The Demise and Resurrection of the Fretted Bowed Lutes

As it has formed, the modern symphony orchestra's bowed string section is made up entirely of one family of instruments; the violin family. This is not the case with woodwinds, where we have double reeds such as the oboe or bassoon; single reeds like the clarinet; and reedless side-blown flutes. There is also the percussion section which is made of both pitched instruments (timpani, various bells and piano) as well as non-pitched instruments (snare-drum, woodblock...etc).  Together with the brass, all of these sections combine to form a single unit capable of producing some of the most colorful  musical sounds ever heard.

But why a single family of instruments for the largest section of the orchestra? The truth is; it wasn't always that way.

It wasn't really until the classical period (1750-1820) where the string section of the orchestra became uniform, prior to that (at least in the bass) there was often a combination of cello as well as a bass viola da gamba. The "viol" family of bowed lutes emerged out of Spain in the 15th century, when some of the players of a guitar-like instrument known as the vihuela, began using rebab bows instead of strumming with their fingers. From the 16th through the 18th centuries in Europe, viol playing in the home and on the stage was quite comon.  Over time, the instrument fell out of vogue (there are varying opinions as to why this happened but no concise explanation that is satisfying to me) and both the cello and double bass became charged exclusively with maintaining the low end.

A 17th Century illustration of a bass viol da gamba;

notice that the sound holes look like the letter "C"

instead of the familiar violin-style "F" holes, also note the frets.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viol

A beautiful rendition of a John Dowland piece done with lute (left) and viol da gamba (right)

In the 19th century, there was a brief popularity of an instrument called the "arpeggione" which was in virtually every sense; a bowed guitar. The instrument shared a lot with the viol family, in that it was very capable of playing chords, as opposed to the four-stringed violin family of instruments on which playing of three or more notes simultaneously is somewhat impractical.

An excerpt of the most famous composition for Arpeggione; the Schubert Sonata

for Arpeggione and Piano. 

As practical as it was, the arpeggione's time of popularity was quickly to fade. It seems as though once the violin family had achieved a reputable status in European society; it was going to dominate the bowed instruments indefinitely. I would venture to say that the vast majority of musical lay-people would not even know of the existence of fretted bowed lutes, were it not for the 1990's French film "All the Mornings of the World." This was a fictionalized account of the relationship between two of the greatest composers in the early baroque for viol da gamba; Saint-Colombe and Marin Marais. Needless to say, the films provocative nature and philosophical rantings on the nature of music really struck a chord with fans. 

The trailer for the film; "All the Mornings of the World"

The soundtrack to the film was recorded by Jordi Savall, who is most likely the world's foremost authority of the viol da gamba. As he is a Spaniard, there aren't a whole lot of videos on him in the English language but nonetheless, he has made a tireless career of bringing this instrument to the attention of the world.

A Jordi Savall concert featuring various viol da gambas

Because of this film and the internet at large (through sites such as YouTube) there has been a growing interest in the instruments. The problem is that for the hobbyist musician; the cost of a viol da gamba or arpeggione is just simply impractical. These instruments are not mass produced and are often made solely by hand through the work of craftsmen. Therefore; it isn't like the cello on eBay you might find for 200 dollars (which will serve you fine for the first couple years of study). In order to purchase just a student grade viol, one must be willing to spend over 1,000 dollars which seems like quite a commitment. Hopefully this will change, if instruments were widely available in schools or at music stores we might see more musicians interested in music of the early baroque and renaissance periods, but as it stands it looks like the instruments will continue to be the domain of early music aficionados.

If you are interested in the viol or its relatives I encourage you to visit: http://vdgsa.org/