Arpeggione
Encyclopedia
The arpeggione is a six-stringed musical instrument
, fretted and tuned like a guitar
, but bowed like a cello
, and thus similar to the bass viola da gamba
.photo The body shape of the instrument, is however more similar to a medieval fiddle than either the guitar or the bass viol.
It enjoyed a brief vogue, perhaps a decade, after its invention around 1823, by the Viennese
guitar maker Johann Georg Stauffer (1778-1853). The only notable piece extant for the instrument is a sonata with piano accompaniment by Franz Schubert
, D.821, not published until 1871, when the arpeggione was long defunct. This sonata is now commonly played on the cello
or viola
.
More recently Nicolas Deletaille has reintroduced the instrument by playing not only its repertoire (notably Schubert's Sonata), but also by playing the contemporary repertoire and encouraging composers to write new music for this instrument.
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
, fretted and tuned like a guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, but bowed like a cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
, and thus similar to the bass viola da gamba
Viol
The viol is any one of a family of bowed, fretted and stringed musical instruments developed in the mid-late 15th century and used primarily in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The family is related to and descends primarily from the Renaissance vihuela, a plucked instrument that preceded the...
.photo The body shape of the instrument, is however more similar to a medieval fiddle than either the guitar or the bass viol.
It enjoyed a brief vogue, perhaps a decade, after its invention around 1823, by the Viennese
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
guitar maker Johann Georg Stauffer (1778-1853). The only notable piece extant for the instrument is a sonata with piano accompaniment by Franz Schubert
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
, D.821, not published until 1871, when the arpeggione was long defunct. This sonata is now commonly played on the cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
or viola
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
.
More recently Nicolas Deletaille has reintroduced the instrument by playing not only its repertoire (notably Schubert's Sonata), but also by playing the contemporary repertoire and encouraging composers to write new music for this instrument.
External links
- Nicolas Deletaille's webpage on the arpeggione, a lot of useful information on the arpeggione
- Home of the guitarviol. This electric instrument is a modern equivalent, perhaps closer to Staufer's original instrument.
- Homepage of the "Arpeggione World". Osamu Okumura, Japanese has restored OK-model and Anton Mitteisーmodel of Arpeggione making by himself.