The Viola d'Amore: Its History and Development

Research output: Book/ReportBookpeer-review

Abstract

This book provides the first scholarly history of the viola d’amore, a popular bowed string instrument of the Baroque era, with a unique tone produced by a set of metal sympathetic strings. Composers like Bach made use of the viola d’amore for its particular sound, but the instrument subsequently fell out of fashion amid orchestral standardisation, only to see a revival as interest in early music and historical performance grew.
Drawing on literary accounts, iconography, and surviving instruments, this study examines the origins and development of this eye-catching string instrument in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It explores the rich variation of designs displayed in extant viola d’amore specimens, both as originally con- structed and as a result of conversion and repair. The viola d’amore is then set into the wider context of Elizabethan England’s development of instruments with wire strings, and its legacy in the form of the baryton which emerged in the early seventeenth century, followed by a look at the viola d’amore’s own nomenclatorial and organological influence. The book closes with a discussion of the viola d’amore’s revival, and its use and manufacture today. Offering insights for orga- nological research and historical performance practice, this study enhances our knowledge of both the viola d’amore and its wider family of instruments.
Original languageEnglish
Place of PublicationLondon
PublisherTaylor & Francis
Number of pages188
ISBN (Electronic)9780367513733, 9780429433993
ISBN (Print)9781138358966
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 24 Jul 2020

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