Comments on: Carthage Consort Glows from Fledgling Viol Consort to 16th-Century Fantasias http://classical-scene.com/2010/01/19/carthage-consort-glows-from-fledgling-viol-consort-to-16th-century-fantasias/ a virtual journal and blog of the classical music scene in Boston Tue, 22 May 2012 14:09:36 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Joel Cohen http://classical-scene.com/2010/01/19/carthage-consort-glows-from-fledgling-viol-consort-to-16th-century-fantasias/comment-page-1/#comment-1435 Joel Cohen Thu, 21 Jan 2010 21:20:03 +0000 http://classical-scene.com/?p=2465#comment-1435 I tend to assume (perhaps wrongly) that the plain vanilla, default definition of "viol" in its many European variants (viola in old Provençal and Italian, vielle in old French, vihuela in Spanish, fiedel in German, fiddle in English, and surely there are other permutations as well)is: "A string instrument played with a bow." And I further assume that oddball viol mutants get special names when they are NOT played with bows: a vielle à roue (hurdy gurdy) is, literally, a wheel fiddle; a vihuela da mano is a viol played by the hand, i.e. plucked, so I think of that instrument as a spinoff somehow from the bowed viols. Please someone correct this latter notion if it is wrong. Viols rule, of every sort. A violin is a little viol. A violone is a big viol. A violoncello is a small big viol. A violoncello piccolo is a small small big viol. And so on, to the word lover's delight.... A large bouquet of violets to whomever straightens out this family tree. I tend to assume (perhaps wrongly) that the plain vanilla, default definition of “viol” in its many European variants (viola in old Provençal and Italian, vielle in old French, vihuela in Spanish, fiedel in German, fiddle in English, and surely there are other permutations as well)is: “A string instrument played with a bow.”

And I further assume that oddball viol mutants get special names when they are NOT played with bows: a vielle à roue (hurdy gurdy) is, literally, a wheel fiddle; a vihuela da mano is a viol played by the hand, i.e. plucked, so I think of that instrument as a spinoff somehow from the bowed viols. Please someone correct this latter notion if it is wrong.

Viols rule, of every sort. A violin is a little viol. A violone is a big viol. A violoncello is a small big viol. A violoncello piccolo is a small small big viol. And so on, to the word lover’s delight….

A large bouquet of violets to whomever straightens out this family tree.

]]> By: Christopher Greenleaf http://classical-scene.com/2010/01/19/carthage-consort-glows-from-fledgling-viol-consort-to-16th-century-fantasias/comment-page-1/#comment-1416 Christopher Greenleaf Thu, 21 Jan 2010 01:09:48 +0000 http://classical-scene.com/?p=2465#comment-1416 In the portion of his notes devoted to the viola da gamba as an instrument, Scott Metcalfe proposes the developmental path I guiltlessly condensed and paraphrased in my review. He does not exclude the possibility of parallel origins, and he doesn’t suggest alternative readings of what is obviously a sketchily documented genesis. Joel Cohen proposes that colleagues familiar with the topic and, one supposes, with primary sources of historical fact, weigh in with their thoughts on the matter. Scholars, researchers, performers dusty from rootling in southern European archives, private and institutional owners of viols and plucked instruments made before 1500, grad students who’ve turned up fat worms in library resources in which they thought they’d find dry earth...? Arriving at an unassailable viol genealogy is not a likely outcome for an online forum, but the discussion would provide all who read it with a fuller understanding of how an important instrument came to be. I can provide no relevant facts in such an exchange, so I will, as NPR call-ins love to say, take my answer off the air. In the portion of his notes devoted to the viola da gamba as an instrument, Scott Metcalfe proposes the developmental path I guiltlessly condensed and paraphrased in my review. He does not exclude the possibility of parallel origins, and he doesn’t suggest alternative readings of what is obviously a sketchily documented genesis. Joel Cohen proposes that colleagues familiar with the topic and, one supposes, with primary sources of historical fact, weigh in with their thoughts on the matter.

Scholars, researchers, performers dusty from rootling in southern European archives, private and institutional owners of viols and plucked instruments made before 1500, grad students who’ve turned up fat worms in library resources in which they thought they’d find dry earth…?

Arriving at an unassailable viol genealogy is not a likely outcome for an online forum, but the discussion would provide all who read it with a fuller understanding of how an important instrument came to be. I can provide no relevant facts in such an exchange, so I will, as NPR call-ins love to say, take my answer off the air.

]]> By: Joel Cohen http://classical-scene.com/2010/01/19/carthage-consort-glows-from-fledgling-viol-consort-to-16th-century-fantasias/comment-page-1/#comment-1415 Joel Cohen Wed, 20 Jan 2010 22:31:52 +0000 http://classical-scene.com/?p=2465#comment-1415 "Scott Metcalfe’s exceptionally fine notes unfolded for program readers the transition from Moorish Spain’s vihuela de mano, an ancestor/cousin of the early guitar, to the upright and bowed vihuela de arco." Scott's notes, and the Grove article I just consulted, raise an interesting point of music history. The viol, the lute, and the vihuela da mano, Renaissance versions, all share the same basic setup -- six courses, tuned in fourths with the exceptional major third between course three and four. I remain to be convinced, however, that the viol is at heart a bowed version of a plucked Spanish vihuela. I would tend to think that there was more of a parallel evolution shared among the plucked and bowed viol/vihuela families. Who has some additional expertise to post? “Scott Metcalfe’s exceptionally fine notes unfolded for program readers the transition from Moorish Spain’s vihuela de mano, an ancestor/cousin of the early guitar, to the upright and bowed vihuela de arco.”

Scott’s notes, and the Grove article I just consulted, raise an interesting point of music history. The viol, the lute, and the vihuela da mano, Renaissance versions, all share the same basic setup — six courses, tuned in fourths with the exceptional major third between course three and four. I remain to be convinced, however, that the viol is at heart a bowed version of a plucked Spanish vihuela. I would tend to think that there was more of a parallel evolution shared among the plucked and bowed viol/vihuela families. Who has some additional expertise to post?

]]>