The Origins of Solo Cello Literature and Performance
The seventeenth century was a time of transition and formation for the violin family. family. Whether one looks at the literature, the deve lopment of an idiomatic techniue, the standardi!ation of instrumental design, the appearance of prominent players, or the esta"lishment of distinct schools of playing, the violin family and its impact on music was entering a new and significant stage of development. #or the violin, this evolution was marked "y rapid progress and increased prominence as a solo instrument. #or the cello, this progress was delayed almost one hundred years. $ventually all mem"ers of the violin family were to attain a distinct and eminent legacy, "ut the cello%s cello%s evolution into a solo instrument provides a uniue chapter in a fascinating history. &elatively little is known a"out the violin family "efore '()), though it is widely accepted that the violin was esta"lished within popular culture such as village f*tes, taverns, in homes, and also at aristocratic court functions such as the #rench "allet, $nglish masue, and +talian intermedio. intermedio. The a"ility to produce a strong rhythmic articulation and tone made the violin especially useful for dance music, with violin "ands improvising upon familiar melodies. ' +n the siteenth century, instrumental instrumental music separated into two main categories- works modeled on forms derived from vocal works not idiomatic to the instrument including pre/
'
1+1 Royal Delight, The Delight, The 0ing%s 1oyse, liner notes "y 2avid 2ouglass, 3armonia 4undi 56)787), 5))9.
eisting vocal music and ensem"le music that could "e played optionally for voices or instruments: and instrumental works such as dances and instrumental fantasias.5 ;y '()), the violin "ecame important, not only in the opera orchestra "ut also in other forms of sacred and secular music. Solo and trio sonatas, intended for any tre"le instrument, "egan to appear in the first decade of the seventeenth century and were freuently played on the violin.
from Orfeo: Orfeo: or, as in the case of the sinfonie the sinfonie and and other instrumental 5
2avid ;oyden, The History of Violin Playing from its Origins to 1761 London1761 LondonOford ?niversity Press, '6(9:, 5/8. 5
interludes, take the position of the primary melodic line there are many such eamples in Orfeo:. Orfeo:.8 3owever, it was the sonata and its various interchangea"le la"els: that "ecame the primary genre in which noticea"le advancement of the violin family occurred. This technical and musical progress came primarily from +taly or +talians living a"road. This is not to say that other $uropean countries, namely @ermany and
8
;oyden, '85/88. 8
Other early cellists such as @iovanni ;attista Ditali, Ditali, Petronio #ranceschini, and
The appearance of these works was not ar"itrary, as this development seems to coincide with a num"er of significant factors that occurred in or around ;ologna at a"out the same time. The most nota"le is the first true lineage of cellists, cultivated within the intense concentration of ecellent string players in that region ;ologna was argua"ly the most important center of violin playing in +taly from the '(()s:.( The second factor leading to solo cello playing, which will "e addressed later in the paper, was the dramatic improvement of string technology originating in ;ologna around '(() that allowed gut strings to "e wound with metal wire, thus ena"ling shorter and thinner strings that produced a stronger tone and greater facility on the instrument. This almost undou"tedly led to smaller instruments and greater virtuosity on the instruments.7 Such locali!ed enthusiasm toward the cello as a solo instrument provides the uniue opportunity for a detailed account of the origins of solo cello repertory while also permitting a comprehensive summary of this literature. +t is the intent of this paper to offer a historical perspective on the emergence of solo cello literature in the $milian region of +taly "y eploring the reasons "ehind this sudden interest in the cello as a melodic instrument and defining what elements contri"uted to and encouraged this development. This investigation will "e limited to the $milian region in the final two decades of the seventeenth century and will "e accomplished
prominent composers and were the first to write sonatas for their instrument. ( $lvidio Surian and @ra!iano ;allerini, =;ologna- &eligious +nstitutions>, #ro"e $%sic Online ed. L. 4acy
"y surveying the earliest solo works for cello, eamining a few of these pieces in detail, identifying the maHor player/composers and defining their significance, looking at some of the precedents that led to solo works, and eploring the musical environment that encouraged this development. in The !ambridge !ompanion to the !ello, ed. &o"in Stowell Cam"ridge- Cam"ridge ?niversity Press, '666:, '()/(5. ') Stephen ;onta, =Terminology for the ;ass Diolin in Seventeenth/Century +taly,> (o%rnal of the )merican $%sical *nstr%ment ociety '67A:- (/7. 6
