Historical Ad Practical Considerations for the Tuning of Double Bass Instruments in Fourths - David Chapman Prática história dos intrumentos de cordas

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Historical and Practical Considerations for the Tuning of Double Bass Instruments in Fourths Author(s): David Chapman Source: The Galpin Society Journal, Vol. 56 (Jun., 2003), pp. 224-233Published by: Galpin SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/30044426Accessed: 20-11-2015 15:26 UTC

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DAVID CHAPMAN

Historical and Practical Considerations

for the Tuning of

Double Bass Instruments in Fourths

An article in the Autumn/Winter 1998 issue of Double Bassist magazine features a conversation with the Canadian double bass

virtuoso Joel Quarrington. In the course of the piece, Mr. Quarrington sets forth his opinion concerning the virtues of tuning his instrument in fifths (C1-G1-D-A), in the manner of the instruments of the violin family. In doing so, he abandons the traditional double bass tuning scheme of fourths (E1-A1-D-G), inherited, along with numerous other characteristic traits, from the ancestral forebear of the modern contrabass instrument, the violone, a member of the viol family.

The central rationale given in support of this adaptation is, in Mr. Quarrington's words, that it '...[gives] me a whole other perspective on my intonation with other strings [i.e., violins, violas, and cellos] that I'd never understood before. I realized that I couldn't improve my intonation without always playing in fifths. The instrument rings differently when it is tuned in fifths. I feel like I have greater coherence with the other strings when I'm tuned this way'.1 While acknowledging several practical problems that occur when utilizing the fifths tuning (which will be addressed below), Mr. Quarrington remains convinced that the future of double bass performance rests on this novel system of tuning.

The design and implementation of any system that would enhance the resonance of the modern contrabass instrument should be applauded. However, it would seem prudent to take into account certain other factors when attempting to arrive at any general conclusions concerning the

performance practices of double bass players. Further, it seems reasonable to propose that the changes undergone by the double bass in the course of its development reflect the changing circumstances of its players; we must clearly be conscious not just of factors related to its characteristic design, but also to the sound ideals associated with the instrument over the years. These defining traits, combined with certain performance practices common to the viol family, might tend to indicate that the system of tuning in fourths has not only historical validity, but acoustical viability as well.

For historical background, on his internet page devoted to this topic Mr. Quarrington posts a 'special article, specifically written for my website by the world's leading bass historian, Paul Brun'.2 Here, Mr. Brun sets forth a brief account of the development of double bass tunings, both in fifths (which he claims to have come first) and in fourths.

This article presents the development of double bass instruments solely in relation to their ancestors in the violin family, such as the French basse de violon, ignoring completely any association with the viol family. Such misguided attempts to classify the double bass as a member of the violin family ignore or distort a mountain of evidence to the contrary. Today's double bass instrument clearly falls into a category distinct from that of the other modern bowed string instruments, and its lineage is apparent in its physical differences from the members of the violin family. It would seem that any discussion of the acoustical properties of these instruments should take these factors into account.

1 Kim Echlin, 'Bass is Ace; a Toronto Composer Scores One for the Back Row of the Orchestra,' Ottawa Citizen, 22 March 1998.

2 Quarrington in Fifths: 'Tuning and Playing in Fifths,' Website, http://www.interlog.com/-henshaw/fifths.html.

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The Galpin Society Journal

The physical differences between the two families, and the distinct playing positions, are easily perceived. Further, the viols were, for the most part, six-string, fretted instruments tuned in fourths (generally with a third in the middle, as in D1-G1-C-E-A-d, although in France the indigenous five-string viols were tuned in fourths throughout).3 The violins, on the other hand, began their existence as three-string, unfretted instruments tuned in fifths (g-d'-a'), later adding a fourth e" string.4

There were many reasons for the increasing popularity of the violins from the seventeenth century onwards. Most importantly, advances were made by luthiers in certain structural elements of the violin, notably the inclusion of a bass bar and sound post. These features enabled the violin to be strung with greater tension, thereby increasing the volume level. The shift in emphasis towards individual artistic expression led to an affinity for the increased dynamic range and more pronounced musical contrasts afforded by the violin. The late- Renaissance viol had no such equipment, depending mainly on the vibration of the belly of the instrument for its sonority, the sides and back serving to contain a resonating body of air.s This obviously placed the viols at a disadvantage in terms of contemporary artistic sensibilities. Reacting to these changing ideals, luthiers in the early Baroque period began fitting viols with both sound posts and bass bars, but, by that time, the violin family was in ascendancy, playing a major role in the newly constituted orchestral configurations.

