Viola d'amore

Infobox Instrument
name= Viola d'amore
names=


classification=
*Bowed string instrument
range=
related=
* Cello
* Viol (viola da gamba)
* Viola
* Violin
**Violin octet instruments
***Vertical viola

The viola d'amore (Italian: love viol) is a 7- or 6-stringed musical instrument with sympathetic strings used chiefly in the baroque period. It is played under the chin in the same manner as the violin.

Structure and sound

The viola d'amore shares many features of the viol family. Like viols, it has a flat back and intricately carved head at the top of the peg box, but unlike viols, the head occurs often with "blindfolded eyes" to represent love , and its sound-holes are commonly in the shape of a flaming sword (suggesting a Middle Eastern influence in its development). It is unfretted, and played much like a violin, being held horizontally under the chin. It is about the same size as the modern viola.

The viola d'amore usually has six or seven playing strings, which are sounded by drawing a bow across them, just as with a violin. In addition, it has an equal number sympathetic strings located below the main strings and the fingerboard which are not played directly but vibrate in sympathy with the notes played. A common variation is six playing strings, and instruments exist with as many as fourteen sympathetic strings alone. Despite the fact that the sympathetic strings are now thought of as the most characteristic element of the instrument, early forms of the instrument almost uniformly lacked them. The first unambiguous reference to a viola d'amore without sympathetic strings does not occur until the 1730s. Both the types continued to be built and played through the 18th century. [Kai Köpp: ‘Love without Sympathy’, The Strad, vol. 112 no. 1333 (May 2001), 526-533.]

Largely thanks to the sympathetic strings, the viola d'amore has a particularly sweet and warm sound.
Leopold Mozart, writing in his "Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule", said that the instrument sounded "especially charming in the stillness of the evening."

The first known mention of the name 'viol d'amore' appeared in John Evelyn's diary (20th November, 1679): "for its swetenesse & novelty the Viol d'Amore of 5 wyre-strings, plaid on with a bow, being but an ordinary violin, play'd on Lyra way by a German, than which I never heard a sweeter Instrument or more surprizing..."

Range

The viola d'amore was normally tuned specifically for the piece it was to play - cf. scordatura. Towards the end of the 18th century the standard tuning became: "A, d, a, d', f#', a', d""

Use

The instrument was especially popular in the late 17th century, although a specialised viola d'amore player would have been highly unusual, since it was customary for professional musicians to play a number of instruments, especially within the family of the musician's main instrument. Later, the instrument fell from use, as the volume and power of the violin family became preferred over the delicacy and sweetness of the viol family. However, there has been renewed interest in the viola d'amore in the last century. The viola players Henri Casadesus and Paul Hindemith both played the viola d'amore in the early 20th century, and the film composer Bernard Herrmann made use of it in several scores. It may be noted that, like instruments of the violin family, the modern viola d'amore was altered slightly in structure from the baroque version, mainly to support the extra tension of steel wound strings.

Leoš Janáček originally planned to use the viola d'amore in his second string quartet, "Intimate Letters". The use of the instrument was symbolic of the nature of his relationship with Kamila Stösslová, a relationship that inspired the work. However, the version with viola d'amore was found in rehearsal to be impracticable, and Janáček re-cast the part for a conventional viola. [Tyrrell, John (2006/7). 'Janáček: Years of a Life', Faber & Faber, London, Volume II at pages 264, 832, 881 ]

The viola d'amore can regularly be heard today in musical ensembles that specialise in historically accurate performances of Baroque music on authentic instruments.

Some works from the baroque period

* Heinrich Biber: Partita VII for two violas d'amore and basso continuo, from "Harmonia artificiosa - ariosa", 1696.
* Antonio Vivaldi: Vivaldi was particularly well known for using the viola d'amore in his music. He wrote six concertos for solo viola d'amore (RV 392--397), one with lute (RV 540), and one concerto da camera (RV 97). He also inserted viola d'amore cadenzas in his other works and repertoire. In both versions of the psalm "Nisi Dominus" that he wrote (RV 608 and RV 803), a cadenza is apparent in the movement "Gloria Patri". Other cadenzas are found in the aria "Tu dormi in tante pene" of the opera "Tito Manlio" and in the aria "Quanto magis generosa" of the oratorio Juditha triumphans.
* Johann Sebastian Bach: used in aria no.19 and 20 of the "Johannes Passion" and in some cantatas
* Johann Joachim Quantz : trio sonata for flute, viola d'amore and continuo
* Attilio Ariosti : 6 lessons, fifteen sonatas and two cantatas
* Joseph Haydn : "divertimento" for viola d'amore, violin and violoncello This is an arrangement of a work by Haydn, but made in the 18th century.
* Georg Philipp Telemann: Concerto in E major for flute, oboe d'amore, viola d'amore, strings and continuo
* Carl Stamitz: 3 solo concertos, a sonata in D major for viola d'amore and violin or viola, various other sonatas, and a quartet.
* Joseph Leopold Eybler: Quintet I D major for viola d'amore, violin, viola cello violone.
* Joseph Leopold Eybler: Quintet II D major for viola d'amore, violin, viola cello and violone.
* Franz Anton Hoffmeister: Quartet E flat major (D major) for viola d'amore, 2 violins and cello.
* Carlo Martinides: Divertimento D major for viola d'amore, violin, viola and cello.

Some modern works

* Henri Casadesus (1879–1947) : Concerto for viola d'amore and strings
* Paul Hindemith (1895–1963) : 'Small sonata' for viola d'amore and 'Kammermusik Nr. 6' for viola d'amore and chamber orchestra
* Frank Martin (1890–1974) : Sonata da chiesa for viola d'amore and organ

The viola d'amore is also used in:

* 'Les Huguenots' by Giacomo Meyerbeer (1836)
* 'Bánk Bán' by Ferenc Erkel (1861)
* 'Le jongleur de Notre-Dame' by Jules Massenet (1901)
* 'Madame Butterfly' by Giacomo Puccini (1904)
* 'Palestrina' by Hans Pfitzner (1912)
* 'Katya Kabanova' by Leoš Janáček (1919) - the viola d'amore represents the title character.
* "Romeo and Juliet" (1935-1936) by Sergei Prokofiev
* '...?risonanze!...' by Olga Neuwirth (1996-97)
* 'The Misprision of Transparency' by Aaron Cassidy (2001)

External links

* [http://www.violadamoresocietyofamerica.org/ viola d'amore society of America]
* [http://www.nypl.org/research/manuscripts/music/musstump.xml Inventory of the Karl Stumpf Viola d'Amore Scores] in the [http://www.nypl.org/musicdiv Music Division] of [http://www.nypl.org/research/lpa/lpa.html The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts] .
* [http://www.mdw.ac.at/I105/orpheon/Seiten/Abra/vazquezcoll.htm Orpheon Foundation, Vienna, Austria] - Collection of historical instruments. Website includes pictures and details of some violas d'amore

References