Cello Music, including the Index of Baroque Trio Sonatas (Magnolia, AR, 1979)
W. Pleeth: Cello (London, 1982)
D. Markevitch: The Solo Cello: a Bibliography of the Unaccompanied Violoncello Literature (Berkeley, 1989)
M.M. Smith: The Violoncello in Art: an Iconography of the Early Violoncello and a Reconstruction of the Violoncello-Geometry of Jakob Stainer, Flinders University Art Museum, 4 Oct – 3 Nov 1989 (Adelaide, 1989) [exhibition catalogue]
D. Homuth: Cello Music since 1960: a Bibliography of Solo, Chamber, and Orchestral Works for the Solo Cellist (Berkeley, 1994)
R. Stowell, ed.: The Cambridge Companion to the Cello (Cambridge, 1999)
F.-J. Fétis: Antoine Stradivari luthier célèbre (Paris, 1856; Eng. trans., 1864/R)
M.L. Huggins: Gio: Paolo Maggini: his Life and Work (London, 1892)
C. Pierre: Les facteurs d'instruments de musique: les luthiers et la facture instrumentale (Paris, 1893/R)
E.S.J. van der Straeten: The Technics of Violoncello Playing (London, 1898, 4/1923)
W.H., A.F. and A.E. Hill: Antonio Stradivari: his Life and Work (1644–1737) (London, 1902/R, 2/1909/R)
H. Becker and D. Rynar: Mechanik und Ästhetik des Violoncellspiels (Vienna, 1929/R)
W. Vollmer: Über die Erscheinung des Wolftons bei Streichinstrumenten, insbesondere beim Cello (Karlsruhe, 1936)
M. Möller: The Violin-Makers of the Low Countries (Amsterdam, 1955); repr. in Journal of the Violin Society of America, viii/1 (1986), 100–11
E. Valentin: Cello: das Instrument und sein Meister Ludwig Hoelscher (Pfullingen, 1955)
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K. Jalovec: Deutscher und österreichische Geigenbauer (Prague, 1967; Eng. trans., 1967)
W. Schrammek: ‘Violapomposa und Violoncello bei Johana Sebastian Bach’ Internationales Bach-Fest III: Leipzig 1975, 345–54
L.C. Witten: ‘Apollo, Orpheus and David: a Study of the Crucial Century in the Development of Bowed Strings in North Italy 1480–1580 as seen in Graphic Evidence and some Surviving Instruments’, JAMIS, i (1975), 5–55
D. Abbott and E. Segerman: ‘Gut Strings’, EMc, iv (1976), 430–37
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J.A. Sadie: ‘Charpentier and the Early French Ensemble Sonata’ EMc, vii (1979), 330–35
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L. Jeske: ‘Abdul Wadud: Profile’, Down Beat, xlix/11 (1982), 52–3
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I. Parrott: ‘Beethoven, the Cello and the Treble Clef’, MR, xlvi (1985), 12–18
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H.M. Brown and S. Sadie, eds.: Performance Practice: Music after 1600 (New York, 1989), 239–51
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M. Cyr: Performing Baroque Music (Portland, OR, 1992)
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M.E. Parker: ‘Friedrich Wilhelm II and the Classical String Quartet’, MR, liv/3–4 (1993), 161–82
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V. Walden: An Investigation and Comparison of the French and Austro-German Schools of Violoncello Bowing Techniques: 1785–1839 (diss., U. of Auckland, 1993)
M.E. Parker: Soloistic Chamber Music at the Court of Friedrich Wilhelm II, 1786–1797 (diss., Indiana U., 1994)
D. Watkin: ‘Beethoven's Sonatas for Piano and Cello: Aspects of Technique and Performance’, Performing Beethoven, ed. R. Stowell (Cambridge, 1994), 89–116
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M. Vanscheeuwijk: ‘The Baroque Cello and its Performance’, Performance Practice Review, ix/1 (1996), 78–96
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