Viola Profonda
Encyclopedia
The Viola Profonda is a bowed
string instrument
in tenor-range
, with four strings, which is bigger than a Viola and its standard way of playing is resting on the shoulder (as a Violin and Viola).
By having its own sound colour
and by filling the entire tenor-range, it reforms the usual classical string quartet
and completes the idea of classical music theory
of having four separate voices with their own timbre each (Soprano
, Alto
, Tenor
, Bass
) in every instrument-category; as known in the choir
, the woodwinds and the brass family.
is one octave
below the violin and the strings are pitched as follows:
The notation
is either in G-clef
(sounds one octave lower than written);
or in C-clef (sounds one fourth
lower than written).
n composer
, director
and instrument-developer Gerardo Yañez; the unique specimen was patent
ed in 2007.
It has been presented officially the first time on November 2, 2008 at the St. Thomas Church, Leipzig-Germany and on January 14, 2010 at the Berliner Philharmonie
.
2010
2009
2008
2002
Bow (music)
In music, a bow is moved across some part of a musical instrument, causing vibration which the instrument emits as sound. The vast majority of bows are used with string instruments, although some bows are used with musical saws and other bowed idiophones....
string instrument
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
in tenor-range
Range (music)
In music, the range of a musical instrument is the distance from the lowest to the highest pitch it can play. For a singing voice, the equivalent is vocal range...
, with four strings, which is bigger than a Viola and its standard way of playing is resting on the shoulder (as a Violin and Viola).
By having its own sound colour
Timbre
In music, timbre is the quality of a musical note or sound or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices and musical instruments, such as string instruments, wind instruments, and percussion instruments. The physical characteristics of sound that determine the...
and by filling the entire tenor-range, it reforms the usual classical string quartet
String quartet
A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
and completes the idea of classical music theory
Music theory
Music theory is the study of how music works. It examines the language and notation of music. It seeks to identify patterns and structures in composers' techniques across or within genres, styles, or historical periods...
of having four separate voices with their own timbre each (Soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
, Alto
Alto
Alto is a musical term, derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high" in Italian, that has several possible interpretations.When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano. Hence,...
, Tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
, Bass
Bass (voice type)
A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...
) in every instrument-category; as known in the choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
, the woodwinds and the brass family.
| traditional string quartet | reformed string quartet | |
| Soprano | First Violin | Violin Violin The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello.... |
| Alto | Second Violin | Viola Viola The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average... |
| Tenor | Viola | Viola Profonda |
| Bass | Violoncello | Violoncello |
Tuning
Its pitchPitch (music)
Pitch is an auditory perceptual property that allows the ordering of sounds on a frequency-related scale.Pitches are compared as "higher" and "lower" in the sense associated with musical melodies,...
is one octave
Octave
In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...
below the violin and the strings are pitched as follows:
- G-d-a-e or F-c-g-d
The notation
Musical notation
Music notation or musical notation is any system that represents aurally perceived music, through the use of written symbols.-History:...
is either in G-clef
Clef
A clef is a musical symbol used to indicate the pitch of written notes. Placed on one of the lines at the beginning of the staff, it indicates the name and pitch of the notes on that line. This line serves as a reference point by which the names of the notes on any other line or space of the staff...
(sounds one octave lower than written);
or in C-clef (sounds one fourth
Perfect fourth
In classical music from Western culture, a fourth is a musical interval encompassing four staff positions , and the perfect fourth is a fourth spanning five semitones. For example, the ascending interval from C to the next F is a perfect fourth, as the note F lies five semitones above C, and there...
lower than written).
History
The Viola Profonda was invented by the BoliviaBolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
n composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, director
Music director
A music director may be the director of an orchestra, the director of music for a film, the director of music at a radio station, the head of the music department in a school, the co-ordinator of the musical ensembles in a university or college , the head bandmaster of a military band, the head...
and instrument-developer Gerardo Yañez; the unique specimen was patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
ed in 2007.
It has been presented officially the first time on November 2, 2008 at the St. Thomas Church, Leipzig-Germany and on January 14, 2010 at the Berliner Philharmonie
Berliner Philharmonie
The Berliner Philharmonie is a concert hall in Berlin, Germany. Home to the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the building is acclaimed for both its acoustics and its architecture....
.
Compositions
2011- “Sarabana” - Viola Profonda solo - Martin Raetz.
- “Suita Andalusi” - Viola Profonda & Piano - Nikios Tsiachris.
