The Baroque Double Bass Violone

Alfred Planyavsky · James Barket

Aug 1998 · Scarecrow Press

About this ebook

In the nineteenth century, use of the violone, a bass instrument with many sizes and variations, was nearly eliminated from musical repertoires, and its traditional parts were parceled out to other instruments such as the violoncello. The following phases of revival of the double-bass have been hampered by a lack of physical evidence and diligent research into the historical uses of the instrument. The Baroque Double Bass Violone is a comprehensive study that examines a cross-section of standard works to enhance contemporary violone research, and provide information for musicologists, music publishers, ensemble leaders, and revivalists, all of whom have been unable to reconstruct an essential part of Baroque music.

This translation finally makes the most exhaustive study of the double bass violone accessible to English-speaking musical enthusiasts. The book includes lists of terminology, the most comprehensive bibliography to date, and 48 illustrations that make this a compendium of string bass research.

About the author

Alfred Planyavsky is a former double bass instructor at the Institute for the Vienna Boys Choir and a former member of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. He has published over 200 articles, essays, and reviews on music and musical traditions. James Barket (D.M.A., UNC-Greensboro) is a double bass instructor at Valdosta State University in Georgia. He was a Fulbright Fellow in 1992 and has contributed articles to The Strad and other publications.