A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Tenor Violin

by Edward John Payne

TENOR VIOLIN (Alto, Contralto, Quinte, Taille, Bratsche, Viola, etc.) A violin usually about one-seventh larger in its general dimensions than the ordinary violin, and having its compass a fifth lower, or an octave above the violoncello. As its name implies, it corresponds in the string quartet to the tenor voice in the vocal quartet. Its part is written in the C alto clef, thus—

1st String. 2nd String. 3rd String. 4th String.

The three uppermost strings of the Tenor are identical in pitch with the three lowest strings of the violin; but their greater length requires them to be proportionately stouter. The fourth string, like the third, is covered with wire. The player holds the Tenor like the violin; but the stop is somewhat longer, the bow used for it is somewhat heavier, and it requires greater muscular force in both hands. The method of execution in other respects is identical with that on the violin. The tone of the Tenor however, owing to the disproportion between the size and pitch of its strings on the one hand, and the comparatively small size of its body on the other, is of a different quality from that of the violin. It is less powerful and brilliant, having a muffled character, but is nevertheless sympathetic and penetrating. Bad Tenors are worse than bad violins; they are unequal and 'wolfish,' and have sometimes a decided nasal twang. The instrument is humorously described by Schnyder von Wartensee, in his 'Birthday Ode' addressed to Guhr:—

Mann nennt mich Frau Base, (Aunt)
Denn etwas sprech' ich durch die Nase,
Doch ehrlich mein' ich es, und treu:
Altmodisch bin ich: meine Sitte
Ist stets zu bleiben in der Mitte.
Und nie mach' ich ein gross' Geschrei.

In this article, following common usage, the word 'Tenor' is used to denote the intermediate member of the quartet to the exclusion of 'Alto': but the fact is that the Tenor and Alto were once distinct instruments, and the instrument which we call 'Tenor' is really the Alto, the true Tenor, which was a size larger, though of the same pitch, being practically obsolete.

The Tenor is an earlier instrument than the violin, and is in fact the oldest instrument of the quartet. Both 'Violino' in Italian and 'Violon' in French appear to have originally designated the Tenor. In the first piece of music in which 'Violino' occurs, a double quartet in the church style, published in 1597,^[1] this instrument has a part written in the alto clef, from which the following is an extract:—

This could not be played on the violin, and was obviously written for the Tenor: and an instrument of such a compass capable of holding its own against a cornet and six trumpets, however lightly voiced the latter may have been, can have been no ordinary fiddle. The large and solid Tenors of this period made by Gaspar di Salo, the earlier Amatis, Peregrino Zanetto, etc., many of which are still in existence, appear to represent the original 'Violino.' These Tenors when new, must have had a powerful tone, and they were probably invented in order to produce a stringed instrument which should compete in church music with the cornet and trumpet. Being smaller than the ordinary bass viola, which was the form of viol chiefly in use, they obtained the name 'Violino.' This name was however soon transferred to the ordinary violin. When the latter first made its appearance in Italian music,^[2] it was called 'Piccolo Violino alla Francese'; indicating that this smaller 'Violino,' to which the name has been since appropriated, though not generally employed in Italy, had come into use in France. It accords with this that the original French name of the violin is 'Pardessus' or 'dessus' 'de Violon,' or 'treble of the Violon,' Violon being the old French diminutive of Viole,^[3] and exactly equivalent to 'Violino.' Again, the very old French name 'Quinte' for the Tenor, and its diminutive 'Quinton,' used for the violin, seems to indicate that the latter was a diminutive of some larger instrument in general use. We have therefore good ground for concluding that the Tenor is somewhat older than the treble or common violin, and is in fact its archetype.