This popularity of the violin family did not, however, address the growing need in orchestral situations for an extremely agile and flexible contrabass instrument. By the beginning of the eighteenth century, composers such as J.S. Bach were writing orchestral works with extraordinarily complex bass parts that covered a sizable range, descending in many instances to contra C. For these works, the bass members of the violin family proved inadequate. The Gross Quint-Bass (or bass violin), pictured in Plate XXI of Michael Praetorius'

Syntagma Musicum, in keeping with the characteristics of that family, is tuned in fifths, F1-C-G-d-a. This clearly would not have met the low registral needs of many of the orchestral works of Bach and his contemporaries. Further, it may be that the violin-like shape of the body, especially the rounded shoulders, made the dexterity required for these parts in the higher range problematic as well. It appears that the six-string violone, the contrabass member of the viol family, was Bach's instrument of choice for his continuo bass. Tuned in the viol manner, in fourths with a middle third (D1-G1-C-E-A-d), and equipped with a fretted fingerboard, this instrument fulfilled all the requirements of the music.

Partial accordance with this view can be found in Laurence Dreyfus's book on the continuo groups utilized by Bach.6 Dreyfus points out that early in his career, Bach employed a smaller violone, tuned G-C-f-a-d-g', and that traces of this instrument can be detected as late as the Cothen period, where it is present in the early versions of the Brandenburg Concertos.7 However, the pre-existing preference for sixteen-foot transposing instruments throughout most of Europe quickly relegated this instrument to a role of reinforcing the violoncello in the continuo group, especially when the cello assumed a quasi- concertato role.8

Dreyfus also identifies the violono grosso as an instrument that is different from the six-string, fretted violone. He refers to it as a four-string instrument tuned like a cello, an octave lower. This is the definition given in the Musicus Autodidacticus ofJ.P.Eisel, published in 1738. This instrument, also tuned in fourths, and described by Eisel as being called violono grosso by the Italians, was said to be more powerful, and to have the ability to cut through the orchestral textures better than did the viols.9 It is Dreyfus's conclusion, as demonstrated in his book through the examination of the continuo parts of many of Bach's instrumental and vocal compositions, that the designation 'violone', which appears in the extant autograph scores, refers to all three of the above cited instruments at different

3 lan Woodfield, The Early History of the Viol (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984), p. 200. 4 Sheila Nelson, The Violin and the Viola (New York: W.W.Norton, 1972), pp.4-5. 5 Jeremy Montagu, The World of Renaissance and Medieval Musical Instruments (Woodstock, N.Y.: Overlook Press,

1976), p. 112. " Lawrence Dreyfus, Bach's Continuo Group: Players and Practices in his Vocal Works (Cambridge, Mass: Harvard

University Press, 1987). For a full account of the author's views on this subject, see Chapter V, The Problematic Identity of the Violone, pp.136-169.

7 For a full discussion of this aspect of the small violone in G and its usage, see Dreyfus, pp.142-169. 8 Dreyfus, p.166.

9 Those seeking justification for a fifths tuning in Eisel's treatise, however, should use caution in pointing to this instrument. The description reads '[The Violon] is tuned by many like a Violoncello (an octave below) but most tune it in fourths.' See Johann Philipp Eisel, Musicus Autodidaktos (Erfurt, 1738), pp.50-51.

225




times. Dreyfus presents a good deal of evidence in support of this position. Yet, especially as concerns the Brandenburg Concertos, he has eliminated the small violone in G as a possibility. His contention is, then, that the sixteen-foot transposing double bass instrument of the Concertos was either Eisel's violono grosso or the six-string violone in D, and that their continuo parts are illustrative as to which instrument was used; the low C1 string of the violono grosso indicating its usage where the part descends to that pitch.

And yet, Dreyfus does admit to the possibility of the six-string violone tuning down its lowest string to a C1 for certain other works.10 I believe there is a simpler explanation, one which would take into account certain practices by viol players in the Renaissance and, presumably carried over into the orchestral practices of the Baroque period by the players who were sought out to provide this sixteen- foot sonority. I would suggest that the instrument to which Bach refers in these autograph scores, whether given the designation violono grosso (as in the first Brandenburg) or simply violon (in all the rest of the Brandenburgs) is this six-string, fretted violone.

