Viol
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Various sizes of viol, from Michael Praetorius' Syntagma musicum (1618) |
The
viol (also called
viola da gamba) is any one of a family of bowed, fretted
stringed musical instruments developed in the 1400s and used primarily in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The family is related to and descends from the
vihuela and
rebec.
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Madame Henriette de France |
It is thought that vihuelists began playing their instruments with a bow in the 15th century. This eventually led to the evolution of an entirely new instrument, which had many of the features of the vihuela: flat back, frets and arched bridge (hence its Spanish name
vihuela de arco), but was bowed rather than plucked. This new instrument began to be held upright, either resting on the lap or held between the legs like a
cello. This gave rise to its Italian name
viola da gamba, for "viol of the leg." This differentiates it from the similar but only distantly related
violin family, known earlier as the
lira da braccio or
viola da braccio (lit. "viol of the arm") family. During the Renaissance, the
viola da braccio was considered to be a very inferior instrument to the viol.
One of the earliest illustrations of viols is in an altarpiece by
Lorenzo Costa, in the church of
San Giovanni in Monte in
Bologna. This picture, dated 1497, includes a depiction of two young musicians playing viols: the curved bridges, use of bows and resting the instruments on the players' legs all mark these instruments out as early viols.
The viol usually has six strings, although examples with only five strings do exist. It is fretted like a guitar but by means of movable, tied-on frets made of gut. A low seventh string (A
, a minor third below the cello's lowest C) was supposedly added in France by the
Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe (c. 1640-c.1690), who taught many of the French gamba virtuosi of the 18th century. However, "Saint Cecilia with an Angel" (1618) by
Domenichino (1581-1641) clearly shows a seven-string viol.[Saint Cecilia with an Angel] Unlike members of the
violin family, which are tuned in fifths, the gamba is tuned in fourths and one third in the middle, mirroring the tuning employed on the
lute during the sixteenth century and similar to that of the modern
guitar.
Historians, makers and players generally distinguish between
renaissance and baroque'' viols. The latter are more heavily constructed and are fitted with a
bass bar and
sound post like modern stringed instruments.
Viol bows
The bow is held underhand (palm up), similar to a German double bass bow grip, but away from the frog towards the balance point. The stick's curvature is generally convex as were violin bows of the period, rather than concave like a modern violin bow. The "frog" (which holds the bowhair and adjusts its tension) is also different from that of modern bows: whereas a violin bow frog has a "slide" (often made of mother of pearl) to hold the hair flat across the frog, viol bows have an open frog that allows more movement of the hair. This is essential to allow the traditional playing technique in which the player tensions the bow hair with one or two fingers of the right hand between the hair and the bow stick in order to control articulation and inflection while playing.
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Copy of a Stainer viol by M. Moya |
The gamba (as the name is often abbreviated for convenience) comes in six sizes: "pardessus de viole" (which is relatively rare), treble, alto, tenor, bass, and double bass (also known as a
violone). The treble is about the size of a
violin (but with a deeper body); the bass is a bit smaller than a
cello. The English made small basses known as
division viols; German consort basses were larger than the French instruments designed for continuo. A closely related instrument is the
viola d'amore, although the viola d'amore is played under the chin, viola-fashion.
The standard tuning of the viol is in fourths, with a third in the middle (like the standard Renaissance
lute tuning). For bass viols the notes would be (from the lowest) D-G-c-e-a-d'. For the tenor viol the tuning is G-c-f-a-d'-g'. The treble viol is one octave higher than the bass.
Alternate tunings (called
scordatura) were often employed, particularly in the solo
lyra viol style of playing, which also made use of many techniques such as chords and
pizzicato, which were not generally used in consort playing. An unusual style of pizzicato was known as a
thump. Lyra viol music was also commonly written in
tablature, and there is a vast repertoire of this music, some by well-known composers, and much anonymous.
Much viol music predates the adoption of
equal temperament tuning by musicians. The moveable nature of the tied-on frets permit the viol player to make adjustments to the tempering of the instrument and some players and consorts adopt
meantone temperaments which are arguably more suited to Renaissance music. There are several recognised fretting schemes in which the frets are spaced unevenly, in order to give "better-sounding" chords in a limited number of keys. In some of these schemes, the two strands of gut which comprise the fret are separated so that the player can finger a slightly sharper or flatter version of a note, to suit different circumstances.