Very soon after the 'Orfeo' of Monteverde, which is dated 1608, we find the above-mentioned composer, Gabrieli, writing regular violin passages in a sonata for three common violins and a Bass, the former being designated 'Violini.'^[4] We may therefore fairly suppose that the early years of the 17th century saw the introduction of the violin into general use in Italy, and the transfer of the name 'Violino' to the smaller instrument. In the same year (1615) we have a 'Canzona à 6' by the same writer, with two treble violins (Violini), a cornet, a tenor violin (called Tenore) and two trumpets.^[5] In Gregorio Allegri's 'Symphonia à 4'^[6] (before 1650) the Tenor is denominated 'Alto,' and the Bass is assigned to the 'Basso di Viola' or Viola da Gamba. Massimiliano Neri (1644), in his 'Canzone del terzo tuono'^[7] has a Tenor part in which the Tenor is called for the first time 'viola,' a name which has clung to it ever since.

Shortly after this (1663) we have a string quintet with two viola parts, the upper of which is assigned to the 'Viola Alto,' the lower, written in the Taille or true tenor clef, to the 'Viola Tenore.'^[8] It appears from the parts that the compass of the two violas was identical, nor is any distinction observable in the treatment. This use of the two violas is common in the Italian chamber music of the end of the 17th century, a remarkable instance being the 'Sonate Varie' of the Cremonese composer Vitali (Modena, 1684): and Handel's employment of the two instruments, mentioned lower down, is probably based on reminiscences of this class of music. But the compass and general effect of the instruments being the same, the disappearance of the great viola was only a matter of time. Though the fiddle-makers continued for some time to make violas of two sizes, alto and tenor [see Stradivari], the two instruments coalesced for practical purposes, and the superior facility with which the smaller viola (Alto) was handled caused the true Tenor to drop out of use. From about the end of the century the Alto viola appears to have assumed the place in the orchestra which it still occupies, and to have had substantially the same characteristics.

The Tenor has been made of all sizes, ranging from the huge instruments of Gaspar di Salo and his contemporaries to the diminutive ones, scarcely an inch longer than the standard violin, commonly made for orchestral use a century or so ago: and its normal size of one-seventh larger than the violin is the result of a compromise. The explanation is that it is radically an anomalous instrument. Its compass is fixed by strictly musical requirements: but when the instrument is built large enough to answer acoustically to its compass, that is, so as to produce the notes required of it as powerfully as the corresponding notes on the violin, it comes out too large for the average human being to play it fiddle-wise, and only fit to be played cello-wise between the knees. If, however, the Tenor is to be played like the violin, and no one has seriously proposed to play it otherwise, it follows that its size must be limited by the length of the human arm when bent at an angle of about 120 degrees. But even the violin is already big enough: though instruments have from time to time been made somewhat larger than usual, and that by eminent makers [see Stradivari], players have never adopted them; and it is practically found that one-seventh longer than the ordinary violin is the outside measurement for the Tenor if the muscles of the arms and hands are to control the instrument comfortably, and to execute ordinary passages upon it. The Tenor is therefore by necessity a dwarf: it is too small for its pitch, and its tone is muffled in consequence. But its very defects have become the vehicle of peculiar beauties. Every one must have remarked the penetrating quality of its lower strings, and the sombre and passionate effect of its upper ones. Its tone is consequently so distinctive, and so arrests the attention of the listener, that fewer Tenors are required in the orchestra than second violins.

Composers early discovered the distinctive capabilities of the Tenor. Handel knew them, though he made but little use of them: they were first freely employed in that improvement of the dramatic orchestra by Gluck and Sacchini, which preceded its full development under Mozart. Previously to this, the Tenor was chiefly used to fill up in the Tutti. Sometimes it played in unison with the violins; more frequently with the violoncellos: but in general it was assigned a lower second violin part. Handel employs the Tenor with striking effect in 'Revenge, Timotheus cries.' The first part of the song, in D major, is led by the violins and hautboys in dashing and animated passages; then succeeds the trio in G minor, which introduces the vision of the 'Grecian ghosts, that in battle were slain.' Here the violins are silent, and the leading parts, in measured largo time, are given to the tenors in two divisions, each division being reinforced by bassoons. The effect is one of indescribable gloom and horror. It is noteworthy that the composer, whether to indicate the theoretical relation of the two parts, or the practical employment of the larger Tenors by themselves for the lower one, has written the first part only in the alto clef, and headed it 'Viola,' the second part being written in the Taille or true tenor clef, and headed 'Tenor': but the compass of the parts is identical. The climax will serve as a specimen:—