Utilizing a viol to fulfill such an important and versatile function as that of the sixteen-foot member of this new style of orchestral continuo group would have seemed natural for Bach and his contemporaries. It must be remembered that the viola da gamba family had been much beloved in Germany and, indeed, throughout Europe, for centuries. Consider this description by Mersenne, written in 1635:

It is certain that if the instruments are taken in proportion that they best imitate the voice, and if of all the artifices one esteems most that which best represents the natural, it seems that one must not refuse the prize to the viol, which imitates the voice in all its modulations, and even in its accents most significant of sadness and joy.11

At a time when the violins were making considerable progress towards superiority in the minds of the musical community, these comments are representative of a sentiment that was still encountered at the beginning of the 19th century, most conspicuously in the incorporation of the violone into the more modern orchestral groups of the time.

As to Bach's use of the violone, it is indeed, as Dreyfus has pointed out, the Brandenburg Concertos that provide the most compelling

evidence of this. Bach, in the autograph scores, calls specifically for either the violono grosso (in No.1) or the violon (Nos.2-6). He designates the instrument as either a part of the continuo group, as in Concertos 1, 3, and 6, or as a member of the ripieno orchestra, as in Concertos 2, 4, and 5. It seems clear that one of the main reasons for this choice of instrument was the range that it provided. However, I think that we must consider another aspect of viol playing, which I believe Bach and his fellow composers, contemporary and later, took into consideration when adopting this instrument as their contrabass member.

Viol players, from very early on in their history, it seems, were forced by circumstances to be versatile in their performance practices. The celebrated two- volume tutorial of the Venetian instrumentalist Sylvestro di Ganassi (1492(?)-c.1550), Regola Rubertino, gives an indication of how these violists were trained. The Regola is, in essence, a collection of rules for tuning the instrument, and these rules are presented in a manner that is consistent with those of other 16th-century theorists. Ganassi presents a series of scales with their tablature equivalents, showing the position of the notes on the fingerboard.12 He offers four rules (regole) for tuning, each rule having three orders (ordini). These orders advocate different approaches to tuning for pieces with b-naturals, on the one hand, and those with flat key signatures on the other. Ganassi's method very much resembles that of the contemporary composer and violist Alfonso della Viola (c.1508-c.1573), whose tunings also take the tonal orientation of a piece into consideration.

Therefore, in these tuning systems, a 'natural' tuning ('per b-natural') might be d-g-c'-e'-a'-d", but its equivalent for flat keys ('per b-mol') might then be a tone lower, or c-f-b'-d'-g'-c". This would ensure that the open strings of the instrument were matched to the key of the piece being performed, producing maximum resonance. Thus, the bb and f strings of the second tuning would be ideal for a piece with a tonal centre of F or Bb, while the first tuning would prove to be superior for a work centred around G or D. Tablature notation, such as that presented in the Regola Rubertino, serves these functions best, but a professional violist in an intermedio orchestra of the day would have found that he would need to be versatile enough to read mensural notation as well as tablature, and even to be able to transpose at sight.13

10 Dreyfus, p.162 11 Marin Mersenne, Harmonie Universelle: The Books on Instruments, translated by Roger E. Chapman (The Hague:

Martinu-Nijhoff, 1957), p. 254. 12 Woodfield, p.141. 13 Ibid., p. 143.

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Transposition is, apparently, what Ganassi had in mind in presenting this system. In a recent article, Herbert W. Myers has pointed out that, lacking any internationally agreed-upon pitch standard during the Renaissance, these tunings by Ganassi should be thought of as providing 'conceptual' or nominal, as opposed to absolute, pitches. They therefore 'con- stitute a system of transposition-alternative ways to fit musical scales onto the fingerboard of the gamba'.14

The ambiguity of exact pitch level, however, would not change the concept of tuning a consort to the 'home key' of a given composition. Indeed, Myers goes on to state that 'the exact pitch level of Ganassi's gamba consort . . was not arrived at by matching any outside pitch source [;it] was the result of compromise among the various needs of the group', maximum resonance of the instruments presumably high on this list of needs.

