Dictionary of Music - Birding America

viola d’amore 463great virtuoso, Karl F. Abel, keeping it before thepublic until his death in 1787. Today the viols andtheir music, which for a century or more was oftenplayed by violins and cellos, if at all, have beenrevived along with other early instruments and canbe heard in numerous ensembles specializing inRenaissance and baroque music.viola (vē ō′lä). An important member of the violinfamily, slightly larger and lower-pitched than theviolin. Its strings are tuned C G D A, a fifth (fourwhole notes) lower than the violin’s, and considerablylower than one might expect for its size. Itsmusic is usually written in the alto or viola clef (seethe accompanying example, showing the tuning onfig. 263 p/ufrom p. 485two different clefs), except for higher notes, writtenin the treble clef. The viola is considered the alto ortenor member of the violin group. Its tone in thehigher register (higher pitches) is reedier and morenasal than the violin’s; in the lower registers it ishuskier and rougher. The viola looks almost exactlylike a violin (it is pictured under VIOLIN for purposesof comparison).Beginning about 1450, viola was the Italianname for a large variety of stringed instrumentsplayed with a bow. During the sixteenth century, adistinction was made between the name viola dabraccio (“arm viol”), used for instruments heldagainst the player’s shoulder, and the viola dagamba (“leg viol”), used for instruments held on orbetween the player’s knees. The former were violinsof various sizes; the latter were viols (see VIOL).Later the name “viola da gamba” was used only forthe bass viol, and “viola da braccio” for what todayis called simply “viola.”Just exactly when the viola was developed is notknown. It may well have preceded the violin. In anyevent, the early history of the two instruments isinseparable. Until the middle of the eighteenth centurythe viola was used only in the orchestra. Laterin the eighteenth century, with the development ofthe string quartet, it became important in chambermusic. However, except for a few isolated examples,the viola’s possibilities as a solo instrument—and, infact, as an important member of the orchestra—werenot appreciated until the late nineteenth century.Among some notable works for solo viola, or withimportant parts for solo viola, are: Karl Stamitz(1745–1801), Concerto in D for viola and orchestra;Mozart, Sinfonia concertante, K. 364, for violin,viola, and orchestra; Berlioz, Harold en Italie (1834)for viola and orchestra; Debussy, Sonata for flute,viola, and harp (1915); Bloch, Suite for viola andpiano (1919); Walton, Concerto for viola andorchestra (1929); Hindemith (a renowned violisthimself), Der Schwanendreher for viola and orchestra(1935) and several viola sonatas (1923, 1924,1939); Bartók, Concerto for viola and orchestra(1945; finished after the composer’s death by TiborSerly); Martinů, Rhapsody-Concerto for viola andorchestra (1953); Piston, Concerto for viola andorchestra (1958); Druckman, Concerto for violaand orchestra (1978); Schnittke, Viola Concerto(1985); Schuller, Viola Concerto (1987); Kancheli,Mourned by the Wind (1989); Ligeti, Viola Sonata(1994); Lieberson, Viola Concerto (1993);Gubaidulina, Concerto for Two Violas (1998).viola clefunder CLEF).Another name for the alto clef (seeviola da braccio (vē ō′lä dä brä′tchô) Italian.An earlier name for the VIOLA.viola da gamba (vē ō′lä dä gäm′bä) Italian.Originally a name used for various viols and laterconfined to the bass viol (see VIOL). Sometimesabbreviated gamba.viola d’amore (vē ō′lä dä môr′e) Italian: “loveviola.” A treble (high-pitched) viol provided withsympathetic strings, that is, metal strings that werenot played but that vibrated in sympathy with thebowed melody strings, reinforcing their sound.Shaped like a VIOL but lacking frets, the violad’amore had either six or seven gut melody strings,tuned in a variety of ways, and an equal numberof thin wire strings that ran directly under the