Books › The Instruments of the Modern Orchestra and Early Records of the Precursors of the Violin Family, in Two Volumes, Vol. I- Modern Orchestral Instruments, 1910 › scan 238
Scan 238
The Instruments of the Modern Orchestra and Early Records of the Precursors of the Violin Family, in Two Volumes, Vol. I- Modern Orchestral Instruments, 1910
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1(4). The shape of the sound-holes has, it is well-known, a great influence on the tone of the instrument, and Dr. Stelzner has discovered the reason; the piece of the sound-board which lies between the scroll termination of the soundhole and the stem of the F (see Fig. 1 and 2, B), is in reality a vibrating tongue, and the inventor in altering the shape of his sound holes by increasing the size of the vibrating tongues six fold, and by making them vibrate in the direction of the grain of the wood, has obtained another powerful factor in increasing the tone emitted through the soundholes.
3Fig. 3.—Diagrams showing the respective lines of the ribs in Stelzner and Italian Violins.
5This construction holds good for the six instruments which compose Dr. Stelzner's set, and a standard model in strict proportion to the other instruments of the family has been fixed for each. The complete set, consists of violin, viola, violotta, 'cello, cellone, and double bass; the latter, however, is not used in chamber music.
7It will be seen that the list contains two new instruments; the violotta or large viola, an octave below the violin, fills the gap between the viola and 'cello. The violotta is the same length as the viola, and the deeper pitch and richness of the tone are obtained by increasing the width of the ribs slightly. The violotta is a most captivating solo instrument, with a tender, warm and sympathetic tone of great power.
9The cellone or large 'cello, is again an octave lower than the violotta, and therefore a fourth below the 'cello; its body is only one inch longer than that of the full-size 'cello. The cellone, whose pitch is as deep as that of the
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