It seems clear that matching the tuning to the central tonality of a piece was an important consideration to the Renaissance musician. Cadential figures occurring on many of the open-string pitches were critical to the outlining of pitch centres by the natural resonance produced by the proper tuning of the instruments.15 Both Ganassi and della Viola, then, present their regole, elaborate and complex though they may seem today, with a very practical end in mind. As Ian Woodfield states, these tunings were meant:

...to ensure the best possible match between the key of the piece to be performed and the tuning of the consort, thereby making the best use of the 'ring' of the open strings and achieving the best resonance.16

It would appear, then, that it was this consideration, rather than the intervals between strings, that concerned them.17

This ability to tune strings to produce the greatest possible resonance in relation to a specific key certainly would have seemed an attractive feature to Baroque composers searching for a contrabass instrument. That the six-string fretted violone is their instrument of choice can again be illustrated by a re-examination of the violone parts of the Brandenburg Concertos.

It has been pointed out by numerous scholars, including Dreyfus, that certain inconsistencies occur in these violone parts from concerto to concerto. For example, whereas low contra Cs are abundant in Concertos 1 and 2, they are conspicuously avoided in Concertos 4 and 5 [see Examples 1 a-f].18 These discrepancies have in the past been explained either as mistakes by the composer or evidence of the use of a different, possibly non sixteen-foot, instrument. But consider, in the light of what we have discovered concerning viol tunings, Bach's use of range in these parts. The low C's in Concertos 1 and 2 [Examples la, b, and c]19 could be construed as indicating a violone tuned C1-F1-B~-D-G-c, which would provide maximum resonance to the F major tonality of both pieces. However, in Concertos 4 and 5 [Examples Id, e, and f], the lowest note to be found is D1. When passages such as those in Examples Id- f occur, the low C1 is avoided. The keys of these pieces, G major and D major respectively, seem to indicate a violone tuning of D1-G-C-E-A-d, thereby precluding the use of the low C1.20

It would appear that, while the sixteen-foot register was a very important consideration for these composers, resonance within the key of the piece was also an important concern, and something that did not necessarily presuppose any fixed disposition as to the tuning of the different strings.21

14 Herbert W. Myers, 'The Sizes and Tunings of Early Viols: Some Questions (and a Few Answers),' Journal of the Viola da Gamba Society of America 38, 5-26.

15 Joelle Morton, 'The Early History and Use of the G Violone,' Journal of the Viola da Gamba Society of America 36 (1999), 40-68.

16 Woodfield, p. 144. 17 The precise spacing of the frets on the neck of the viol was also a consideration for these players. Accounts of late-

sixteenth- and early-seventeenth-century theorists indicate that the viol players of the period would have taken into account the various forms of meantone temperament used by the keyboardists of the day and made an effort to match their intonation. A full discussion of the workings of these techniques would unduly lengthen this study without materially altering the conclusions presented. The reader should consult the following for more information:

Mark Lindley, Lutes, Viols, and Temperaments (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984), pp. 45-50. Antonio Corona-Alcalde,' "You will raise a little your 4th fret": and Equivocal Instruction by Luis Milan?' Galpin

Society Journal 44 (1991), 2-45. 18 Ralph Leavis, 'J.S.Bach's Violone Parts,' Galpin Society Journal 30 (1977), 155-156. 19 J.S.Bach, Neue Bach Ausgabe Siimtliche Werke, edited by Heinrich Besseler (Kassel: Barenreiter - Verlag, 1956). 20 This concept could also go a long way towards explaining the baffling low B 2 in Concerto 6; scordatura being

common practice, we could postulate a tuning of Bb2-F'-B I-D-G-c. 21 This theory also gives credit to composers such as Bach for being familiar with the capabilities of the instruments

for which they were writing. Too often in the discussion of register in the bass parts of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, it is suggested that composers who are otherwise renowned for their attention to detail in matters of instrumentation, range, and timbre would somehow, when it came to writing the often all-important double bass parts, suddenly decided to write notes which they knew the instruments of their day could not perform, leaving it to future generations to solve these problems.

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Example 1 Brandenburg Concertos

a.) No.l, I mm.8-13

violoncello

violono grosso e continuo

b.) No.2, I / mm.8-9 c.) No. 2, 1 / mm.25-26

violone in ripieno

violoncello e cembalh all'unisono

d.) No.4, I/ mm.201-203

violone

continuo

e.) No.4, IV / mm.229-233

f.) No.5, I / mm.4-5

violoncello

In the later decades of the eighteenth century, the violone continued to gain prominence, not only as a member of the orchestra, but as a solo instrument as well. And it was precisely this ability of the violone, now unique among the surviving string instruments, to tune in a manner that would take into account the key in which a given piece was played, that attracted composers to the instrument.

