File:The orchestra and its instruments (1917) (14595813219).jpg

Identifier: orchestraitsinst00sing (find matches)
Title: The orchestra and its instruments
Year: 1917 (1910s)
Authors: Singleton, Esther, d. 1930
Subjects: Orchestra Musical instruments
Publisher: New York : The Symphony society of New York
Contributing Library: Harold B. Lee Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Brigham Young University

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tuosity for himself. Then the French took it up. They did a great dealfor the violoncello. First came Berteau, who died in1756; and, after him, the still more important JeanLouis Duport (1749-1819), who worked out a systemof fingering and bowing and a methodical manner ofshifting from position to position.2 Duports Essayon the subject made an epoch in violoncello playing.Duport was a very fine performer. It seems that hewas inspired by the playing of the violinist, Viotti,3who visited Paris in 1782 and who astonished every-body. This started Duport thinking, just as Paga-ninis playing a half century later set Liszt thinking.Duports idea was to imitate the agility and grace andcharm of the violin upon his own violoncello. Eversince Duports time the violoncello has been consideredpractically a bass violin as far as technique is con-cerned; and great performers have constantly addedsome new idea with regard to playing it, until now the 1 See pages 43 and 44. 2 See page 61. 3 See page 44.
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VIOLA DA GAMBA THE VIOLONCELLO 61 violoncello in the hands of a Pablo Casals can be asairy and light as a violin even if its voice is heavier.The violoncello has now learned to sing. Duportwould be astonished if he could hear our violoncelliststo-day, though he was one of the best (if not the verybest) of his time. Beethoven thought so much ofDuport that to him he dedicated his first two Violon-cello Sonatas, op. 5. We can get an idea of the way a violoncello wasregarded in the Eighteenth Century by the compli-ment that Voltaire paid Duport when the latterplayed for him in Geneva. Voltaire was perfectlyastonished by his performance. When Duport laiddown his bow Voltaire said: Monsieur, you makeme believe in miracles. You know how to turn an oxinto a nightingale! Duport was delightfully modest, although everybodyacknowledged his greatness and every violoncelliststudied his famous Essay on Fingering and Bowing theVioloncello. In this he said: Everybody knows thekind of bowing called mar

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