Violin octet

Last updated
Violin octet
Cmh8tet.jpg
From left to right:
  • Baritone violin
  • Small bass violin
  • Contrabass violin
  • Tenor violin
  • Alto violin
  • Mezzo violin
  • Soprano violin
  • Treble violin
Other namesThe New Violin Family
Classification
Related instruments

The violin octet is a family of stringed instruments developed in the 20th century primarily under the direction of the American luthier Carleen Hutchins. Each instrument is based directly on the traditional violin and shares its acoustical properties, with the goal of a richer and more homogeneous sound. Unlike the standard modern stringed instruments, the main resonance of the body of the violin octet instrument is at a pitch near the two middle open strings, giving the instruments a more balanced, clearer sound.

Contents

The instruments were proposed by composer Henry Brant in 1957 and the first octet was completed in 1967.

Instruments

The instruments of the violin octet are:

InstrumentRange Tuning Notes
Treble violin
Treblerange.gif
G4–D5–A5–E6, tuned an octave above the violin, like the Kit violin or pochette [1] or the two "kleine Poschen" of the Syntagma Musicum of Michael Praetorius [2] About the size of a 14 violin
Soprano violin
Soprrange.gif
C4–G4–D5–A5, tuned a fourth above the violin, like the violino piccolo About the size of a 34 violin
Mezzo violin
Mezzo violin's range.png
G3–D4–A4–E5, tuned the same as the violin The body is slightly longer (368–381 mm; 14.5–15.0 in) than a conventional violin (355 mm; 14.0 in) but the strings are about the same length (328–338 mm; 12.9–13.3 in)
Alto violin
Altorange.gif
C3–G3–D4–A4, tuned the same as the viola Similar to a viola but larger, and is often played upright, like a cello
Tenor violin
Tenorrange.gif
G2–D3–A3–E4, tuned an octave below a standard violin, like the historical tenor violin The body is similar to a 12 cello but with thinner ribs and a longer neck
Baritone violin
Barirange.gif
C2–G2–D3–A3, tuned the same as a cello Larger than a conventional cello
Small bass violin
Smbassrange.gif
A1–D2–G2–C3, tuned a fourth above a double bass or G1–D2–A2–E3, tuned a fourth below a cello. [3] About the size of a 58 double bass; played like a double-bass or sitting down (like a cello)
Contrabass violin
Cbassrange.gif
E1–A1–D2–G2, tuned the same as a double bass or C1–G1–D2–A2, tuned an octave below a cello.Larger than a conventional double bass; played like a double bass

Note: While the Small Bass and Contrabass violins were designed and originally meant to be tuned in fifths, most bassists find the required extra shifting impractical. The former [4] New Violin Family Association listed tunings for these instruments in fourths, while the Hutchins Quartet retains the original fifths tuning.

Bows

Carleen Hutchins did not design specific bows for the instruments of the violin octet. This is important research which still has not been completed.[ according to whom? ] Players of these instruments use a variety of violin, viola, cello and double-bass bows, looking for the best fit they can at the moment.

Performing groups

Currently, there are three performing groups which play and record on the instruments of the violin octet.[ dubious discuss ] The Hutchins Consort (based in San Diego, California) plays on Carleen Hutchins' instruments. The Hutchins Consort Quartet is a subset of the consort and plays on soprano violin, tenor violin, baritone violin and contrabass violin. The Albert Consort (based in Ithaca, New York) uses a set of instruments made by Robert Spear and the New Violin Family Orchestra, organized by the association Octavivo Archived 2013-05-16 at the Wayback Machine , which also uses instruments made by Robert Spear.

Use in traditional roles

The instruments of the violin octet do not necessarily have to be used in the context of the consort and for playing music written especially for them. They can also be used as alternatives to members of the usual violin family: for example any string quartet could be played by an ensemble consisting of two mezzo violins, one alto violin and one baritone violin, as an alternative to the two violins, viola and cello of the usual string quartet.

The best-known use of a member of the New Violin Family in this sort of role is that of an alto violin by Yo-Yo Ma to perform and record Béla Bartók's Viola Concerto.

Notes

  1. which were however three string instruments
  2. two types are shown both having three strings: see Syntagma Musicum, vol. 2, page XXI
  3. The existence of two basses, a smaller one and a larger one, was also a feature of the viol family, which had two types of violone tuned one fourth apart
  4. "The Hutchins Consort - History".

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cello</span> Bowed string instrument

The violoncello ( VY-ə-lən-CHEL-oh, Italian pronunciation:[vjolonˈtʃɛllo]), often simply abbreviated as cello ( CHEL-oh), is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 and A3. The viola's four strings are each an octave higher. Music for the cello is generally written in the bass clef, with tenor clef, and treble clef used for higher-range passages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Double bass</span> Bowed string instrument

The double bass, also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched chordophone in the modern symphony orchestra. Similar in structure to the cello, it has four or five strings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Musical ensemble</span> Instrumental and/or vocal music group

A musical ensemble, also known as a music group or musical group, is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrumentalists, such as the jazz quartet or the orchestra. Other music ensembles consist solely of singers, such as choirs and doo-wop groups. In both popular music and classical music, there are ensembles in which both instrumentalists and singers perform, such as the rock band or the Baroque chamber group for basso continuo and one or more singers. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles. Some ensembles blend the sounds of a variety of instrument families, such as the orchestra, which uses a string section, brass instruments, woodwinds, and percussion instruments, or the concert band, which uses brass, woodwinds, and percussion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quartet</span> Ensemble of four singers and instrumental performers

