History of Viola Essay Example

Thesis statement: the viola is a universal instrument that most of the artists use because of the rich sound and melancholy. Define how more one can understand viola through its origin up to this far in sectors of singing and what are the classifications?

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Essay

Before the start of the 16th century, there were string instruments termed as viola that the artists used to perform. These instruments had the same characteristics of the violin family. The significant creations of modern violin family in the year 1555 and more devices have been created meaning that the instrument has evolved rather than considering a perfect viola that was initially invented. More improvements have been recognized for the viola that has enhanced musical performance for artists across nations. One of the earliest creators of the modern violin family includes Andrea Amati who was a famous luthier from Italy. He rose to be the favorite of King Charles and was given the responsibility of producing thirty-eight instruments and among them included cellos, violins, and violas. These instruments were meant for the royal musicians that the palace considered. However, the majority of the devices and pieces that Andrea made were destroyed during the French Revolution, but some survived this period and more so the viola (Riley et al. 2011). The sons of Andrea continued to work on the instruments and produce greater versions of them. Gasparro da Salo was also another great luthier from the region of Beska. The version of viola creations that he came up with was recognized better than the violin versions. Andrea Guarneri was also an excellent apprentice who came up with his versions of the viola. However, by the time he invented his violas, its demand had significantly reduced. Andrea managed to have one of his violas owned by a legendary violist by the name William Primrose.

Records state that there were stringed instruments invented in Europe around the period of middle ages. However, history has it that the stringed instruments originated in Central Asia and the instruments included morin khuur. The instruments in Central Asia then got distributed to other regions through trade routes. The instrument craftsmen found in Europe got to discover these instruments and the way they were made then they started to create their own by use of traditional crafting techniques. There was a significant evolvement of bowed and stringed instruments in Europe that were able to cause contention in the specific aspects of the violin family (Menuhin, and William et al. 2006). During the 16th and 17th centuries, there were significant developments and use of violas by artists and composers. In the year 1597, Giovanni Gabrieli who was a Venetian composer who wrote the Sonata forte where different parts were played by use of several instruments, and it is interesting that there was a part assigned to viola instrument. During these periods, the use of viola was mainly in orchestra and opera. In the later periods of the 17th century, there was the development of another composition known as Concerto Grosso and the viola part was used on the string orchestra that was referred to as ripieno. The viola was also used in significant compositions during this period of time, and these included the likes of viola sonata performed by Massimiliano and sonata for viola that was composed by Carlo Antonio.

The viola instrument is contrasted to violin though they belong to the same family. However, viola does not show many differences, and it is within the range of violin because only one of the strings is different. Violin is considered to be compatible with melodies that are bright and brilliant while the viola tends to play a counter melody that is primarily in the orchestral compositions. People celebrate viola for the intense melancholic timbre. Notable differences are seen in the techniques of playing the violin and viola. The viola tends to be bigger than the violin thus the positions of the finger are also spread further apart thus the viola player is required to have better technical skills compared to a violin player when they are playing the same passage (Riley et al. 2011). In most times, the viola is more substantial compared to the violin and the bow is also harder to handle because of its heavier weight than that of a violin bow. The C string of the viola is much thicker than the one of violin strings thus one takes more effort to push the string down for it to play a note. Violinists who want to make improvements in their playing technique could consider using viola for a few months because it requires high-level skills to play. However, there have been different perspectives of the instrument as people view it as a less superior instrument regarding tone, volume as well as expression and that people have paid less attention to the instrument all along.

In the 18th and 19th century more advancements on viola were made. In the year 1750, there was a change in the string ensemble from being five-part to four part. They eliminated the tenor viola. Since the mid-18th century, the tenor register was covered by violoncello. William Flackton, a bookseller, publisher, and violist first wrote the viola sonata in 1770. The reason why he came up with the composition is that he was not able to find any viola solo publications that were available and he thought it was a pity that people had ignored the excellent instrument. Other influences of the viola during this period included the composition from George Philip who composed Telemann Viola and Bach who composed Brandenburg Concertos.

Viola today is becoming more recognized in concerts and music plays because it is seen to have a personality of its own, and its identity is different from that of a violin. The makers of viola continue with their experiments in measuring the different forms in which the viola can maximize the unique tonal qualities (Green et al. 2016). This is a feature in viola that is undisputed and puts it at a better place for recognition by famous composers. In the modern world today, the viola is also seen to have significant contributions to the history especially in the development of music despite the long history of people overlooking the instrument and not considering it in events. The make of violas today is whereby the instrument can make sounds by the use of amplifiers and microphones thus leading to the elimination of the sound box. Violas produce fully electric sounds that can be distorted by the use of amplifier settings to create very different tonal qualities and merge them.

Works cited

Green, Chelsey A. Final Stages: Music Written for Viola in Compositional Transition. Diss. 2016.

Riley, Maurice W. The history of the viola. Vol. 2. [US: sn], c1980-c1991 (Ann Arbor, Mich.: Braun-Brumfield), 2011.

Menuhin, Yehudi, and William Primrose. Violin and Viola. Schirmer Trade Books, 2006.