(
points out, printed music alone demonstrates this "road array of references to a "ass violin &assetto, bassetto di "iola, basso da bra--o, basso di "iola, "ioletta, "iolone, "iolone da bra--o, and, in the second half of the seventeenth century, "ioloncino and "ioloncello are Hust some of the twenty/four names that ;onta cites as common references to the "ass violin.'' 1ot only did the "ass violin have am"iguous nomenclature, it was made in a wide range of si!es. +n the siteenth and seventeenth centuries, "ass violins were "uilt as small as 7' cm in length to at least A) cm. When and =Servais.>'8 ;y today%s standards, these eamples are etreme, the '7)7 Stradivari =#orma ;> model of 79 cm representing a more common measurement. The difference "etween an instrument that measures 7' cm and one that measures A) cm is significant, as Bohn 2ilworth points out in The !ambridge !ompanion to the !elloThese two si!es I7' cm and A) cmJ seem to have persisted as alternatives well into the eighteenth century, and they have provoked some discussion amongst modern scholars as to whether they were one and the same instrument or, rather, two variants designed for different usages an d tunings. ''
;onta, =Terminology,> (. Laird, 5. '8 Laird, 7. '5
7
This view is supported in the treatises of Bohann Boachim Kuant! '795: and Leopold 4o!art '79(:, "oth descri"ing two si!es of cellos, a small version for solo playing and a larger one for orchestral playing.' Thus, the confusion for modern/day scholarship is considera"le. The names given to a "ass violin could "e generic, referring to a num"er of different instruments, each a different si!e, with varied tunings, and even from distinct families. Or the same instrument could have had several different names, reflecting the disparity in regional dialects within +taly. Stephen ;onta summari!es this disparity of terminology and instrumental design when he statesThe use of so many terms for the "ass violin suggests that there eisted a variety of instruments of differing si!es, reflecting a period of time when there was continual eperimentation'9 What is indisputa"le is that "ass instruments from various families served primarily as mem"ers of the "asso continuo throughout the seventeenth century. There is a minority of scholars, though, who "elieve it was also common practice for musicians, from the very earliest time, to take melodic parts from the violin literature and play them on the "ass violin. 1ona Pyron, in an appendi of William Pleeth%s "ook !ello, contends this was actually uite common in the seventeenth centuryOne of the mysteries of music history is that when idiomatic virtuoso writing for the violin "egan to develop in the early decades of the seventeenth century there was no rise of an euivalent repertoire for the cello. 3istorians from the late eighteenth century onward have taken this to mean '
Laird, . ;onta, =Terminology,> (.
'9
A
that cello playing was in a more primitive state of development at this time than was violin or viola da gam"a playing and reasoned that it could have coped with nothing more taing than the "asso continuo line'( Pyron proposes this alternative interpretation, "ased on the assumption that idiomatic distinctions were not as firm as they are todayCellists, considering themselves to "e Mviolinists% al"eit M"ass violinists%:, uite naturally adopted the violin repertoire as their own transposing it down an octave:, making no more distinction "etween the various voices within the family of violins than do singers today with their solo repertoire. '7 The prevailing sentiment among contemporary scholars, however, is summari!ed "y &o"in Stowell in The !ambridge !ompanion to the !elloThe cello was emancipated from its purely "ass role towards the end of the seventeenth century when works for solo cello and for cello and continuo were composed "y musicians in the "asilica of San Petronio in ;ologna.'A When solo works were written for "ass instruments, the composer often did not designate a specific instrument, especially in the first half of the century. The "ass violin was slow to achieve success as a solo ins trument, pro"a"ly due to its cum"ersome uality initially, "ass violins were usually larger to produce a decent sound on the gut strings, and thus were somewhat awkward to play:, and during the seventeenth century had little solo music written for them.'6 Therefore, this gradual and often erratic early history was marked "y continual eperimentation with si!e and form well into the eighteenth century, several generations after Stradivari
'(
