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Newent Orchestral
Society Bill's Musical Notes, July, 2010 In Defense of the Viola What is the definition of a minor second? Two violas playing in unison. What is the longest viola joke? Harold In Italy. How can you tell when a violist is playing out of tune? The bow is moving. I'm laughing, too. But how did it happen that there are more viola jokes than for all other instruments combined? I was grateful to Germain Greer (The Guardian, November 2009) for setting the record straight and I'm passing this on. The viola is pitched a 5th below the violin (its strings are C, G, D and A) and over the years it has apparently dwindled in size so that it is now only about a 10th larger than the violin. However, that does still substantially increase the stretch of the fingers on the fingerboard and the distance of any leaps when playing in different positions, all of which make the instrument less easy to play fluently. I guess this is why there are comparatively few solo pieces written for the viola as its potential as a virtuosic instrument is limited in comparison with the more nimble violin. In my last Note, I mentioned Orpheus and his lyre. Long after historians had decided what his lyre looked like, a significant number of important artists continued to depict his instrument not as a lyre but as a large, bowed, stringed instrument - the viola. One of the most famous is "Orpheus before Pluto" by Francois Perrier (c. 1650, now in the Louvre - google it and take a look). CPE Bach tells us that his father got most pleasure from all his collection of stringed instruments by playing his viola. For a brief period, in the early 18th century, the viola was popularly the "top" instrument. In recent times, the Classic FM Gramophone young artist of 2008 was Maxim Rysanov, a thrilling viola player. The viola is often used by folk as well as classical musicians and was famously used by contemporary rock group, "The Velvet Underground". The modern, experimental five-string violin has as its ancestor the Viola Pomposa, also with five strings, which appeared in the 18th century and was played on the arm not under the chin. What prompted me to write this, was my own recent experience at the orchestra's annual workshop, when I took my viola along and swapped seats with our regular violist, Susan Grenfell, who had brought her violin. It was a new, educational and extremely enjoyable experience for me. The violas sit at the heart of the orchestra and, reading from the alto clef, hold the harmonic ground between treble and bass. It is the best player's seat from which to hear a balanced soundscape of the orchestra and that makes the violist aware of more that is in the music and trying to get out. Hence, the violas could be the most important section in the orchestra from a structural point of view, for not only does their timbre give a deep throb and warm tone, but their part also genuinely links, even holds together the higher and lower voices of any full orchestral score. Bill Anderton, July, 2010 You can receive the Newent
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