Cello

Abstract

An instrument with remarkable stylistic range and timbral affordances, the violoncello (referred to in this Bibliography by its common English and German abbreviation, “cello”) is a bowed lute that is fretless, has four strings usually tuned in fifths (C-G-d-a), and is played between the legs. As the lowest member of the violin family, the cello serves a bass function in many standard ensembles, including string quartets and piano trios. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the instrument was a cornerstone of many continuo sections, and treatises attest that accompanimental playing was a foundational skill for any aspiring cellist. In 19th- and 20th-century orchestral writing, it filled a variety of roles, switching between bass and middle lines, punctuated by moments of melodic prominence. The cello is also prized as a solo instrument, due in part to its middle and upper registers, which are celebrated for their sweet tone and emotional immediacy. Attempts to establish the origins of the cello are complicated by the highly regional terminology used to describe a number of similar bass bowed lutes that proliferated throughout the late 16th and 17th centuries. The first use of the term “violoncello” was by Giulio Cesare Arresti in a publication from 1665, and by the beginning of the 18th century, the term was in frequent use. By the mid-18th century, the cello had become the dominant instrument of its kind and range throughout most of Europe. It found earliest success in Italian- and German-speaking lands, but was slower to infiltrate France, where there was competition from the basse de viole through the 18th century. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the cello was frequently employed as a solo instrument in concerti and sonatas, while still functioning as a bass instrument in chamber and orchestral ensembles. Research on its function outside the Western classical tradition is quite scarce and deserves further development; however, the cello has found a growing place in many styles, including jazz, popular, and non-Western musical traditions.