1ona Pyron, = in !ello, "y William Pleeth, London- 4ac2onald and Co., '6A5:, 58'. '7 Pyron, 585. 'A &o"in Stowell, =The Sonata,> in The !ambridge !ompanion to the !ello Cam"ridge- Cam"ridge ?niversity Press, '666:, ''(. '6 Laird, 5/8. 6
produced his now/standard =#orma ;> cello in '7)7. On the violin, these strings were thin and responsive to the "ow, "ut lower/pitched instruments had to "e euipped with much thicker strings. The deeper the pitch, the more massive a string must "e. This mass can come from length, thickness, or a com"ination of the two. Since common attri"utes of thick strings were out/of/tune harmonics, poor sound uality, and low volume, an early solution to providing the correct mass to a low/pitched string was the si!e of the instrument. The larger the instrument, the longer the string length can "e, which allows for a thinner string that has a suita"le tension. +f the "ass instrument is too small, the string must "e very thick in order to produce low pitches and the string will have an unsuita"ly low tension, thus making it difficult to play. This is a crucial aspect of "ass instruments since most performing occurred within large settings such as churches where proHection and resonance were vital within the ensem"le.5' #or these reasons, luthiers produced instruments that were as large as possi"le without eceeding the reach of the fingers in first 5)
Stephen ;onta, =#rom Diolone to Dioloncello- < Kuestion of StringsN> (o%rnal of the )merican $%sical *nstr%ment ociety 8 '677:, AA. 5' 4arin 4ersenne, Harmonie %ni"erselle, Paris, '(8(:, trans. &oger $. Chapman The 3ague- 4artinus 1iHhoff, '69':, 'A7/AA. ')
position. +n the '(()s, the development of wire/wound strings dramatically altered this situation. @ut strings wound with metal increased the mass without adding a lot of thickness, making it possi"le for them to "e thinner and shorter.55 Small "ass violin instruments now had proHection in the lower register, and the player had more facility with less space "etween intervals and increased response of string to the "ow. Large "ass instruments did not disappear, "ut now there was a "ass instrument that could handle more demanding and virtuosic literature. The earliest printed music to use the term "ioloncello appeared in '((9 in a work "y @uilio Cesare
Laird, 5/8. Stephen ;onta, =Dioloncello- Origins and 3istory to c'7)), &epertory>, #ro"e $%sic Online ed. L. 4acy Performance Practice Re"ie. 6, no. ' '66(:- A(. 58
''
image we have of $milian music in the seventeenth century is one that decidedly favors instrumental music, specifically strings and trumpet. 59 This region contri"uted greatly to many of the maHor trends and characteristics of ;aroue music. #oremost of these was the shift from instrumental music as a supplemental etension of social functions accompaniment to dance or theater, for instance: to an emphasis on instrumental music as a professional activity within a distinct genre of music.
Surian and ;allerini, =;ologna- &eligious +nstitutions.> William S. 1ewman, The onata in the &aro'%e /ra Chapel 3ill- ?niversity of 1orth Carolina Press, '696:, '88. 5(
'5
environment. The church of San Petronio and the
$lvidio Surian and @ra!iano ;allerini, =;ologna- @eneral history to '9))>, #ro"e $%sic Online ed. L. 4acy , #ro"e $%sic Online ed. L. 4acy
;ologna, was founded in '((( "y a ;olognese no"leman, Count Dincen!o 4aria Carrati, and had the support and encouragement from other local aristocracy.85 This academy went "eyond the usual concept of an accademia as an informal gathering of literary intellectuals or amateurs. +nstead, this institution was controlled "y professional musicians who had a vested interest in cultivating and epanding the musical environment. +t was a guild and conservatory com"ined within one institution. 4em"ers met weekly or more: to hear each other%s works or to discuss composition. These were known as the eserci-i for composers and the conferen-e for performers.88 The of the $stense 2ukes. Like ;ologna, 4odena had a formida"le musical tradition, with a lively and professional atmosphere that played a central role in the development of $milian instrumental
85
1ewman, '. ;arnett, 55/59. 8 $lvidio Surian and @ra!iano ;allerini, =;ologna- The , #ro"e $%sic Online ed. L. 4acy
'
music. +t too had a cathedral that employed musicians in its !appella m%sicale often hiring as its director some of the well/known ;olognese composers as well:.89 3owever, the difference lay in the secular realm, for the musical environment a t the $stense court at 4odena was uite unlike that of the in ;ologna the &+S4 sigla is +/ &c: is made up almost entirely of printed music, reflecting the success and sophistication of the ;olognese printing presses. ;olognese composers were often focused on commercial enterprise, writing mainly for the music pu"lic at large which represented a wide range of a"ility, from amateur to the professional:.