The instrument that emerges from this tradition during this period is the five-string fretted violone, which had a large and enthusiastic following in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and particularly in Vienna. The exploits of famous Classical virtuosi such as Joseph Kampfer, Johann Matthias Sperger

and Friedrich Pischelberger are well documented, as is the unique tuning of the instrument on which they performed, the so-called Viennese tuning, F1-A1-D-F#-A.

The technical facility that such a tuning provides, along with the resonance produced in keys such as D major, A major, and F4 minor, inspired the composition of solo works for this instrument by many of the leading composers of the Viennese musical scene. Haydn composed a concerto in D major, Hoboken VIIc: 1 (now lost), and the Mozart concert aria 'Per questa bella mano', K.612, also in D major, for bass voice and contrabass obbligato, is among the most famous of these works. Lesser

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Example 2 Sperger's Violone Concertos

a.) Konzert fiir Kontrabass und Orchester in Es-dur

b.) Konzert fiir Kontrabass und Orchester in B-dur

known today, but very highly regarded in their own time, composers such as J.B.Vanhal (1739-1813) and Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf (1739-1799) also contributed greatly to the violone literature, not only in the realm of solo music, but in chamber music as well.22 And, naturally, the solo performers mentioned above, Sperger in particular, also added to the repertoire.

The Viennese tuning afforded the soloist convenient fingering patterns for the largely triadic melodies favoured for this style of composition. In addition, the opportunity for easily facilitated double-stop playing on the upper two strings, with harmonic support provided by the lower open strings, made possible the virtuosic figurations so common in these works.23 While the D major orientation of the tuning makes the implications for related keys, such as A major and B minor, obvious,

the same results can be produced in different key areas as well. A half-step scordatura to an E tuning scheme would produce similar results for the keys of E major, Bb major, and A major, as well as C minor. This technique had the dual purpose of increasing the brilliance and projection of the instrument, a desirable, not to say necessary, goal for a piece in which the low sonorities of the double bass are contending with orchestral forces, while continuing to maximize the resonance of the instrument by allowing for open-string possibilities at important structural junctures, as was the case in the Renaissance. An examination of the following incipits from the works of Sperger [Examples 2 a and b] will attest to the manner in which this tuning was utilized,24 and many other concertos of the period, by Dittersdorf, Vanhal, and Hoffmeister to name a few, also rely on this technique.25

22 For a discussion of these composers' contributions to this literature, including some recently discovered works, see David Wyn Jones, 'Vanhal, Dittersdorf, and the Violone,' Early Music 10 (1982), 64-67.

23 Adolf Meier, 'The Vienna Double Bass and its Technique during the Era of the Vienna Classic,' Journal of the International Society of Bassists 13/iii (1987),10-16.

24 Adolf Meier, Thematisches Werkverzeichnis der Kompositionen von Johannes Sperger (1750-1812) (Michaelstein: Blankenburg, 1990), pp.36-37.

25 It should be remembered, however, that the Viennese tuning (F1-A'-D-F-A) was not itself regarded as a scordatura, but the standard tuning for the Wiener Funfsaiter; the scordatura occurs only with the adjustments to this basic tuning.

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More important to the argument at hand, however, is the use of this instrument in the orchestral literature of the day. Knowing full well its capabilities and unique properties, Haydn incorporated solos for the violone into many of his symphonies. Again, it seems logical to assume that Haydn's violone could be tuned to provide maximum resonance to such keys as D minor, as in his Symphony No.6 (Le Matin, III / trio) and the D major of the later Horn Signal Symphony ( No.31, III, var.7), or even to the A major/F# major finale to the Farewell Symphony (No.45, IV/ adagio, mm.55-67). All of these pieces could be performed with excellent results utilizing the standard Viennese tuning. However, solos in Symphony No.7 (Le Midi, III / trio) and Symphony No.8 (Le Soir, III / trio), both in C major, might more easily have been rendered making use of a tuning along the lines of E1-G1-C-E-G.

