The cello is an instrument String (vibration set by the action of the bow) or plucked (pizzicato) from the family of violin and the viola. It is played seated and held between the legs, it now rests on a retractable pique recent invention, but has long played landed between the legs, calves.
Its four strings are tuned in fifths: do, soil, and the result (of severe acute towards), as for the viola. The cello is, however, granted an octave below the latter, an octave and a half below the violin. It is one of the instruments with the greatest range. Its frequency range is fundamental approximately 65 Hz to 1000 Hz (or 2000 Hz in some virtuoso works). It is often said that it's the closest to the human voice.
* Listen to the empty string (midi file)
The cello uses mostly the bass clef, but also the key ut 4th line for the register means and the key in the upper soil.
The cello appears only a few years after the violin at the end of the sixteenth century. Its direct ancestor assumed, Rebec, was a flat three strings. The bass violin, cello original as presented to us in 1530, was a much smaller than it is today, with three strings and granted a fifth below the violin (against and a fifth one octave today). In 1550, a fourth rope (severe) is added and the agreement reviewed. The size of the body of the instrument (excluding round) rises to about 80 centimetres (the current size is approximately 76 centimeters). This was the size limit beyond technique left hand, at a time or démanché appears only became too difficult.
If you follow the normal understanding, the violins family (violin, viola and cello) is fixed in its present form by the brilliant Andrea Amati (1535-1612), violin maker in Cremona. It is important in this city for Western music that the cello and his entire family take their final form, in the workshops successive Nicolò Amati - down from the previous - his own children, the famous Antonio Stradivari (Cremona 1644 - December 17 1737) - probable student of Niccolò - the original Bartolomeo Giuseppe Guarneri (1683-1745) - Students of Stradivari nicknamed Guarnerius del Gésu. The Italian school fixed forms and radiates across Europe, through the companionship: Jacob Stainer (1621-1683), master of violin making Austro-Hungarian, was a classmate of Stradivari likely among Amati. Francois Medard, a student of Stradivari, returns at his home in Mirecourt, once completed her studies.
This prestigious birth, however, does not provide an immediate reputation on cello. The competition to the ruling bass viola da gamba is pressed. Indeed, the viola da gamba (also derived from the "rebab," introduced in Spain by the Moors to the eighth century), knows his moment of glory in Italy since the Valencian noble Roderic de Borja (now Rodrigo Borgia Italy) Future Alexander VI, brought many violistes in Rome. The cello is very discreet in the seventeenth century and eighteenth century is a century of existence in the literature for all or in the works solistiques.
Some composers Purcell, Marin Marais and Francois Couperin, does not accustomed to the instrument, and take good care to make it clear in their work that they are intended to "low" and not infringe on cello. But in the late eighteenth century century, the bass viol was finally supplanted, in fact, the cello virtuoso manage to convince their contemporaries of his qualities of tone and virtuosity, and his major works are renowned, particularly the six Single Suites for Cello by Johann Sebastian Bach who visit in-depth capabilities polyphonic few of the instrument.
There is often this struggle in parallel to that of the classes: the viola da gamba, viola family, were seen as instruments more noble than those of the family of viola da braccio, our modern string instruments, for the most vulgar contemporary sixteenth century century. Perhaps we should count the social developments of the eighteenth century one of the reasons for the success of this second family. During the French revolution and after, violas, probably deemed too aristocratic, were transformed into cellos, violins and violas.
As a substitute for violating bass, the cello is primarily confined to the roles of coaching. Until the late eighteenth century century instrument less stocky today, the second cello and harpsichord complete the "basso continuo" which bases the foundation for harmony in Baroque music. The sound is more confidence, more subdued than modern instruments.
Yet the instrument began to emerge. Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) dedicated her 27 concertos and sonatas with 11 basso continuo; Luigi Boccherini (1734-1805), a virtuoso cellist, gave concertos for cello.
Above all, technology is changing:
* The virtuosity begins in the eighteenth century the century: the positions of thumb are invented, cellist Francesco Alborea ( "Franciscello", 1691-1739), as one of the first to be made known. The two sonatas that he attributes using ré4, many double strings, and arpégés agreements.