$lvidio Surian and , #ro"e $%sic Online ed. L. 4acy )tti e $emorie, Series D, Dol. 4odena-
$stense in 4odena +/ $oe:, however, contains mostly manuscripts, written "y accomplished musicians for the entertainment of ducal court. These works tend to "e more virtuosic with an emphasis on the solo sonata, "oth accompanied and unaccompanied.86 This virtuosity, com"ined with the fact that the compositions were composed "y the most accomplished performers of the time, gives the impression that these manuscripts were written "y player/composers for their own use and, as a result, were unpu"lished. Conseuently, these manuscripts, unlike most of the printed music, tend to show more accurately the cutting edge of performance and level of string techniue during this period. The earliest generation of cellists that had a significant association with ;ologna or 4odena consisted of @iovanni ;attista Ditali '(85/'(65:, 2omenico @alli '(6/'(67:, Petronio #ranceschini c'(9)/'(A):, 2omenico @a"rielli c'(96/'(6):, @iuseppe 4aria Bacchini c'((8/'757:,
86
;arnett, ''8. Cowling, (9. ' Cowling, (9. )
'(
Torelli '(9A/'7)6:, who were competent on all instruments of the violin family, an almost epected trait of that period. 5 Of those cellists listed a"ove, some played a more significant role in the early development of the cello. Ditali, as a cellist/composer, was a founding mem"er of the of the cello in 4ichel Corrette%s $3thode th3ori'%e et prati'%e po%r apprendre en pe% de tems le "ioloncelle dans sa perfection '7':. Corrette later praises @iovanni as one of the =skilled masters of $urope.>9 Bacchini and @a"rielli are perhaps the most significant of this list, not only for their fame as performers, "ut especially "ecause of their innovative and imaginative contri"ution to the literature for solo cello. The first printed music for solo cello of which we can "e certain is @iovanni
5
;arnett, 5'. Thomas Walker and 4arc DanscheeuwiHck, =#ranceschini, Pietro> #ro"e $%sic Online ed. L. 4acy Ph.2. diss., 4ichigan State ?niversity, '67':, 5. 8
'7
2egli
@regory ;arnett, review of )ntonio &ononcini !omplete onatas for Violoncello and &asso !ontin%o, edited "y Lowell $. Lindgren, (o%rnal of e"enteenth5!ent%ry $%sic 9-' '669: Ehttp-FFwww.sscmHscm.press.uiuc.eduFHscmFv9Fno'F;arnett.html, par. 5. 7 &o"in Stowell, =Other Solo &epertory> in The !ambridge !ompanion to the !ello Cam"ridge- Cam"ridge ?niversity Press, '666:, '87. 'A
the first cello continuo sonatas to appear in print.A Other printed collections with cello sonatas emerged within a few years of Bacchini%s output. Luigi Taglietti%s %onate da camera Op. ' ;ologna- Silvani, '(67: has eight =Capriccios> for cello and "asso continuo and , a =Canone all M?nisono due Dioloncelli> and an
A
Stowell, =The Sonata>, ''(/'7. Stowell, =The Sonata>, ''7. 9) ;arnett, (o%rnal of e"enteenth5!ent%ry $%sic 9-', par. . 9' Cowling, 7A/76. 95 Lindgren, viii. 6
'6
#lorid, melodic writing for cello had already "een common prior to the appearance of solo works. #rom a"out '((9, the cello at times assumed a role that was significantly more independent from the "asso continuo operatic arias, ensem"le sonatas, and trumpet sonatas all "egan to feature a "ass line that was distinctly separate from the "asso continuo. +n opera, this was commonly referred to as a ="asso solo o""ligato> as ;enedetto 4arcello descri"ed it in *l teatro alla moda I'758J:, or otherwise known as the ="asso o""ligato aria,> and predated the conventional tre"le o""ligato.98 +n this role, the o""ligato cello line shares in the presentation of melodic material. This could "e accomplished in a ritornello/like form, wherein the cello provides an introduction, melodic interludes, and perhaps the final melodic statement while taking a su"servient role during the vocal sections: or "y treating the cello and voice as eual partners throughout the aria in imitative counterpoint: or "y giving the cello an ostinato "ass line, which could "e uite ela"orate. $amples from the literature include arias from