The tuning of the bottom string to F-natural, a third away from the second string, was most probably a function of the solo tuning. The more virtuosic chamber music, as well as the solo literature, made scant, if any, use of the bottom string.26 Therefore, presuming a scordatura of this low string for orchestral performance, the tuning D'-A1-D-F#-A, or even C1-G1-C-E-G, would go a long way towards solving some long-standing problems concerning range in bass parts during this period.27

As the 19th century dawned, however, a new approach to tuning shifted the emphasis away from key-specific resonance to sound projection and power. The great Italian double bass virtuoso Domenico Dragonetti (1763-1846) was renowned for his rich, powerful tone as well as his amazing technique on a three-string instrument tuned most often A1-D-G. Dragonetti was known to have played on other basses. However the bass built by Gasparo da Sal6, and now located in the Civico Museum in Milan, has a five-string design.28 The instrument said to be Dragonetti's favorite, which today can be found in St Mark's Basilica in Venice,

was converted to a three-string double bass from a six- or seven-string configuration.29 A.C.White has written that Dragonetti always performed in orchestras with a three-string bass tuned in fourths (A1-D-G),30 and a contemporary account by Cipriani Potter makes it clear that Dragonetti had little regard for the written note as a guide to performance.31 As Potter noted, when encountering a passage in the orchestral repertoire that exceeded the compass of the three-string bass (that is, anything below A1), such as the opening of the trio section of Beethoven's Symphony No. 5, Op. 67, Dragonetti's practice was to transpose the entire phrase up an octave. The idea was, of course, to preserve the melodic line; however, the loss of the sixteen-foot register here seems a grievous omission, no matter the sensibilities of the performer. That Dragonetti was at times forced to at least consider more practical solutions to this problem is indicated by the fact that he ordered double bass necks to be built that would accommodate four strings, and orders for copper-covered fourth strings can also be found.32

It seems absurd that contemporary composers such as Beethoven (who was well acquainted with Dragonetti both personally and professionally) would have tolerated this deficiency in the sixteen- foot range. Beethoven's music is known not only for the independence of the double bass parts from the cello line, but also for frequently extending down to low C1. One must assume that, regardless of the high regard Beethoven apparently had for Dragonetti's solo abilities, in his orchestral music, he intended the pitches to be played as notated. Living and working in Vienna, Beethoven would have been very familiar with the violone virtuosi who lived in the area during his lifetime, and therefore presumably with the techniques previously discussed. Thus it seems quite plausible that he, like Haydn and Mozart before him, would have embraced this instrument with its characteristic range and sound quality.

This is not to suggest, however, that the violone continued to be the contrabass instrument of choice

26 David Wyn Jones (see note 22 above), 65. 27 In his article 'Violoncello and Double Bass Parts in Viennese Chamber Music of Haydn and his Contemporaries,

1750-1780', Journal of the American Musicological Society 29 (1976), 413-419, James Webster concurs on this point of adjustment of the lowest string. He states: 'Orchestral parts were notated on a single staff, labelled "basso" or "bassi"; these were written loco for celli (and bassoon) and notated in terms of their full range down to C. The double bassists evidently had to adjust the pitches which exceeded their lower boundary of Ff11.'

28 Alfred Planyavsky, The Baroque Double Bass Violone, translated by James Barket (London: Scarecrow Press, 1998), p. 134.

29 Ibid., p. 135. 30 Adolphus C.White, 'The Double Bass,' Proceedings of the Musical Association 12 (1866-7), p.101. 31 Fiona M. Palmer, Domenico Dragonetti in England (1794-1846): The Career of a Double Bass Virtuoso (Oxford:

Clarendon Press, 1997), p.72. 32 Palmer, p. 74.

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throughout the 19th century. Dragonetti's influence, coupled with a long-standing tradition of three- and four-string basses in Germany,33 led to the eventual demise of the violone, both as a solo and as an orchestral instrument. The subsequent fascination with a three-string orchestral contrabass led, in the opinion of many, to disaster. Hector Berlioz was especially vocal concerning these matters, decrying the absence of a complete sixteen-foot register as well as the technique of simplification. In this practice, bassists performing on three-string instruments would modify their parts, either by octave transposition (in order to perform notes that could not be reached, as in the Dragonetti style) or by the omission of notes deemed too difficult to be performed by such a truncated instrument.

To be sure, one of the methods employed in attempting to give the three-string bass some orchestral validity was a tuning scheme in fifths, G1-D-A. Paul Brun states that, at the beginning of the 19th century in France, a system of tuning in fifths was widespread.34 Considered to be a viable alternative to the standard tuning in fourths by some, it was roundly denounced by others and, eventually, the French adopted the more conventional four-string fourths tuning, Ei-A1-D-G.35

It was Berlioz, however, who proposed a solution to this dilemma that seemed most practical, one that followed along the lines of resonance and sonority of open strings, to which previous generations of composers had adhered. In his Grand traite d'instrumentation et d'orchestration modernes, Op.10 (1843), he proposes the following:

The four-stringed double-bass appears preferable to me; tuning in fourths makes for greater facility of execution because the player is not compelled to shift on the finger-board when playing scales. Furthermore, the three low notes, E, F, and F#, missing on the three- stringed double-bass, are extremely useful; their absence frequently spoils the form of the best-designed bass part by requiring unpleasant and difficult

transposition to the higher octave. This deficiency is still more apparent in the English double- basses, which, although tuned in fourths, have only three strings-A'-D-G. A good orchestra should have several four-stringed double-basses, some of them tuned in fifths and thirds [E1-G'-D-A]. Together with the other double-basses tuned in fourths [E1-A1-D-G], a combination of open strings would be available which would greatly increase the sonority of the orchestra.36

The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw the adoption of five-string basses, with a standard tuning in fourths of B2-E'-A'-D-G as well as the invention of the C-extension, a device which allows a conventional four-string instrument to lower its bottom string from E' to C1 by means of an extended fingerboard. Neither of these innovations is an ideal solution to the problem of range in the contrabass register. The five-string configuration places a good deal more pressure on the top of the instrument, requiring the bass to be quite large in order to produce the desired resonance. Because of its size, the instrument can be somewhat cumbersome to handle for most performers. The C-extension can also be awkward, since it requires the performer to reach far back along the scroll of the bass in order to play the lowest notes. This device does, however, eliminate the need for a fifth string. As a solution to the problem of producing the elusive low C1, tuning in fifths, C1-G'-D-A, is a viable solution. But at what price?

Quarrington readily admits to difficulties with this system. He recognizes the problems involved with teaching fifths tuning to advanced students who have already developed a solid technique in fourths. He cautions that a player who has been trained in 'a rigid fingering system, "a la Simandl",37 for instance, would find the difficulties overwhelming at times and injury a real threat'.38 Indeed! Many players actively seek to minimize the amount of physical and mental discomfort associated with the playing of the instrument. I see little advantage in a system of fingering that might easily overwhelm and possibly injure the performer.

33 These three-string basses, many of which have survived to the present day, were commonly used in sacred music as a support for the organ. They were often referred to as Kirchenbiisse. For a description of their function, see Planyavsky, The Baroque Double Bass Violone, p.135. The reader should be warned, however, that Planyavsky's book has been taken to task for inaccuracies as well as an overly broad thesis, which contends flatly that all instruments designated violone were sixteen-foot double bass instruments. For a review of the book see Journal of the Viola da Gamba Society of America 36 (1999), 69-74.

34 Paul Brun's History of Tuning in Fifths, Website, http://interlog.com/-henshaw/brun.html. 35 Paul Brun, A History of the Double Bass, translated by Lynn Morrel and Paul Brun, published by the author, 1989.

pp. 97-99. 36 Hector Berlioz-Richard Strauss, Treatise on Instrumentation, translated by Theodore Front (New York: Kalmus,

1948), p. 96. 37 Here, Quarrington refers to the double bass instruction method of Franz Simandl (1840-1912), first published in

1881, and used today by the majority of bass players as the foundation of their technique. 38 Quarrington in Fifths: 'Tuning and Playing in Fifths,' Website, http://www.interlog.com/-henshaw/fifths.html.

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Quarrington's argument of greater resonance for a fifths tuning that would generate a seamless blending of sound with the rest of the orchestral strings seems suspect, at best. He states, 'The physics are different when you tune in fifths because you are in the same groove as the rest of the string section. The bass in fourths is impossible to tune- if you make the fourths perfect, your low strings will be too flat and of course will not relate to the open strings of the other instruments, just because it's turned upside down'.39

This seems to me a somewhat cryptic statement. If, by physics, Quarrington is referring to the fact that a bass tuned E'-A1-D-G is the mirror image of a violin tuning of g-d'-a'-e" and, that by virtue of the difference in register, the E1 of the bass is relatively flatter than the e" of the violin, in a Pythagorean sense, I can agree with him. However, in any type of instrumental ensemble playing (especially involving an equally- tempered keyboard instrument) no matter how perfectly the fifths (or fourths) are tuned, small intonational adjustments need to be made by the player. And, at any rate, double bassists routinely mitigate this registral difference by tuning not to open strings, but to harmonics pitched much closer to the a = 440Hz given for tuning, and then matching octave harmonics across the strings. Further, if one were to tune a bass in fifths starting from the top string, A, the resultant C1 would be as flat in relation to a violin e" string as would an E', assuming a pure fifths tuning on each instrument.

