Books › Musical instruments, 1925 › scan 169
Scan 169
Musical instruments, 1925
12 lines. Read by computer on 21 September 2026. Printed page 155. See the scan on archive.org.
1tion with the other members of the Violin family apply here also, excepting in respect to double notes which are rarely ever used, and then only when the lower one is an open string.
3The tone quality of the Double Bass is less clear cut and distinct than that of the 'Cello, the very lowest tones being somewhat vague and indeterminate, but when the two are combined, playing either in unison or octaves, the result is a glorious sonority.
5Harmonics are also practicable upon the Double Bass although rarely applied. One of the most extensive illustrations of the use of these Double Bass harmonics occurs in the Nile scene in Aïda where Verdi calls for the tone two octaves above the open G string.
7This instrument, so valuable in ensemble and orchestral music, is rarely employed in solos. I recall a concert given by the Italian Bassist Botessini, whose execution was indeed extraordinary, but as he used a small specimen, and cultivated the higher registers, the tones suggested a 'Cello rather than a Contra-bass. The best known contra-bassist of today is doubtless Kussevitsky, whose great virtuosity has however been overshadowed by his achievements as a conductor.
9LESS KNOWN RELATIVES OF THE VIOLIN
11A survival of the Viol group is the Viol d'Amour, chiefly known through its use in the first Act of
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.