;orgir, 86. ;orgir, )/'. 99 Cowling, 75. 9( Steven Packer, =$mergence of the Cello as a Solo +nstrument in Late Seventeenth/ Century ;ologna> 4.4 thesis, ;owling @reen State ?niversity, '67A:, 75/78. 97 Lindgren, viii. 9
5)
Bacchini and @a"rielli, "oth prolific writers for the trumpet, incorporated in many of their trumpet sonatas a very active and at times virtuosic cello line, creating in effect a trio sonata that featured the trumpet and cello as the two principal melodic lines or, in the case of two/trumpet sonatas, three melodic lines:.9A +ndependent cello lines also occurred in ensem"le sonatas, the cello often assuming a concertante role with the designations =violoncello o""ligato> or =violoncello ad li".> or simply =violoncello>:. $arly eamples of this ornate writing occur in @iulio Cesare when the cello part duplicates the "asso continuo line, underscoring the freuent occurrence of independent cello parts. Writing for o""ligato cello continued to appear well into the '(6)s, particularly in many of Bacchini%s pu"lished ensem"le sonatas.() +t is not a coincidence that many of these composers, such as the ;ononcini "rothers, Bacchini, and @a"rielli, were concerti!ing cellists as well and it must "e assumed that these parts were written for their own performances.
The Ricercari of
#ro"e $%sic Online ed. L. 4acy
5'
The works that will "e eamined in more detail, the unaccompanied ricercari of
Bohn Caldwell, =&icercare- +ntroduction,> #ro"e $%sic Online ed. L. 4acy
original seventeenth/century editions, such as the use of accidentals, are thus unrelia"ly treated in this source. < more recent pu"lication is a reprint of the original '(A7 edition.(8 The information availa"le on
(8
@iovanni ;attista 2egli
surrounding this work. One, that , and > . We can look to the title for assistance, for it suggests an option to perform these on the harpsichord sopra il Violoncello = !la"icembalo:. The words =U Clavicem"alo> are in smaller print than the rest of the title, implying perhaps that this was the less/ preferred option. 1evertheless, confusion remains as to the intent of these compositions. +t might "e that these solo cello works were also meant to "e played on the harpsichord, taking the place of the cello, and that the figures are provided to aid in the reali!ation. This is all the more possi"le since
(9
;arnett, '89. 5
for the cellist to improvise upon. < fourth possi"ility is that these works were originally intended as accompanied violin ricercari and the printed version is an instructional pu"lication that provided practice material for the continuo ensem"le. This would correspond with one of the meanings of the term =ricercare,> a work for didactic purposes. This last possi"ility might hold the most potential, for in his dedication, implying perhaps that these pieces were instructional works. Without the violin part, what remains are eamples of typical "asso continuo parts that a cellist would encounter and standard "ass lines, figured and unfigured, that a harpsichordist might "e reuired to reali!e. 3owever, this view is not conclusive, for it was the unaccompanied version that was dedicated to no"ility and pu"lished, not the duo version.((
0inney, 5)). 0inney, '6(.