The instrument was common among amateurs, and many homes would have a so-called
chest of viols which would contain one or more instruments of each size. Gamba ensembles, called
consorts, were common in the 16th and 17th centuries, when they performed vocal music (consort songs or verse anthems) as well as that written specifically for instruments. Only the treble, tenor, and bass sizes were regular members of the viol consort, which consisted of three, four, five, or six instruments. Music for consorts was very popular in
England in
Elizabethan times, with composers such as
William Byrd,
John Dowland and during the reign of King Charles I by composers such as
John Jenkins and
William Lawes. The last music for viol consorts before their modern revival was probably that written in the early
1680s by
Henry Purcell.
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Viol on the Isenheimer Altar (1506-1515) |
There are several important treatises concerning the viol. The first was by
Silvestro Ganassi:
Regola Rubertina & Lettione Seconda (1542/3).
Diego Ortiz published
Trattado de Glosas (Rome 1553), an important book of music for the viol with both examples of ornamentation and pieces called Recercadas. In England,
Christopher Simpson wrote the most important treatise, with the second edition being published in 1667 in parallel text (English and Latin). This has divisions at the back which are very worthwhile repertoire. A little later in England,
Thomas Mace wrote
Musick's Monument, which deals more with the lute, but also has an important section on the viol. After this the French treatises by
Rousseau,
Danoville (1685) and
Loulie (1700) show further developments in playing technique.
The bass viola da gamba continued to be used (as a solo instrument and also to accompany the
harpsichord in
basso continuo) into the 18th century, by which time it had acquired associations of courtliness and antiquity; composers such as
Marin Marais,
Johann Sebastian Bach and
Karl Friedrich Abel wrote music for it. However, the instrument fell out of use as concert halls grew larger, and the louder and somewhat more strident tone of the violin family became more popular. In the last one hundred years or so, the viola da gamba has been revived by
early music enthusiasts, an early proponent being
Arnold Dolmetsch.
Today, the viol is attracting ever more interest, particularly amongst amateur players. This may be due to the increased availability of reasonably-priced instruments from companies using more automated production techniques, coupled with the greater accessibility of music editions. Also, the viol is regarded as a suitable instrument for adult learners;
Percy Scholes wrote that the viol repertoire "belongs to an age that demanded musicianship more often than virtuosity".
There are now many societies for people with an interest in the viol. The first was
The Viola da Gamba Society, which was established in the United Kingdom in
1948 but has a worldwide membership. Since then, similar societies have been organized in several other nations.
The 1991 film
Tous les matins du monde by
Alain Corneau, based on the life of the
Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe and
Marin Marais, prominently featured these composers' music for the viola da gamba and brought viol music to new audiences. The film's soundtrack features performances by
Jordi Savall, perhaps the best-known modern viola da gamba player.
In the early 21st century, the Ruby Gamba, a
solid-body seven-string electric viola da gamba was developed by
Ruby Instruments of
Arnhem, the
Netherlands. It has 21 tied nylon (adjustable) frets in keeping with the adjustable (tied gut) frets on traditional viols, and has an effective playing range of more than six octaves. The instrument has been adopted by such contemporary gambists as
Gilles Zimmermann,
Jay Elfenbein,
Tony Overwater and
Victor Penniman.
There is also the Togaman GuitarViols which are essentially a solid-bodied electric tenor viol; the tuning is the same as a guitar in this case whereas the Ruby Gamba is a little more traditionally oriented.
TogamanA number of contemporary composers have written for viols. They include
David Loeb,
Mark Moya,
Giorgio Pacchioni, and
Michael Starke.
* John Bryan.
In Search of the earliest viols: Interpreting the evidence from a Painting by Lorenzo Costa, The Viola da Gamba Society of Great Britain, Newsletter No 131, 2005
*Alison Crum, with Sonia Jackson.
Play the Viol: the complete guide to playing the treble, tenor and bass viol, Oxford University Press, 1992. ISBN 0198163118
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Viola da Gamba Society of America site*
The Sound of the Division Viol*
Transcriptions and facsimiles of viol treatises*
Orpheon Foundation, Vienna, Austria*
Megaviol: A Bibliography*
Modern Viol Portal and ForumVideo
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Viol instructional videos