- “Amor Éternel” (ChansonChansonA chanson is in general any lyric-driven French song, usually polyphonic and secular. A singer specialising in chansons is known as a "chanteur" or "chanteuse" ; a collection of chansons, especially from the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, is also known as a chansonnier.-Chanson de geste:The...
) - Viola Profonda & Piano - Martin Raetz. - “Berlin - My heaven, my hell” (Fuge) - Violoncello, Viola Profonda, Viola & Violin (reformed string quartet) - Gerardo Yañez.
- “String Quartet with four movements” for Violoncello, Viola Profonda, Viola, Violin (reformed string quartet) - Daniel Léo Simpson.
- “Kuwalkado” (Tango-Habanera) - Viola Profonda, Accordion, Bass & Guitar - Martin Raetz.
- “Oriental nights” (Tango-Habanera) - Viola Profonda & Guitar - Martin Raetz.
- “Adarel” - Viola Profonda, String orchestra & Drums - Gerardo Yañez.
- “Los diálogos de Tunupa” - Viola Profonda & String orchestra - Alberto Villalpando.
- SonataSonataSonata , in music, literally means a piece played as opposed to a cantata , a piece sung. The term, being vague, naturally evolved through the history of music, designating a variety of forms prior to the Classical era...
for Viola Profonda & Guitar - Nikos Tsiachris.
2010
- Viola Profonda, PianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
& Bandoneón - Judith Brandenburg. - “Toccata Camila”-Viola Profonda & Piano – Miguel Bareilles.
- Viola Profonda & String orchestraString orchestraA string orchestra is an orchestra composed solely or primarily of instruments from the string family. These instruments are the violin, the viola, the cello, the double bass , the piano, the harp, and sometimes percussion...
– Jorge Gustavo Mejia Medina. - “Ven” - Viola Profonda & Piano - Judith Brandenburg.
- 3 Duos (1. Erstarrung, 2. Erregung, 3. Erwartung) – Viola Profonda & Piano – Helmut Barbe.
- Viola Profonda & OrchestraOrchestraAn orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
– Miguel Bareilles. - Viola Profonda & Chamber orchestra – Udo Agnesens.
- “Soliloquy” – Viola Profonda & Piano – Daniel Léo Simpson.
- Viola Profonda & Piano - Jorge Gustavo Mejia Medina
- “Kotti” (BluesBluesBlues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
) – Reformed string quartet, Piano & Drums – Gerardo Yañez.
2009
- “Mística 10” – Viola Profonda & Piano – Alberto Villalpando.
2008
- “Elegiaco” – Viola Profonda & GuitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
– Carlo DomeniconiCarlo DomeniconiCarlo Domeniconi is an Italian guitarist and composer known as a concert artist in both the classical and jazz idioms. Born in Cesena, Italy, he received his first instruction with Carmen Lenzi Mozzani at the age of 13...
. - “Prelude” – Viola Profonda & Guitar – Carlé Costa.
- “Epitaph” – Viola Profonda & Piano – Helmut Friedrich Fenzl.
- “Guantanamo” (Blues) – Viola Profonda & Piano – Gerardo Yañez.
- “Der Titan” (PreludePreludePrelude may refer to:*Sheaffer Prelude, a series of fountain pens, ballpoints and rollerball pens made by the Sheaffer Pen company*Prelude , a musical form*Prelude , an English based folk band...
) – Viola Profonda solo – Gerardo Yañez.
2002
- “Ofrenda” (Contemplative Meditation) – Viola Profonda solo – Gerardo Yañez.
External links
See also
- Tenor violinTenor violinA tenor violin is an instrument with a range between those of the cello and the viola. An earlier development of the evolution of the violin family of instruments, the instrument is not standard in the modern symphony orchestra...
- Baritone violinBaritone violinA Baritone violin is a member of the violin family and has two specific meanings:* a violin tuned an octave below conventional violin tuning . This is commonly accomplished by stringing a standard violin with heavy gauge strings, sometimes specially manufactured for this purpose. Oversize...
- ViolottaViolottaA violotta is a tenor viola invented by the German luthier Alfred Stelzner and patented in 1891. It is tuned in G D A E, an octave below the violin. Other instruments called "tenor violin" were tuned a step lower: F C G D .It is rarely used by composers. One of the few works where it is used is...
- Violin octetViolin octetThe violin octet is a family of stringed instruments developed in the 20th century primarily under the direction of the American luthier Carleen Hutchins. Each instrument is based directly on the traditional violin and shares its acoustical properties, with the goal of a richer and more homogeneous...
- String quartetString quartetA string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
- String sectionString sectionThe string section is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bowed string instruments of the violin family.It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses...