![]() ![]() He also would probably have to quit using a four string cello altogether because the newly acquired technique wouldn’t apply to a four string cello anymore. A four string cellist, willing to change permanently to a five string cello and using it for pieces of all époques would have to ‘re-learn’ quite a big part of his technique. The same is true for the entire orchestra literature. All fingerings of etudes, sonatas and concertos would have have to be re-written and practiced anew. The use of the traditional education of a four string cellist becomes almost useless. ![]() When playing classical or romantic pieces on a five string cello several problems became obvious: While the E-string string allows the use of lower positions where a four string cello player has to use high thumb positions the shift system becomes completely different. (The nasal sound quality does not really present any stylistic problem with these kinds of pieces neither does the lack of volume since they were not written for performances in big halls.) Playing Baroque sonatas that were obviously intended for a four string instrument the E-string does not help much because high positions are very rarely used: Usually their tonal range does not exceed the fourth position on the A-string. When playing pieces composed for a four string cello the use of a fife string cello proved to be less helpful than expected. The BWV 1012 might be an exception: The replicas of the instrument it most likely was intended for (viola da spalla) sound more like a viola than a viol.) The fifth string allows a performance in adequate tempos while using a four string cello often forces to compromises on account of frequent and big shifts. ![]() There are very few originals left, usually not available for playing, but modern replicas also sound very similar to viols. (The Arpeggione was a rather small instrument in guitar tuning. Stylistically there is no problem whatsoever when performing pieces for five string instruments on a five string cello: Most of the available music is composed for some instrument of the viol family which members all have a sound very similar to the instruments of this project. In those pieces sometimes still the use of the thumb is necessary and high positions even on the E-string cannot be avoided.) (Exceptions are pieces that were composed for significantly smaller instruments, such as the Suite BWV 1012 and the Arpeggione Sonata. While the use of a four string cello requires the frequent use of very high and unnatural positions almost all high passages can be played in convenient positions on the E-string of a five string cello. As shown in detail in the next paragraph the presence of the fifth string facilitates playing such pieces to a tremendous degree compared to playing them on a four string cello. When playing pieces intended for a five string instrument (For a list of pieces for which the use of a five string cello could be appropriate see Appendix D.) the advantage of using a five string cello is undeniable. TECHNICAL PERFORMANCE AND STILISTIC OBSERVATIONS The low strings’ sound is closer to a four string cello’s but lack quality to some degree, especially in the higher positions. Again, the final instrument has the best sound properties but shows the same acoustic problems, however to a smaller degree.īasically, especially considering the high strings, even a master-made five string cello seems to end up with a sound character resembling more a viol’s than a four string cello’s. The final cello has by far the best sound properties, the mentioned nasal character however basically remains the same.Īll of the three instruments have acoustic problems in the higher positions of G- and D-strings, resulting in volume loss and numerous wolf notes. The quality and volume of the E-string improved to a considerable degree but the nasal character is still clearly noticeable.Īfter having tested the prototypes and having played the final instrument for more than two months several conclusions can be drawn:Īll of the three instruments have a nasal sound character on the upper strings, especially on the E-string. When the final instrument was finished Doll started in the last weeks of October 2015 to ‘break it in’ by playing it daily with the strongest possible sound – mostly using open strings to produce a maximum of overtones.Īfter playing the new cello for about one month it became obvious that the instrument basically suffers from the same impediments as both prototypes: While it has overall a much better sound quality there is a noticeable loss of volume on the higher registers of the G- and D-string compared to a four string cello. FINAL CONCLUSIONS ABOUT THE GENERAL USE AND FUTURE OF THE FIVE STRING CELLO
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