If you’ve ever been to an IHS orchestra concert, you’re probably familiar with the classic European family of string instruments. The four instruments that feature prominently in most Western classical orchestras (violin, viola, cello, and bass) originate from Renaissance Italy, where, during the early sixteenth century, instrument makers hoped to create a diverse range of instruments suited for both orchestral and court music. After many different iterations, the violin, viola, cello, and bass emerged as prominent instruments in orchestral music. Intrigued, I set out to investigate the origins of these instruments and their names.
In Italian, viola used to be a very broad term, referring to all stringed and bowed instruments. The viola da braccio, which directly translates to “arm viola,” was a string instrument meant to be played on the shoulder, and the viola da gamba, or “leg viola,” was a string instrument designed to be played between the legs.
Viola /viˈoʊlə/
The viola originated in the 1530s in northern Italy from its predecessor, the viola da braccio. It was (and still is) mainly used in orchestral and chamber music to provide the middle register of the ensemble. As the instruments became more distinct from one another, the name viola da braccio was shortened to viola and given to the modern viola. The word viola comes from the Latin word vitula, meaning “stringed instrument,” which is also the name of the Roman goddess of joy. The Latin verb vitulari additionally means “to be joyful”—similar to the English vitality, describing a strong and energetic state.
Violin /ˌvaɪəˈlɪn/
The violin, which represents the highest register of the four string instruments, originated from the viola da braccio, with modifications to make the instrument’s register higher. It first appeared in the 1500s in the Italian cities of Cremona and Brescia, where luthier Andrea Amati is credited with the creation of the first modern, four-stringed violin. The name for the violin is rooted in the word viola and comes from the Italian violino, which refers to a smaller version of the viola. Interestingly, before the modern-day violin was the lira da braccio, a descendant of the viola da braccio with a higher range that was close to that of the violin. The lira da braccio had c-shaped holes instead of the f-shaped holes of the violin, and had either five or seven strings instead of four.
Cello /ˈt͡ʃɛloʊ/
Cellos were first made in the early 1500s by Amati and his sons. The modern cello emerged from the modification of the viola da gamba for a lower register. At first, cellos were made to only play the supporting bass part in an orchestra, but as the design of the instrument evolved over the next two centuries, the cello gradually became a solo instrument. Initially, the cello could have anywhere from three to five strings with no standard tuning, but by the first half of the seventeenth century, most cellos in Italy had four strings. The shapes of bows and bridges on the cello were also gradually modified to make the instrument louder. Originally called the violoncello, a combination of the Italian words violone, a large stringed instrument, and cello, a suffix meaning “little,” the name was later shortened to just cello.
Bass /beɪs/
String basses originated around 1500 and were made to provide the lowest register in the violin family. The instrument’s design eventually evolved from having three strings to the standardized form of four strings. Even though four-stringed basses are common nowadays, it’s not uncommon to find basses with an extra fifth string to provide a wider range. The name bass comes from the Latin word bassus, which means “low.” Later, in the early Baroque era, the term double bass emerged since the instrument was designed to “double” the bass line.