Berlioz, who overlooks this passage in Handel, enumerates among the early instances of the employment of its distinctive qualities, the passage in 'Iphigenia in Aulis,' where Orestes, overwhelmed with fatigue and remorse, and panting for breath, sings 'Le calme rentre dans mon cœur'; meanwhile the orchestra, in smothered agitation, sobs forth convulsive plaints, unceasingly dominated by the fearful and obstinate chiding of the Tenors. The fascination, the sensation of horror, which this evokes in the audience, Berlioz attributes to the quality of the note A on the Tenor's third string, and the syncopation of the note with the lower A on the basses in a different rhythm. In the overture to 'Iphigenia in Aulis,' Gluck employs the Tenors for another purpose. He assigns them a light bass accompaniment to the melody of the first violins, conveying to the hearer the illusion that he is listening to the violoncellos. Suddenly, at the forte, the basses enter with great force and surprising effect. Sacchini uses the Tenors for the same effect (pour préparer une explosion) in the air of Œdipus, 'Votre cœur devient mon asyle.' (This effect, it may be observed, is also to be found in Handel.) Modern writers have often used the Tenor to sustain the melody, in antique, religious, and sombre subjects. Berlioz attributes its use in this way to Spontini, who employs it to give out the prayers of the Vestal. Méhul, fancying that there resided in the Tenor tone a peculiar aptitude for expressing the dreamy character of the Ossianic poetry, employed Tenors for all the treble parts, to the entire exclusion of violins, throughout his opera of 'Uthal.' It was in the course of this dismal and monotonous wail that Grétry exclaimed 'Je donnerai un louis pour entendre une chanterelle!'

Berlioz, in 'Harold en Italie,' and Bennett, in his Symphony in G minor, have employed the Tenor with great effect to sustain pensive melodies. When melodies of a similar character are entrusted to the violoncellos, the tone acquires great roundness and purity if reinforced by the Tenors—witness the Adagio of Beethoven's Symphony in C minor. In chamber music, the Tenor executes sustained and arpeggio accompaniments, occasionally takes up melodic subjects, and employed in unison is a powerful supporter of either of its neighbours. Mozart's Trio for piano, clarinet, and viola, one of the most beautiful and effective works in the whole range of chamber music, affords admirable illustrations of its general capacities when used without a violoncello.

Brahms's Quintet in B♭, and one of his string quartets, will afford good examples of the prominent use of the viola, and the special effect produced by it. It is interesting to observe that the modern chamber string quartet, of which the Tenor is so important a member, is based, not on the early chamber music, but on the stringed orchestra of the theatre. Corelli, Purcell, and Handel employed the Tenor in their orchestral writings, but excluded it from their chamber music; nor was it until the orchestral quartet had been perfected for theatrical purposes by Handel, Gluck, and Sacchini that the chamber quartet settled into its present shape in the hands of Haydn, Abel, J. C. Bach, and their contemporaries. Mozart marks the period when the Tenor assumed its proper rank in both kinds of music.

The Tenor is essentially an ancillary instrument. Played alone, or in combination with the piano only, its tone is thin and ineffective: and the endeavours which have been made by some musicians to create an independent school of tenor-playing, and a distinctive class of tenor music, are founded on error. It is simply a large violin, intended to fill up the gap between the fiddle and the bass; and except in special effects, where, as we have seen, it is used for purposes of contrast, it imperatively demands the ringing tones of the violin above it.

