大提琴的英文介绍

Violoncello

The bass instrument of the violin family, often abbreviated ‘cello’ (for illustration, seeViolin). It originated in the early 16th century as a member of the family called ‘viole da braccio’. The earliest source (1529) refers to a bass violin with three strings, tuned F-c-g. Later instruments added a fourth tuned to B♭ thus completing the sequence of 5ths taken from the tuning of the violin. This tuning remained in use into the late 17th century but was found not to be ideal for ensemble playing and the present-day tuning (C-G-d-a, an octave below the viola s) was adopted.

The instrument's size fluctuated considerably during the 16th and 17th centuries; most models were considerably larger than the modern standard size, fixed by Stradivari c1710. Further experiments in the 18th century led to the invention of the ‘violoncello piccolo’ (a small instrument used by Bach in his Leipzig cantatas) and a five-string violoncello (for which Bach w