V I o 



V 1 o 



France, they ufe the fame clef as the firft line at bottom : 

 the firft of thefe methods is beft, where the fong goes very- 

 low ; the fecond where it goes very high. 



Merfennus fpeaks of the tenor and contra-tenor violin, 

 which, he fays, differ onlv in magnitude from the treble 

 violin. But we have at prefent no fuch inftrument in ufe as 

 the contra-tenor violin ; the part proper to it being with eafe 

 performed on the violin ; and accordingly in concertos, over- 

 tures, and other inftrumental compofitions of many parts, 

 the fecond violin is in reality the counter-tenor part. It is 



much to be doubted, fays fir John Hawkins ( Hift. Muf- 

 vol. iv. p. 115.) whether the counter-tenor violin ever came 

 into England. Anth. Wood, fpeaking of the band of 

 Charles II., makes no mention of the contra-tenor violin. 

 Before the reftoration of Charles II. fays he, and efpecially 

 after, viols begun to be out of fafhion, and only violins 

 ufed, as treble violin, tenor and bafe violin ; and the king, 

 according to the French mode, would have twenty-four 

 violins playing before him while he was at meals, as being 

 more airy and briik than viols. 



Natural Scale for the V'wUn. 



Open 



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1 



ii^ 



-op;.-.. 



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-Ofcn- 



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"OO" 



VIOLINO Piccolo, Ital. a kit, or the pocket-violin of 

 dancing-mafters. 



ViOLiNO Scordalo, Ital., a fiddle out of tune. 



VIOLONCELLO, the diminutive of niioloru, contra- 

 bajfo, or double-bafe. The violoncello is the natural bafe 

 to the violin and tenor, and has been very much cultivated 

 throughout Europe, and no where more fuccefsfuUy than in 

 England, during the laft century, in proportion as the bafe- 

 viol or fix-ftringed bafe loft its favour. The laft Englifti 

 performer on the viol di gamba, who was favourably no- 

 ticed, was Mifs Ford, afterwards Mrs. Thicknefs ; but (lie 

 made Httle more ufe of it than in accompanying her voice, 

 which (he did with great expreffion and effeft. But Abel, 

 in fpite of the natural defects of the inftrument, the tone of 

 which every one difliked, by his exquifite tafte, prodigious 

 execution when he pleafed, genius, and profound knowledge 

 of compofition, delighted all hearers, and made them forget, 

 or at leaft forgive, its querulous and nafal quality of tone. 

 The inftrument now is as dead as this great mufician, and 

 feems to have departed this life at the fame time. 



The firft performer on the violoncello in our memory, 

 who was always heard with pleafure, was Caporale, whofe 

 chief excellence was his fine tone. Gordon and Paxton had 

 confiderable merit of that kind. The elder Cervetto and 

 Pafqualino, both defeftive in tone, had what was then 

 thought confiderable execution and knowledge of the finger- 

 board ; but Crofdil and the younger Cervetto became in all 

 refpefts the moil complete and delightful performers on the 

 violoncello, which not only England but all Europe can 

 boaft. So equally perfeft in all things elfc ai-e thefe admi- 

 rable artifts, that the fire of the one, and the vocal tone of 

 the other, can alone diftingui(h them. But, to the great 

 regret of the public, they have retired from all profeflional 

 exercife of their talents. We have however many per- 

 formers on the violoncello for general bufinefs, who would 

 have been thought wonderful players formerly ; and to con- 

 fole us a little for the lofs of Cervetto and Crofdil, a Linley, 

 who in every requifite of a great player, may be pronounced 

 wonderful at prefent ( 1 804 ) . 



Diatonic Scale of tie Fioloneello, 'without Shifts. 



'^t 



-Open— I ' — ——».— 



-0-0 • "• 



4th String. 



-O^e: 



» 4 



- £ > 



i 



3d String. 



id Strin'. 



il\ String. 



.^ 



VIOLONE, a double-bafe, almoft twice as big as the 

 common bafe-violin, and the firings bigger and longer, in 

 proportion ; and, confequently, its found an oftave lower 

 than that of our bafe-violin ; which has a noble eff"e(ft in 

 great concertos ; but this depends upon the number of 

 ftrings, and the manner of tuning them ; fome performers 

 ufing four ftrings, and others three ; and in the tuning of 

 thefe there is a confiderable difference. The true ufe of the 

 violone is to fuftain the harmony, and in this refpeft it has a 

 noble effeft : divided bafes are improper for it, the ftrings 

 not anfwering immediately to the percuflion of the bow : 

 thefe can only be executed with a good effedl on the violon- 

 cello, the founds of which are more articulate and diftinft. 



VIOLONISTA, Ital., a performer on the violin. 



UJON, in Geography, a town of Perfia, in the province of 

 Chufiftan ; 35 miles N.N-W. of Eftachar. 



VIOTTI, , in Biography, a good compofer and 



great performer on the violin. He is a native of Turin, and 

 faid to be the fon of the prince de Carignan's gardener, and 

 intended by his father to be brought up to his own profef- 

 fion, difcouraging as much as pofiible his paffion for mufic, 

 which he early difcovered ; and even complaining to the 

 prince that he fhould never make a gardener of liini, as he 

 was always fcraping upon a bad fiddle. The prince advifed 

 his father to fend him to Pugnani, and if he difcovered in 

 him the feeds of genius and promifing talents, he would pre- 

 vail on him to take the boy as a fcholar or an apprentice. 



Pugnani immediately difcovered, that with proper culti- 

 vation, he would foon ditlinguilh himfelf among profeffors 

 of the firft clafs ; an opinion which a few years confirmed. 



In 1783 he went to Paris, and firft performed at the con- 

 cert fpirituel, was extremely applauded, and increafed in 



favour 