Competent musicians, who are masters of the piano, attracted by the simplicity of the tenor part in most quartets, often take up the Tenor with but little knowledge of the violin. This is a mistake: it is usually found that the Tenor can only be properly played by a practised violinist. The Violin and Tenor make an effective duet; witness the charming works of Haydn, Mozart, and Spohr, and the less known but very artistic and numerous ones of Rolla, by the aid of which any competent violinist will soon become master of the Tenor. Mozart wrote a concerto for Violin, Tenor, and Orchestra. The trios of Mozart and Beethoven for Violin, Tenor, and Violoncello are too well known to need more than mentioning.

Owing, probably, to the structural peculiarities that have been explained above, what is the best model for the violin is not the best for the Tenor. It would seem that the limitation which necessity imposes upon its length ought to be compensated by an increase in height: for Tenors of high model are undoubtedly better than those of flat model, and hence Stradivari Tenors are kept rather to be admired than played upon. The best Tenors for use are certainly those of the Amati school, or old copies of the same by good English makers: in this country the favourite Tenor-maker is undoubtedly Banks. New fiddles are sometimes fairly good in tone: but new Tenors are always intolerably harsh, from the combined effect of their newness and of the flat model which is now universally preferred. If, however, makers of the Tenor would copy Amati, instead of Stradivari, this would no longer be the case.

Mr. Hermann Ritter, a Tenor-player resident in Heidelberg, in ignorance of the fact that the large Tenor was in use for more than a century, and was abandoned as impracticable, claims a Tenor of monstrous proportions, on which he is said to play with considerable effect, as an invention of his own.^[9] If all Tenor-players were of the herculean proportions of Mr. Ritter, the great Tenor might perhaps be revived: but human beings of ordinary stature are quite incapable of wrestling with such an instrument: to which it may be added that the singular and beautiful tenor tone, resulting from the necessary disproportion between the pitch and the dimensions of the instrument, is now too strongly identified with it to admit of any change.

The following is a list of special music for the Tenor.

Methods:
Bruni, Marsh, Fickert, Lütgen (recommended).

Studies:
Campagnoli—41 Caprices, op. 22.
Kayser—Studies, op. 43, op. 55.

Tenor and Orchestra:
F. David—Concertino, op. 12.

Tenor and Piano:
Schumann—op. 113, 'Mährchen Bilder,' 4 pieces.
W. Hill—Notturno, Scherzo, and Romance.
Joachim—Op. 9, Hebrew Melodies; op. 10, Variations on an original theme.
Kalliwoda—6 Nocturnes, op. 186.
Lütgen—Barcarole, op. 33.
Täglichsbeck—Op. 49, Concertstück.
Hofmann. C.—Reverie, op. 45.
Wallner—Fantaisie de Concert.

Herr H. Ritter has also edited 'Repertorium für Viola Alta' (Nürnberg, Schmid), containing twenty-two pieces, mostly classical transcriptions with pianoforte accompaniment.

[ E. J. P. ]

1. Giovanni Gabrieli, Sonate Plan e Forte alls quarta bassa. Printed in the Musical Appendix to Wasielewski's 'Die Violine im xvii Jahrhundert).' The lowest parts in each quartet are assigned to trumpets (Tromboni), the other soprano part to the cornet (Zinken).
2. In the 'Orfeo' of Monteverde.
3. So valle, vallon; jupe, jupon, etc.
4. Sonata con tre Violini, 1615. Wasielewski, Appendix, p. 13.
5. Ibid. p. 15.
6. Ibid. p. 26.
7. Ibid. p. 32.
8. Sonata a cinque, da Giovanni Legrenzi. Wasielewski, Appendix, p. 43. The treble parts are assigned to violins, the bass to the 'Viola da brazzo.'
9. See 'Die Geschichte der Viola Alta, und die Grundsätze ihres Baues, Von H. Ritter' (Leipzig, Weber, 1877); 'Hermann Ritter und seine Viola Alta, Von E. Adema' (Würzburg, Stuber, 1881). The practical violin-maker may estimate the value of instruments constructed on Mr. Ritter's rules from the fact that he takes as his guide the 'calcolo' of Bagatella!