* The Duport brothers, Jean-Pierre and Jean-Louis (virtuoso eponymous Stradivarius current Rostropovich), working a little later in the eighteenth century. The sonatas by Jean-Pierre, the eldest, la5 reach. Jean-Louis, is the author of a book theoretical test sensitivity (1806), which lays the foundations of modern fingering the cello.
Cellists become virtuosos, and would like to know. We know works, sometimes major, as we shall see, that have been designed to highlight these new technical possibilities.
* The soloist's Concerto in D Major by Haydn could be written only by a cellist: it is often said that the cellist Anton Kraft reportedly outlined the work of Haydn, which allegedly then supplemented (in the nineteenth century, the Gevaert 'retouched and added orchestration)
* The same kind of collaboration is suggested for Cello Concerto in B Minor (1895) by Dvorak, the composer and his colleague recitalist in the United States, cellist Hanus Wihan.
The miracle romantic
The romantic period-the nineteenth century-will be particularly beneficial to the cello. Johannes Brahms, Robert Schumann, Edouard Lalo, Camille Saint-Saëns, Antonin Dvorak, Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880), who played magnificently the cello when he does not composed operettas-but whose works for cello fell into limbo -- Ludwig van Beethoven, Felix Mendelssohn wrote pieces for cello and piano concertos or memorable (see below: directory).
At that time, the dimensions of the instrument will change. His tone is bright, and its sound performance, when he was limited instrument accompanying increases on the one hand to allow composers to use larger orchestras or techniques most ambitious orchestration, and on the other hand to meet the new requirements of concert halls to get bigger.
The romantic period is also an important technique in the cello. Indeed, many composers (cellists themselves) write treaties and methods for their students. The musicians who then published studies for the cello among others, Sebastien Lee, David Popper, Friedrich Dotzauer, Jean-Louis Duport and Bernhard Romberg.
The modern instrument
In the twentieth century, the instrument is almost match the violin. Few major composers whose works catalogue does not contain pieces for cello.
* The french composers, including Gabriel Faure, Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy make great use in their chamber music.
* The modern composers Sergei Prokofiev, Dmitri Shostakovich, Dmitri Kabalevsky, Benjamin Britten, Henri Dutilleux, Heitor Villa Lobos, Ligeti, Krzysztof Penderecki. Explored further the capabilities of the cello, thanks to the influence of major Mstislav Rostropovich, better ambassador for his instrument, which has created more than one hundred fifty works. The quality of interpreters improve, the range technical explodes implemented (see the Sonata for solo cello by Zoltán Kodály).
* Contemporary music has explored new ways of playing the cello, including the Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho, which in addition to an abundant work for the instrument has developed new sounds, especially with a work on the texture. These new technologies will include not only electronic devices that allow modifications in real time the sound produced by the instrumentalist, but also new techniques Thursday virtuosos, including variations in pressure and tilt of the bow that produce a son extremely rugeux. Examples include works for solo cello by Iannis Xenakis (Nomos Alpha, Kottos)
The extension is the displacement of several fingers (usually one) of the left hand on the sidelines in order to reach the notes more acute or more serious half a ton or a ton or more.
When you want to achieve a more serious note half a ton (rear extension), it moves more generally the index upwards rather than move the whole hand. At an extension before (to a more acute without any move by hand), it offsets the first inch below the neck. The second finger and follows the movement moves from one semitone: the third and fourth fingers are then automatically placed. Sometimes we do a double extension of a ton to find a note in the following position without having to démancher. There are moves the whole hand (see démanché) that when the extension is too complicated, or that the position is easier to reach the notes.
The Cello Piccolo to 5 strings
The cello has an extra rope (given in mid or re acute). It was especially used in the Baroque period, and was slightly smaller than a normal cello.
This type of cello was proposed by Johann Sebastian Bach at the time when he wrote his sacred cantatas. For some of them it needed a "cello with a rope in mid additional acute."
There was also the pomposa Viola, cello and viola, granted the do re mi ground, for which Bach wrote many parts of the orchestra.
Its sixth suite for cello was also written for an instrument to 5 strings, although most of the performers played on a cello at 4 strings, it makes the task of interpretation much more difficult.
This remarkable instrument is currently being used, with gut strings in tune granted 415, for the interpretation of Bach cantatas by the Noordhoek Baroque Ensemble.