(7
59
listed a"ove, although it is virtually impossi"le to prove his theory. With this proposed tuning, these pieces would "ecome much more idiomatic to the instrument, the maHority of notes "eing in the lower positions where there is more sonority and more facility. "egins as a fugue would, with a direct and forthright statement in C maHor meas. '/: answered "y another voice in the dominant meas. /A:-
$ample '- , meas. '/A
Throughout this ricercare, a two/voice, imitative dialogue in style bris3
5(
dominates the teture, as in the following eample-
$ample 5- , meas. (A/7'
This eample is one of many that are similar to passages in the B.S. ;ach %ites for olo !ello, such as the following eample-
$ample 8- @igue from B.S. ;ach, %ite in ! $a?or , meas. A/5'
;oth composers show a preference for providing an essentially single/line, monophonic instrument with compound melodies. These melodic lines represent two or more implied voices that create a multilinear, polyphonic teture. Seuences in Ricercare *> are pervasive, as seen in this passage-
$ample - , meas. 89/8
+mplied counterpoint and use of seuential passages are often com"ined, as
57
the opening of Ricercare >* demonstrates-
$ample 9- * , meas. '/9
The ricercari that are sectional all ehi"it the use of a recurring theme. These ritornellos occur within the framework of a single movement "ut each time they appear they are a free variant of the original. Ricercare ** demonstrates this well. The original theme meas. '/8: is su"Hected to a continual evolution throughout the ricercare, sometimes ornamented meas. 8/(: and sometimes as an inverted variation meas. ')/'5:-
$ample (-
Later, the theme appears in augmentation-
5A
$ample 7-
$ample A-
2omenico @a"rielli%s ricercari for unaccompanied cello have had a more su"stantial pu"lishing history than those "y
(A
epectations Iemphasis addedJ.>7' 2ieter Staehelin, editor of the '679 Schott edition, has an eually assertive approach to editing these ricercari. +n the Preface, Staehelin claims that =a few passages in the movements would seem to demand the addition of arpeggiated chords, figurations, or other types of em"ellishment.> 75 Thankfully, these are included in an appendi, not in the music itself. There are two separate manuscripts of @a"rielli%s cello works, "oth preserved in the $stense li"rary in 4odena. The earlier version la"eled @. 76: contains seven ricercari, a canon for two cellos, and one continuo sonata. +n the sonata, the first three movements are titled =ricercare.>78 This manuscript is indiscriminate in its organi!ation, leading some scholars to speculate that it was intended for @a"rielli%s private use, perhaps to circulate among his students.7 < later manuscript la"eled #. '(: is much more orderly and written with precision. +t is in two volumes and contains two continuo sonatas for cello, the first merely a reworking of the one found in the @. 76 manuscript and the second a new sonata in < maHor. +t would "e interesting to know how @a"rielli viewed his collection of ricercari +n the @. 76 manuscript, the first ricercare is originally la"eled =Le!ioni,> a word that is later marked over with the title =&icercar Primo.> This may imply that these pieces were originally meant for instructional purposes and later evolved into 7'
;ettina 3offmann, foreword to 2omenico @a"rielli, Amtliche Ber@e fCr Violoncello 0assel- ;Vrenreiter, 5))':, i. 75 2ieter Staehelin, foreword to 2omenico @a"rielli, ieben Ricercari Violoncello olo 1ew York- Schott 4usic Corp., '679:, 5. 78 ;arnett, $%sical *ss%es of the 0ate eicento, '85. 7 3offmann, viii. 8)
works for performance.79 3owever, this is speculative and, considering the fact that they were never printed, it may also "e possi"le that these pieces were written for private use.7( Overall, these ricercari for cello are preludial and rhapsodic rather than imitative and, with the possi"le eception of Ricercare * , avoid a purely didactic spirit. The main intent for these works see ms to "e an ehi"ition of technical virtuosity within an improvisational style of writing. @a"rielli%s cello works were most likely written with a four/string instrument in mind although a five/string cello cannot categorically "e ruled out: and was pro"a"ly tuned !5#5d5g , a tuning that was popular in ;ologna.77 +f this were indeed the case, the upper range of the ricercari often eplores fourth position "ut rarely "eyond. There are several compelling reasons for playing all of @a"rielli%s works on a cello tuned !5#5d5g . Ricercari V* and V** , the early version of the @ maHor sonata, and many o""ligato passages in @a"rielli%s arias make freuent use of two/ and three/note chords that are unplaya"le on a cello tuned entirely in fifths, as these two ecerpts show-
$ample 6-
$ample ')-
@a"rielli, Ricercare V* , meas. (A/(6
@a"rielli, onata in # $a?or , meas. 89
Secondly, there are many passages that, while playa"le on an < string, are
79
0inney, 585/88. 3offmann, viii. 77 3offmann, i. 7(
8'