In music, a quartet is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Viol</span> Bowed, fretted and stringed instrument

The viol, viola da gamba, or informally gamba, is any one of a family of bowed, fretted, and stringed instruments with hollow wooden bodies and pegboxes where the tension on the strings can be increased or decreased to adjust the pitch of each of the strings. Frets on the viol are usually made of gut, tied on the fingerboard around the instrument's neck, to enable the performer to stop the strings more cleanly. Frets improve consistency of intonation and lend the stopped notes a tone that better matches the open strings. Viols first appeared in Spain and Italy in the mid-to-late 15th century, and were most popular in the Renaissance and Baroque (1600–1750) periods. Early ancestors include the Arabic rebab and the medieval European vielle, but later, more direct possible ancestors include the Venetian viole and the 15th- and 16th-century Spanish vihuela, a six-course plucked instrument tuned like a lute that looked like but was quite distinct from the four-course guitar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sofia Gubaidulina</span> Russian composer (born 1931)

Sofia Asgatovna Gubaidulina is a Soviet-Russian composer and an established international figure. Major orchestras around the world have commissioned and performed her works. She is considered one of the foremost Russian composers of the second half of the 20th century along with Alfred Schnittke and Edison Denisov.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vertical viola</span> Musical Instrument

The vertical viola, alto violin or upright viola, is a stringed instrument with the range of a viola that is played vertically in the manner of a cello. It is the fourth-highest member of the violin octet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Septet</span> Musical group that consists of seven people

A septet is a formation containing exactly seven members. It is commonly associated with musical groups but can be applied to any situation where seven similar or related objects are considered a single unit, such as a seven-line stanza of poetry.

Mario Davidovsky was an Argentine-American composer. Born in Argentina, he emigrated in 1960 to the United States, where he lived for the remainder of his life. He is best known for his series of compositions called Synchronisms, which in live performance incorporate both acoustic instruments and electroacoustic sounds played from a tape.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carleen Hutchins</span> American inventor

Carleen Maley Hutchins was an American high school science teacher, violinmaker and researcher, best known for her creation, in the 1950s/60s, of a family of eight proportionally-sized violins now known as the violin octet and for a considerable body of research into the acoustics of violins. She was born in Springfield, Massachusetts and worked at her home in Montclair, New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Violone</span>

The term violone can refer to several distinct large, bowed musical instruments which belong to either the viol or violin family. The violone is sometimes a fretted instrument, and may have six, five, four, or even only three strings. The violone is also not always a contrabass instrument. In modern parlance, one usually tries to clarify the 'type' of violone by adding a qualifier based on the tuning or on geography, or by using other terms that have a more precise connotation. The term violone may be used correctly to describe many different instruments, yet distinguishing among these types can be difficult, especially for those not familiar with the historical instruments of the viol and violin families and their respective variations in tuning.

Walter Sinclair Hartley was an American composer of contemporary classical music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Violin family</span> Class of wooden bowed stringed instruments

The violin family of musical instruments was developed in Italy in the 16th century. At the time the name of this family of instruments was viole da braccio which was used to distinguish them from the viol family. The standard modern violin family consists of the violin, viola, cello, and (possibly) double bass.

In music, standard tuning refers to the typical tuning of a string instrument. This notion is contrary to that of scordatura, i.e. an alternate tuning designated to modify either the timbre or technical capabilities of the desired instrument.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Octet (music)</span>

In music, an octet is a musical ensemble consisting of eight instruments or voices, or a musical composition written for such an ensemble.

A flute ensemble is an instrumental chamber ensemble consisting of members of the flute family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tenor violin</span> Musical Instrument

A tenor violin (or tenor viola) is an instrument with a range between those of the cello and the viola. An earlier development of the evolution of the violin family of instruments, the instrument is not standard in the modern symphony orchestra. Its tuning, typically G2-D3-A3-E4 (an octave below the regular violin) places the range between the cello and viola and thus is sometimes confused with the modern baritone violin which has the same tuning on the standard violin body.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bass violin</span>

Bass violin is the modern term for various 16th- and 17th-century bass instruments of the violin family. They were the direct ancestor of the modern cello. Bass violins were usually somewhat larger than the modern cello, but tuned to the same nominal pitches or sometimes one step lower. Contemporaneous names for these instruments include "basso de viola da braccio," "basso da braccio," or the generic term "violone," which simply meant "large fiddle." The instrument differed from the violone of the viol, or "viola da gamba" family in that like the other violins it had at first three, and later usually four strings, as opposed to five, six, or seven strings, it was tuned in fifths, and it had no frets. With its F-holes and stylized C-bouts it also more closely resembled the viola da braccio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madeleine Isaksson</span> Swedish/French composer

Madeleine Isaksson is a Swedish/French composer.

References

  1. Carleen Hutchins' Instruments and Archives at the National Music Museum Archived 2005-03-09 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Hutchins Consort, a performing group that uses the violin octet
  3. Lipsett, Fred (2006). Yahoo!Groups Viola list message 42682 "Alto Violin" Retrieved March 24, 2006.
Associations
Instrument makers
Performances