In the 19th century, scientist and acoustician Hermann L.E.Helmholtz, in explaining the relative dissonance of intervals, observed that in notes sounded simultaneously, a large number of coincident frequency components between the two notes of the simultaneity would produce a low occurrence of beating. This would render what Helmholtz termed a 'smooth' interval. He recognized both the fourth and the fifth as such intervals, and called them perfect consonances because

....they may be used in all parts of the scale without any important disturbance of harmoniousness.40

While Helmholtz goes on to state that the fourth is less perfect than the fifth, this is a subtle point that does not take the fourth out of the realm of perfect consonance. One would assume that any 'disturbances' inherent in a fourth-based system would have been noticed and corrected by the

Renaissance viol players who so frequently utilized it. And, tuning in fourths was apparently seen as no obstacle to late 19th- and early 20th-century composers, many of whom (Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Hindemith, etc.) clearly demonstrated, by their use of harmonics and double stops, their knowledge and appreciation of the capabilities and tuning arrangement of the modern double bass instrument, much as did their counterparts in the Baroque and Classical periods. In the light of all this historical data, it would seem that a more practical, concrete argument needs to be advanced; personal preferences by individual performers don't seem convincing enough to establish a criterion for the institution of such a change in the traditional tuning of the double bass.

I remain unconvinced of any inherent superiority in the tuning of the contrabass instrument in fifths as opposed to fourths. I point to the large body of evidence set forth here indicating not only the willing and purposeful adoption of a double bass viol into the Baroque and Classical orchestral configurations, but also the evident willingness of composers to take into consideration the unique capabilities and traditions of the viol family when composing for the instrument. It seems clear that, when talking about resonance, any number of factors must be taken into consideration: general quality of the instrument, shape, design, string length, gut versus steel or overwound strings, etc. All of these elements play a role in the overall resonance of any instrument. But, to claim that a tuning scheme of C'-G'-D-A will provide any instrument with greater resonance over the entire range of the circle of fifths seems specious at best.

As a double bass performer myself, I would like to share my own experience in regard to resonance. My bass is equipped with a fingered C-extension that also features a sliding fret, so that the bottom string can be set to any pitch between C1 and E'. If the string is set fully open, with a tuning of C1-A'-D-G, a very strong resonance will occur on the open G string while playing the open C' string, intervening fourths notwithstanding. If the fret is then set to D', when the bottom open D' string is played, a very strong resonance on the open D string is produced. In terms of practical performing experience, I can attest to the fact that I feel 'tuned' to these key areas when the bass is set to either of these particular configurations, much in the same way, I would guess, that the Renaissance and Baroque violonists must have felt when they tuned their instruments to

39 Barb McDougall, 'Quintessential Quarrington,' Double Bassist 7 (1998), 34-35. 40 Hermann L.EHelmholtz, On the Sensations of Tone as a Psychological Basis for the Theory of Music, 2nd ed.,

trans. by A.J. Ellis (New York: Dover, 1954), p. 194.

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the key of the piece being performed. While I have only cited two keys to which I might 'tune' here, again, as in the old viol style, resonance with other keys is implied. And, at any rate, two keys are already twice as many as would be offered by a standard setting of C'-G'-D-A. One could easily imagine setting the bottom string to E, with a half- step scordatura on the third string to Bb, producing a resonance with the open G string. And all these possibilities spare the player the necessity of learning a completely new fingering system.

The double bass is a notoriously difficult instrument to play. Players must develop their own technique in order to feel comfortable. If that technique is founded on tuning in fifths, bravo to that player. But this in no way invalidates the accomplishments of the player with a tuning in fourths, nor the viability of that tuning. This is to me in many ways reminiscent of the French bow/German bow debate. While some perceive it as a forgone conclusion that one or the other style of bowing is superior, most players see it as a matter of training and personal choice.

In describing the contrabasso da gamba in his Syntagma Musicum, Michael Praetorius makes the following observation, one that, in light of the facts presented here, seems not only practical and logical, but somewhat prescient as well:

The large viola da gamba is usually tuned in fourths throughout, and, this, in my estimation, is good. I do not consider it very important how each player tunes his violin or viol so long as he is able to execute his part correctly and well.41

41 Michael Praetorius, Syntagma Musicum: Volume I, De Organographia, translated by Harold Blumefeld (New York: Da Capo Press, 1980), p. 44.

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