Identifier: orchestraitsinst00sing (find matches)
Title: The orchestra and its instruments
Year: 1917 (1910s)
Authors: Singleton, Esther, d. 1930
Subjects: Orchestra Musical instruments
Publisher: New York : The Symphony society of New York
Contributing Library: Harold B. Lee Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Brigham Young University

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he illustration facing page §6 wasmade by Januarius Galiano of Naples (born about1740), one of the famous Galiano family of makers, de-scendants of Alessandro Galiano (1695-1730), a pupilof Stradivari. The strings of the violoncello are C, G, D and A,an octave lower than those of the viola. The D stringis very rich and is considered the most beautifulof all. The compass of the violoncello is nearly four oc-taves; and because of this long range composers writefor the violoncello in three clefs: the Bass Clef, forthe lower and middle registers; the Tenor Clef, forthe next highest; and the Treble, or Soprano, Clef,for the top notes. The beginner on the violoncello has a great dealof hard work to do to learn to play at sight in all threeclefs. , In the main, the violoncello is played like theviolin and viola, that is to say the player has tomake all his notes on the fingerboard; and he canalso produce harmonics on the open strings andartificial harmonics by stopping the string at certain
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GENTLEMAN OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURYPLAYING THE VIOLA DA GAMBA THE VIOLONCELLO 65 places. He sometimes stops these by placing histhumb on the string, — something the violinist neverdoes. Of course, as the instrument is held in the reverseway from a violin, the high notes are the farthestaway from the player. He plays from himself, nottowards himself. Lavignac writes: The functions of the Violoncelloin the Orchestra are manifold. Usually it gives, rein-forced by the double-bass, the bass of the harmony.This is its natural work. But sometimes the singing-part is committed to it,—when, losing its austerity,it becomes a ravishing instrumental tenor, of pure,warm timbre, ecstatic or passionate, but always dis-tinguished and captivating. Its rapid and light utter-ance, the frequent passage from natural notes toharmonics imitating the alterations of chest and headnotes complete its resemblance to the human voice.Moreover, the violoncello, though moving in anotherregion and awakening othe

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