Violetta Marina?
Allen Garvin
description of a violetta marina, "a viola with sympathetic strings used
by Handel in his operas `Orland' and `Sosarme'. The instrument was
invented by Castrucci." Since this is in the section on members of the
violin family, I assume this isn't simply a viol da gamba or a viola
d'amore. Understring instruments have always interested me. Are any
of these beasties extant, and does anyone know how many sympathetic
strings it had?
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MegaMole
<eare...@faeryland.tamu-commerce.edu> writes
>In David Boyden's "History of Violin Playing", on p. 324, I found a
>description of a violetta marina, "a viola with sympathetic strings used
>by Handel in his operas `Orland' and `Sosarme'. The instrument was
>invented by Castrucci." Since this is in the section on members of the
>violin family, I assume this isn't simply a viol da gamba or a viola
>d'amore. Understring instruments have always interested me. Are any
>of these beasties extant, and does anyone know how many sympathetic
>strings it had?
Is it the same thing as the "violin in tromba marina" written for by
Vivaldi in some of his concerti?
I don't know, but would like to.
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Francesco Basta
I've browsing my sources, but I could not find a "violetta marina". The
use of the term "violetta", which is a diminutive of "viola", makes me
thing that this is not similar to the "tromba marina". The "tromba marina"
is a rather cumbersome instrument (about 4 feet long), with one or two
strings, whose sound resembled that of a brass instrument, like a trumpet
(tromba in Italian). It is not clear why the adjective "marina" was used;
"marino" means "having to do with sea".
This I found in the italian edition of "The History of Musical Instrumnts"
by Curt Sachs (original edition 1940).
Hope this helps....
Francesco Basta, Monza - Italy
MegaMole <PSmit...@countertenor.demon.co.uk> scritto nell'articolo
Myron Rosenblum
I don't know where else this message will go to, but re. the violetta
marina, there isn't too much I can say. I don't think that any such
instrument has been found, but my sense is that it probably was closer to a
viola with added sympathetic strings. Pietro Castrucci wrote some solo
works for violin and basso and one of them tries to imitate the viola
d'amore. Since he played in the opera orchestra at Handel's time, he surely
knew the music (and viola d'amore playing) of Attilio Ariosti, who wrote
some excellent works for viola d'amore.
Handel's Orlando indeed uses 2 violette marine (usually played on viola
d'amore) but I've not been able to find any such parts is Sosarme (according
the the Handel Gesellschaft edition). The range of these parts could be
played by either viola d'amore or the regular viola.
When I was in Vienna, I saw a beautiful 8-stringed instrument, Bohemian,
18th century that was in the shape of a viola d'amore (and with the
flaming-sword sound holes). There were 4 playing and 4 resonating strings
and I could believe this instrument may have been a "violetta marina." We
may never know for sure.
Best wishes,
Myron Rosenblum
P Winslowe Lacesso <wlac...@gov.calgary.ab.ca> wrote in message
news:Pine.GSO.4.03.9906171237280.2946-100000@kaos...
> On Tue, 15 Jun 1999, MegaMole wrote:
>
> > In article <37669...@news.tamu-commerce.edu>, Allen Garvin
> > <eare...@faeryland.tamu-commerce.edu> writes
> > >
> > >In David Boyden's "History of Violin Playing", on p. 324, I found a
> > >description of a violetta marina, "a viola with sympathetic strings
used
> > >by Handel in his operas `Orland' and `Sosarme'. The instrument was
> > >invented by Castrucci." Since this is in the section on members of the
> > >violin family, I assume this isn't simply a viol da gamba or a viola
> > >d'amore. Understring instruments have always interested me. Are any
> > >of these beasties extant, and does anyone know how many sympathetic
> > >strings it had?
> >
> > Is it the same thing as the "violin in tromba marina" written for by
> > Vivaldi in some of his concerti?
> >
> > I don't know, but would like to.
>
> I don't know the answer to the does violetta marina = a species/relative
of
> viola d'amore, but I bet Dr Rosenblum of the Viola d'amore Society might
know
> so I am cc'ing him on this. Maybe he can answer you.
>
> As for
> > Is it the same thing as the "violin in tromba marina" written for by
> > Vivaldi in some of his concerti?
> I think the answer is no. I believe "violin in tromba marina" means
"violin
> like a tromba marina" where tromba marina = marine trumpet which is not
> anything like a brass trumpet. It's a long instrument, mainly neck, with 1
> main string. I believe it is played both above & below the bridge, which
is
> not right at the body end of the instrument.
> I have seen a pic in book where the instrument is about 12 feet long,
> on the web I can find much shorter instrument pix:
>
> http://www.gmm.co.uk/ai/tromba.htm
> http://www.by-the-sword.com/music.html
> Also from someone's article archive at
> http://www.apocalypse.org/leadheads/leadheads-mail/10-95/msg00145.html
> > >
> > > Tromba-Marina
> > > -------------
> > > I've never seen one of these, but I beleive they are LARGE, squarish
> > > towers, played like a double bass. But most of the sound comes from
> > > the sympathetic-strings housed within the instrument, the noise is
> > > supposedly more like a trumpet than a stringed instrument.
> >
> > That's the newer tromba marina. The older variety just had one or two
> > strings, with a movable bridge that buzzed as it skittered across the
> > soundboard. The most I've ever seen written about the t.m. is in John
> > Ralyea's "Shepherd's Delight", where he calls it a trumpet marine.
>
>
