Extent instruments

The small number of surviving basses de violons preserved in a perfect state has led to disagreements and controversy among scholars when pointing out which instrument is a basse de violon and which one is not a basse de violon. The fact that most of these instruments were labeled with different names depending on different factors, plus the changes that these basses have suffered during the centuries leaves us uncertain about the organological aspect of the instrument.

The bass section of the violin family endured a lot of different kinds of experimentation at the hands of luthiers and amateurs. The definite shape of what we now call the violoncello was established only at the beginning of the eighteenth century. As an example of these variations in size, the basse de violon that I had the chance to play, built in 1715 by Egidius Snoeck in Brussels, owned by the NMF, has an original back-length of 80.7 cm. At the same time, in the National Music Museum of South Dakota, U.S.A., we find a cello built by Andrea Amati, Cremona, Italy, 1550 as a basse de violon.The original back length of this instrument was 78.2 cm.

Even though there are well-known builders of this type of instrument, such as Andrea Amati and Antonio Stradivari in Italy, Peeter and Gaspar Bourbon, Egidius and Marcus Snoeck in Brussels, there is no norm for the basses de violons that they built. In this chapter we can see these variations in some of the basses de violons whose cases have survived intact, for example, Antonio Stradivari’s two instruments, the Medici (1690) and the Servais (1701). In addition, I present as examples other instruments that have passed through several alterations, such as Andrea Amati’s the King (1550). These measurements have been found on the webpage Tarisio.com with the exception of Stradivari’s instrument in the Royal Palace of Spain, whose measurements were given by the current curator of the instrument.

• The King (1550)

Original dimensions approximately:

Length of back: 78.2 cm

Upper bouts: 39.1 cm

Middle bouts: 27.7 cm

Lower bouts: 48.9 cm

Measures of the “King” after all the alterations:

Length of back: 75.5 cm

Upper bouts: 34.3 cm

Middle bouts: 23.6 cm

Lower bouts: 44.2 cm

This basse de violon, made by Andrea Amati in 1550, Cremona, Italy, is now called violoncello due to the modifications made to it over the years.
This particular instrument was made alongside another thirty eight instruments for King Charles IX of France (1550–1574). It has suffered several reductions and other adjustments, mostly in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The main change that it underwent was done by Sebastian Renault in 1801, who cut it down to make it thinner. He also set it up in a modern way.
The only parts that remain intact are the scroll and peg-box, the original ones designed and made by Andrea Amati. One could imagine that this instrument was created as a basse de violon because of one evident fact, parts of the ornamentation are missing. These embellishments were related to the king´s mottoes, his family´s, and the emblems of the French court. As an example of one effect of the alteration of the instrument the column at the bottom of the instrument isn´t straight anymore; it suddenly breaks in the middle and starts again a leaning slightly to the right. In addition, the figure of Justice is missing parts of her body. The image on the leftshows how the instrument must have looked before the reduction was made. The missing body parts must have been in the wood removed during the reduction, making the instrument smaller to achieve a violoncello.

This instrument can be found in the National Music Museum of South Dakota, U.S.A.

All the images have been taken from the article of Matthew Zeller, Deconstructing the Andrea Amati ‘King’ Cello.¹

• Stradivari´s instrument belonging to the string quartet made for the King of Spain (1699)

Length of back: 75.8 cm

Lower bouts: 43.8 cm

This instrument also was built by Antonio Stradivari, in this case for the Spanish monarch Philip V. Even though it is unknown whether this instrument was built originally as a basse de violon or as a cello, its original size would suggest that it was intended to be the former. In 1783, Dom Vicenzo Ascensio, a priest and luthier from Madrid who dedicated a good part of his time to the patronage of musical instruments, performed the first main incision into the body of the instrument. His written account explains his actions:

The violoncello, which is of very large proportions—larger than those Stradivari usually adopted— I wished to reform, so that it might be of the same size as the one belonging to Brunetti […] and did as follows to the violoncello: I pieced the center, replaced the bar by one adjusted to mathematical proportions based on that of Stradivari. I corrected the thicknesses, pieced the four corner blocks, took the back off, and inserted a piece in the center, as it was too thin. I had to replace the neck, which I did in the most careful manner. I then adjusted the instrument, the tone of which was rendered excellent by all these changes. […] I took to pieces the violoncello belonging to the Quintet, and mended a crack in the belly on the post side.²

Adding to these modifications, Silverio Ortega, a pupil of Dom Vicenzo Ascensio, in 1857 reduced the size of the body, and in 1950 Fernando Solar González set up the instrument with a modern structure. This left the scroll of this instrument as the only feature which remained untouched.

