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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l sizesand, at a later period, of violins, violas and violoncellos.Music was one of the entertainments and amusementsof society; and it was considered just as necessary tohave instruments of all kinds and all sizes to suit thevisitors as it is to have a piano in the home to-day.In the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries publicconcerts were unknown. It was in the churches andcathedrals and in the homes of the rich that artisticmusic was heard. The viola da gamba was at this time a favorite instru-ment for ladies; and it seems strange to us that themore delicate violin was not yet considered suitable forthem while this awkward, and, to our way of thinking,rather unfeminine viola da gamba was thought to be aladys instrument. However, the viola da gamba wasnot so hard for them to play as the modern violoncello,because the strings were much thinner and a bold,strong tone was not required. The viola da gamba was often made artistic to lookat with rich carving and inlay. A beautiful specimen
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FIRST VIOLONCELLISTSYMPHONY SOCIETY OF NEW YORK Engelbert Roentgen THE VIOLONCELLO 57 belonging to the University of Edinburgh is shownfacing page 60. It once belonged to the violoncellistServais (see page 61). The back is of rosewood inlaidwith ivory. The neck, scroll (carved in the shape of awomans head with elaborately dressed hair) and thetail-piece (in the shape of Mercurys caduceus) are ofivory. This exquisite instrument is of later date thanthe Viola a19amore facing page 50, for the crescent-shaped sound-holes are of a later period than theflaming-sword sound-holes. The viola da gambais rarely met with even in museums; for when thevioloncello came into fashion, many people had theirviolas da gamba converted into violoncellos. Johann Sebastian Bach was the last great composerto write for the viola da gamba. It seems that the violin is responsible for the develop-ment of the violoncello. The Italians, always so quickto perceive artistic needs and fitness, soon found out thatthe n

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