significantly more idiomatic with the top string tuned to # as to leave little dou"t that this was the intended tuning. When the top strings are tuned in fourths, for instance, third position on the 2 string is no longer necessary since the notes can "e played instead on the top @ string: and second position is minimi!ed. This is significant for a "ass instrument with gut strings, for playing in the upper positions tends to produce a muddy, inarticulate sound on lower/pitched strings. One e ample of how a !5#5d5g tuning is advantageous occurs in Ricercare *V where the recurrent a5flats can "e played on the top string, whereas with a !5#5d5a tuning that which is customary today: the cellist must play those notes in fourth position on the 2 string. +n regard to character, form, and style, each of the seven ricercare is uite distinct from one another. 0inney provides an insightful view to analy!ing @a"rielli%s style when he says, ;ecause of the very spontaneity of this music, in which new ideas are continually spun, with effortless ease, out of the previous ones in endless profusion, it poses difficulties to the analyst for here material and structure are so amalgamated as to resem"le organic growth rather than construction. 7A The first ricercare resem"les closely a basso contin%o line with ascending and descending seuences to create a somewhat wandering, leisurely character. The pulse occasionally shifts into a hemiola "ut the overall effect of this short ricercare is rather peaceful and unassuming. Ricercare ** , however, is "y far the longest of the seven and one that 0inney descri"es as a =patchwork can!ona> that foreshadows the four/movement ;aroue sonata.76 Similar to some of the
7A
0inney, 589. 0inney, 58(.
76
85
section is marked "y a sudden and decisive change of meter, such as F time changing to 8F5 which gives the new meter a strident, almost raucous uality: or F turning into '5FA which creates a rapid, virtuosic effect:. $ach section "ears little resem"lance to one another, as in a =patchwork> can!ona. Ricercare *** opens with loose references to fugal writing- a strong, rhythmic opening su"Hect followed "y a contrasting countersu"Hect that serves as a transition to a tonal answer in the dominant.
$ample ''- @a"rielli, Ricercare *** , meas. 99/97
Ricercari V and V* are the most virtuosic of the group. Ricercare V is marked "y incredi"le intervallic leaps that range from 9ths and (ths to an astonishing '6th ! to g 1: in measure 5(Z This ricercare is in an unmistaka"le two/ voice teture in style bris3, the voices often separated "y an octave or more, and contains a memora"le use of a pedal point in measures 58/5(-
88
$ample '5- @a"rielli, Ricercare V , meas. 58/5(
The lower voice often acts as the "ass line, articulating the harmonic motion. +n the opening measures, for instance, the lower voice outlines a "asic +/D/+/+D/D/+ progression in C maHor-
$ample '8- @a"rielli, Ricercare V , meas. '/8
This lower voice then assists in a modulation to the dominant "y providing a pedal 2, signifying the D chord in @ maHor-
$ample '- @a"rielli, Ricercare V , meas.
This strong "ass line is always present ecept in the middle section: and anticipates "y over thirty years ;ach%s use of this same approach in the Courante from %ite * . +t is remarka"le how similar this courante is to the fifth ricercare, the opening measures also using a strong "ass line that articulates the harmonic motion in much the same way-
8
$ample '9- B.S. ;ach, %ite in # $a?or , meas. '/
Ricercare V** is "y far the most reflective and profound of the group. +t is in the style of a prelude, the music constantly evolving through motivic development and pervasive use of seuential patterns. The opening three phrases demonstrate ascending and descending seuences move the phrases to points of high and low tension-
$ample '(- @a"rielli, Ricercare V*** , meas. '/'5
Compare this approach to the opening of the Prelude to ;ach%s second suite for cello, where seuences are also used to develop the phrase-
$ample '7- B.S. ;ach, %ite in D minor , meas. '/(
4y interest in researching the earliest music for solo cello has "een a steady
89
development, starting with the years + spent as an undergraduate cellist at the O"erlin Conservatory and continuing to the present. +t stems from a curiosity not only of the su"Hect matter itself, "ut also from the relative ignorance that + and many other cellists: have in regard to the origins of our literature. This ignorance, of course, is understanda"le since our training, aside from the ;ach suites and 3aydn concertos, usually "egins with the Op. 9 sonatas of ;eethoven, written over one hundred years after the first solo literature appeared. We play the occasional sonata "y
Das Violoncello im 17 (ahrh%ndert ,
< recent consensus has emerged that views the early cello as having two "asic si!es.A' The variance often lies in how a particular scholar interprets the evidence availa"le for study. One author, Tharald ;orgir, maintains that the "ass violin came in a small version, the lowest string tuned to 2 or #, and a larger one with the lowest string tuned to &5flat 1 or ! .
