The History of the Viola

The viola, a mid-sized member of the violin family, is coming into its own as an important orchestral instrument in the 21st century. Before the 20th century, the viola was considered inferior to the violin because of its darker tones and lack of solo violist parts. Violists such as William Primrose and composers such as Walton and Bartók put the viola on the musical map.

Facts

The viola is a mid-sized instrument in the violin family. Sometimes referred to as the "big fiddle," it is the alto of the violin family. The French word for viola is l'alto. It has four strings, the lowest of which is a fifth below the violin. Like the violin, the viola is played on the shoulder with a bow.

Identification

Although the viola and the violin look similar, the body of the viola is longer than the violin. A viola's body is between 1 and 4 inches longer than the body of a violin (i.e., between 15 and 18 inches with an average length of about 16 inches). The viola tuning is another important difference between the two instruments and it goes hand in hand with the viola's size, which gives the viola its darker timbre, tone quality.

Features

The viola has the same three lower strings as the violin but instead of top E string, it has a lower C string. Often in the baroque and classical period, composers used different tunings, called scordatura, which means mistuning, to improve the sonority of the instrument. In addition, viola strings are longer and thicker, so the viola is played with a slightly heavier bow.

History

First constructed in the 15th century, the viola likely evolved from the viola de braccio. In his book "Orchestrations," Cecil Forsyth cites that the viola was not considered on par with the violin or the cello before the 20th century because of its imperfect construction, uneven tone quality and clumsy shape. In the 16th and 17th century, it held the orchestral position equal to that of today's first or second violins.
The viola was considered historically inferior to the violin because of its lower tones, scarcity of great musical literature, and the practice of having less talented violinists play the viola.

Potential

Famous contemporary composers, such as Walton and Bartók, have shown a renewed interest and potential in the instrument. Because of rising technical standards, more music is being written for the viola. The emergence of younger violists and echt violists, those who started on the instrument rather than changing over from violin, suggest a new, modern identity for the instrument.
Famous violoists of the 20th century include William Primrose, Lionel Tertis, Paul Hindemith, Théophile Laforge, Maurice Vieux, Vadim Borisovsky, Lillian Fuchs, Frederick Riddle, Walter Trampler, Emanuel Vardi and John Cale.

References

• Viola-in-Music
• Viola.com

Resources

• William Primrose Biography