Fig. 56.—Viola Di Bardone, or Baryton, With Bow. Inscribed “Jaques Sainprae, à Berlin.” German. 17th century. L. 54 in., W. 16½ in. No. 1444, 1444ᵃ-’70.
Victoria and Albert Museum.
Among the English public performers on the viola da gamba are recorded a Mrs. Sarah Ottey, in the year 1723, and a Miss Ford in 1760. Carl Friedrich Abel, a German, who lived in London during the latter half of the eighteenth century, was the last performer of celebrity on this instrument. Johann Sebastian Bach has employed it in his admirable “Passionsmusik des Matthæus"; and there are some fine “Suites,” still occasionally to be met with, composed for it by M. de Caix d’Herveloix, published in the year 1710. The tone of the viola da gamba is rather nasal, but sweet and expressive; indeed, it is to be regretted that this charming instrument has fallen into disuse. There is, however, a gamba stop in the organ, which resembles the famous vox humana stop, and which has recently been much favoured by organ builders.
The violoncello came into competition with the viola da gamba at the beginning of the eighteenth century, and has now entirely superseded its predecessor.
A viola di bardone in the Museum ([Fig. 56]) has a neck of carved and pierced box-wood, terminating in a figure of Apollo playing the lyre; the principal finger-board is of ivory, engraved and inlaid with ebony and tortoiseshell, with figures of Jupiter and Juno, and a lady playing a lute; the second finger-board is also of pierced and engraved ivory. The instrument has four catgut and fourteen metal sympathetic strings, and a double wrest. It was made by Jaques Sainprae, of Berlin, and is said to have belonged to Quanz, music master of Frederick the Great.
The most accomplished performers on the viola di bardone were Anton Lidl of Vienna (to whom is sometimes erroneously ascribed the invention of this instrument) and Karl Franz, a musician of the band of Prince Esterhazy, about the middle of the 18th century. Lidl played on the viola di bardone in
concerts in England during the year 1776. Joachim Tielke of Hamburg, the manufacturer of a specimen in the Museum, was an instrument maker whose lutes were much esteemed on account of their fine tone, and their elegant ornamentation. He made them of ebony inlaid with ivory, mother-of-pearl, silver, and gold.
Joseph Haydn wrote sixty-three compositions for the viola di bardone by order of Prince Esterhazy, who was himself a performer on this instrument, and who admired it greatly. Its tone is soft and very expressive, but rather tremulous; owing to this quality, probably, it was also called viola di fagotto. It never became very popular, since its rather complicated construction offered too many difficulties in its treatment. In Germany it was generally called Baryton.
The viola d’amore ([Fig. 57]) was often strung entirely with wire. It appears to have been a novelty to Evelyn, for he records in his Diary of November 20th, 1679, “I dined with Mr. Slingsby, Master of the Mint, with my wife, invited to hear music, which was exquisitely performed by four of the most renowned masters: Du Prue, a Frenchman, on the lute; Signor Bartholomeo, an Italian, on the harpsichord; Nicholao, on the violin; but above all, for its sweetness and novelty, the viol d’amore of five wire strings played on with a bow, being but an ordinary violin played on lyre-way by a German.” Mattheson ("Das Neu-Eröffnete Orchestre,” Hamburg, 1713) describes the viola d’amore as being mounted with four wire strings, and with one catgut string for the highest tone.