A'
Stephen ;onta, =Dioloncello- Origins and 3istory to c'7)),> #ro"e $%sic Online ed. L. 4acy
of Cerone and Praetorius, is also cited freuently to support this theory. 3is !oncl%sioni descri"ing the "iolone as the principal "ass instrument and a small "ass violin tuned with # as its lowest string that did not have the low range of the "iolone. +n a later treatise, 0Eorgano s%onarino, ;anchieri refers to the alto and "ass instruments of the violin family as "iolette and lists the lowest as tuned to #. Similarly, 0ircher%s $%s%rgia %ni"ersalis '(9): and ;artolomeo ;ismantova%s !ompendio m%sicale '(77:, the latter calling it a "ioloncello da spalla, mention a small "ass violin with this tuning.A8 ;orgir goes on to say, citing eamples, that the small "ass violin had diminutive names such as basso "ioletta, bassetto, and "iola da spalla or "ioloncello da spalla. Listing printed works from the '(5)s to the '(7)s, he further su"stantiates the eistence of a small "ass violin "y matching the diminutive terms listed a"ove with printed scores and parts whose range never falls "elow #. The large "ass violin, according to ;orgir, later "ecame known as the "ioloncello.A 3e claims that the large "ass violin was ignored "y early seventeenth/ century +talian theorists in favor of the small instrument descri"ed a"ove. 3e rationali!es that this happened "ecause the larger instrument simply did not eist prior to '(9) since it was not asked for in printed music the "iolone and those diminutive terms listed previously dominating print music in the first half of the seventeenth century:. This, however, is inaccurate, for there are e tant "ass violins
A8
;orgir, A8. ;orgir, A(.
A
8A
made prior to '(9), such as the =0ing> : and that this led directly led to the adoption of the term =violoncello>. ;ecause very few instruments have survived, one may speculate that few large cellos had "een made up to this time. There are no records of siteenth/ century luthiers making cellos Ii.e. large "ass violinJ in large num"ers as they did in the case of violins and dou"le "asses.A( and $li!a"eth Cowling, in her "ook The !ello, asserts
A9
Laird, (/7. ;orgir, A(.
A(
86
that the cello eisted from the very "eginning of the violin family, sometime in the early siteenth century.: Other scholars allow for greater flei"ility in interpreting the availa"le facts and thus are more cautious in their conclusions, as Peter : and as 4arc DanscheeuwiHck o"serves in his article The &aro'%e !ello and *ts Performance. Our limitation to descri"e accurately the cello%s forerunners crystalli!es in the case of the "iolone, a "ass instrument common in the seventeenth century that has so far defied an accurate, definitive description. Tharald ;orgir summari!es this disparityThe term Mviolone% without dou"t causes the most comple terminological dilemma in that it was used for three of the four instruments Hust mentioned I"ass gam"a, the dou"le "ass gam"a, and two kinds of "ass violinsJ. Stephen ;onta '677, '67A: argues that the term, after the first decade of the seventeenth century, refers to the "ass violin.
;orgir, (6. )
This, at least, is evidence that no mem"er of the da gam"a family is implied "y this term IvioloneJnor, + "elieve, the dou"le "ass of the violin family. +n other words Mviolone% \ M"asso%, and a""reviation for M"asse da "ra!!o% \ cello.AA
AA
Cowling, 9A. Wilhelm Boseph von Wasielewski, The Violoncello and *ts History, trans. +so"ella S.$. Stigand 1ew York- 2a Capo Press, '6(A:, 86. 6) A6
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