The neck broke again in 2012 during a photography session, so it had to be rebuilt, this time faithful to the size and proportions of 1857.

At present it can be found in the Royal Palace of Madrid, Spain.

• The Medici (1690)

Bearing its original label, "Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis/Faciebat Anno 1690."

Length of back: 79.25 cm

Upper bouts: 36.4 cm

Middle bouts: 24.8 cm

Lower bouts: 46.55 cm

The Medici is one of the three surviving large cellos made by Antonio Stradivari, alongside the Castelbarco (1697) and the Servais (1701). The instrument’s initial body dimentions have been well preserved through the years and did not change. However, the other parts of the instrument were not so lucky. As the Hills brothers explain in their book Antonio Stradivari, his life and work (1644-1737): 

The equally fine violoncello made for Cosimo de' Medici in 1690 has not escaped unscathed. In consequence of slight ravages by worms [...], its original neck was unhesitatingly sacrificed, and the charming inlaid finger-board and tail-piece were dealt with in true Philistine manner. The pearl cupids which adorned them were, in order that they might be preserved, removed and re-inlaid on a new finger-board and tail-piece of the crudest modern make.³

The neck and brassware were repaired and modified in 1877 by Giuseppe Scarampella.

This instrument can be found in the Instituto Cherubini of Florence. 

• The Servais (1701)

Bearing its original label, "Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis Faciebat Anno 1701."

Length of back: 78.5 cm

Upper bouts: 34.5 cm

Middle bouts: 23.35 cm

Lower bouts: 44.35 cm

This instrument is named after one of its owners, Adrien François Servais, the famous Belgian cellist of the nineteenth century. It too was made by Antonio Stradivari, and is thought to be the last large cello that he ever made. The Hills brothers refer to it in their book:

The Servais violoncello, as far as we know, stands alone. It is not only the sole example of the year 1701 but we believe it to be the only example which combines the grandeur of the pre 1700 instrument with the more masculine build which we could wish to have met with in the work of the master's earlier years.⁴

This instrument preserves the length of the back, and the scroll is original. Some adjustments have been made, mainly the transformation into a more modern cello. For example, the bridge is not original. The Hills brothers explain:

We may add that Servais, after repeated experiments, found that an exceptionally narrow bridge tended to add brightness to the tone—a feature which is always, to some extent, lacking in large-sized instruments.⁵

From this we understand that Servais used a different bridge from the one that was on the instrument already.

The length of the whole body is decreasing in size. When compared with the Medici there is a difference of one to two cm in all the measurements:

• Basse de violon by Egidius Snoeck (1715)

Builder Egidius Snoeck

Construction site Brussels

Body length: 80.7

This instrument was built in 1715 by Egidius Snoeck, a famous Belgian luthier. The interesting fact is that Egidius created this basse de violon when this type of instrument was already in decline. The body length has remained untouched. The construction of the neck has been modernized, and the number of cracks in this basse de violon shows how many times it has been to the luthier for repairs. This instrument can be found in the NMF, the Netherlands.

Basse de violon by Egidius Snoeck, Brussels, 1715.

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Close up of The King, the column and image of the Justice previously mentioned as examples.

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Violoncello The Medici by Antonio Stradivari, 1690.⁶

Some of the original ornamentations of the instrument

Stradivari´s instrument 1694-1699.⁷

Adrien François Servais with the Servais.

Violoncello The King by Andrea Amati, Cremona, 1550.

Estimation of how The King cello must have looked like when it was first created.

Basse de violon by Egidius Snoeck, Brussels, 1715.⁸