Viola Standards.
What a great gift to the world, and especially those that love the viola is Maurice W. Riley’s The History of the Viola, Volume I and II published in 1980, 1991 and 1993. I doubt if a continuation of this great work, or even an update will ever be done. Yet there are gems written today on the viola, such as the paper Finding Emotion in Bartok’s Viola Concerto, by Jennifer Reed Mueller, the 2009 first-prize winner of the David Dalton Viola Research Competition. This can be found in the Journal of the American Viola Society, Fall 2009 Volume 25, Number 2. I will never forget the master class led by Karen Tuttle at the 1989 American Viola Society Congress XVII at Redlands California. This was the first time I was impressed with the importance of emotion produced by the viola. Nor will I ever forget the live concerts I’ve attended for the viola. Many of my favorite violists will be featured at the 38th International Viola Congress, which will be held in Cincinnati, Ohio from June 16-20, 2010. All play on contralto violas, which I consider standard violas? For reasons to follow I have focused on the contralto viola rather than the tenor viola.
I first began playing the viola in 1961 after purchasing an old (1800) Austrian viola from Wurlitzer and soon began learning the viola cleft from the booklet From Violin to Viola. This viola had a body length of 17 inches and I loved the tone, but had difficulty managing the upper postions while attempting difficult scales and exercises. For this reason the first viola I made in 1986 had a body length of 16 1/2 inches, the model more or less based on the 1676 Andrea Guarneri “Conte Vitale“, which I got from my first teacher Victor Gardener. I wondered what effect on tone my next violas would have if I reduced the body length and string length from 16 1/2 to 16 3/8 and 16 1/4 inches . I found no difference in tone which I reported in a paper The Viola, VMAII Jan and Feb, 1993.
I first began playing the viola in 1961 after purchasing an old (1800) Austrian viola from Wurlitzer and soon began learning the viola cleft from the booklet From Violin to Viola. This viola had a body length of 17 inches and I loved the tone, but had difficulty managing the upper postions while attempting difficult scales and exercises. For this reason the first viola I made in 1986 had a body length of 16 1/2 inches, the model more or less based on the 1676 Andrea Guarneri “Conte Vitale“, which I got from my first teacher Victor Gardener. I wondered what effect on tone my next violas would have if I reduced the body length and string length from 16 1/2 to 16 3/8 and 16 1/4 inches . I found no difference in tone which I reported in a paper The Viola, VMAII Jan and Feb, 1993.
Standards were provided three to four hundred years ago for the violin and cello, but not the viola. There are only two contralto violas extant today made by three generations of Amatis – from Andrea to Nicola Amati. There may be only three Stradivari violas which are playable today, and there are no recordings by soloists for us to hear and evaluate. In an interview by David Dalton, William Primrose was asked why we don’t have soloists like Corelli, Veracini, and other prominent violinists to the present for the viola. Primrose replied: “The reason is that the viola was not a brilliant, coloratura instrument like the violin – and that composers didn’t write for it (DVD Primrose -A Violist’s Legacy).” Fan Tao recently wrote: “While one can find inspiration in historical viola models, they should not constrain us — We should look to the future and take some inspiration from the many outstanding violas being made today.”
The most beautiful sound for the viola that I have ever heard, December 2019:
The Zaslov Duo for viola and piano, Bernard Zaslov, viola, Dvorak, Op. 11, B, 39.
The viola is the 1781 J Guadagnini (The History of the Viola, by Maurice W. Riley, p. 66-67). The body length is 15 3/4 inches, 41.16 cm, and string length is 14 1/2 inches, 36.83 cm, and width of bouts are the same as on my 15 3/4 inches violas, but the sides of my violas are 2 mm higher on my upper and lower ribs. Notice the absolute clarity of all notes from the bottom of the C String to the top of the A string (See also, "The Viola in My Live: An Alto Rhapsody," by Bernard Zaslov, Science and Behavior Books, Inc.).
Most good players know, or should know, what a good violin sounds like. Nearly all violin makers use a standard 14 inches body length for violins. The viola remains a problem for many players as well as makers, dealers and others in the violin trade. I proposed at the conclusion of the 1989 Viola Congress at Redlands, California among other things that: Viola lengths and string lengths be standardized. (The Viola, VMAII Journal February, 1993). I have spent many years working on the viola problem and have made 98 violas to date, mostly 16 inches body length. After making adjusments, I play on each viola, as with violin and cello, a scale in first postion across the strings and then an octave on each string and a brief musical selection. There follows examples of my playing on two 15 5/8 inches violas.
The most beautiful sound for the viola that I have ever heard, December 2019:
The Zaslov Duo for viola and piano, Bernard Zaslov, viola, Dvorak, Op. 11, B, 39.
The viola is the 1781 J Guadagnini (The History of the Viola, by Maurice W. Riley, p. 66-67). The body length is 15 3/4 inches, 41.16 cm, and string length is 14 1/2 inches, 36.83 cm, and width of bouts are the same as on my 15 3/4 inches violas, but the sides of my violas are 2 mm higher on my upper and lower ribs. Notice the absolute clarity of all notes from the bottom of the C String to the top of the A string (See also, "The Viola in My Live: An Alto Rhapsody," by Bernard Zaslov, Science and Behavior Books, Inc.).
Most good players know, or should know, what a good violin sounds like. Nearly all violin makers use a standard 14 inches body length for violins. The viola remains a problem for many players as well as makers, dealers and others in the violin trade. I proposed at the conclusion of the 1989 Viola Congress at Redlands, California among other things that: Viola lengths and string lengths be standardized. (The Viola, VMAII Journal February, 1993). I have spent many years working on the viola problem and have made 98 violas to date, mostly 16 inches body length. After making adjusments, I play on each viola, as with violin and cello, a scale in first postion across the strings and then an octave on each string and a brief musical selection. There follows examples of my playing on two 15 5/8 inches violas.
The most rewarding experiences I have had following my labors is listening to young players who have produced excellent music on my cellos (home page- Abraham and Nick) and violas,Tessera Chin at the USOMC competition, Handel-Halvorsen duo.
I believe the future of music has been strengthened by thousands of affordable violins used by beginning students as well as violins and violas made by modern makers with excellent tone. My efforts focusing on viola standards and tone, with 100 4/4 cellos and 98 violas I have made to 2005 and 2009, are presented below in my book "The Standard Viola."
Charles Harman, P.O. Box 4031, Brookings, OR, 97415, phone – 541 469-6658, [email protected]