Baroque Cello: A Brief History of the Baroque Cello

The Baroque cello is a musical instrument that serves as a precursor to the modern cello. It appeared in many forms of music during the Baroque era of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. When the eighteenth-century Classical period put greater demands on cellists, the Baroque cello gave way to modern cello design, which has endured ever since.

The Baroque cello emerged in the sixteenth century as a successor to prior forms of European string instruments.

• Amati family origins: The famed Amati family of luthiers (stringed instrument makers) produced the earliest surviving cellos in known existence—particularly thanks to Andrea Amati. These instruments date to the early-to-mid 1500s. The Amatis likely called the instrument a bass violin or even a viol.
• Bass violins and violones: In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the instrument we now call a cello was typically referred to as a bass violin or a violone. The construction of these instruments varied from luthier to luthier, but by the seventeenth century, they largely converged into the design we associate with the Baroque cello. These musical instruments existed alongside a very similar instrument called the viola da gamba (Italian for "viola of the leg").
• Featured instrument in Baroque music: Early Baroque cellists mostly accompanied other Baroque instruments via a part called a continuo. As the Baroque era evolved, composers saw the cello's potential as a featured instrument. Antonio Vivaldi and Arcangelo Corelli composed concertos and sonatas for the instrument, while J.S. Bach, Domenico Gabrielli, Francesco Geminiani, and Giovanni Bononcini created suites for solo cello.
• Giving way to the modern cello: The Classical-era music of the eighteenth century placed greater demands on cellists, and so the Baroque cello and Baroque cello bow gave way to the modern cello and modern bow. These instruments were (and still are) formally known as a violoncello (plural violoncelle), which translates to "little big viola." The Stradivari family of Italian luthiers pioneered the new design.

Although the Baroque cello and modern cello are quite similar in nature and sound, they do bear some notable differences.

1. 1. Bass bars: Baroque cellos typically have a bass bar within the body for low-end resonance. Modern cellos do not.
2. 2. Endpins: Modern cellos have an endpin that supports the instrument's body against the floor. Baroque cellos do not have endpins; players must squeeze them between their legs when performing.
3. 3. Fingerboard length: Baroque cellos have shorter fingerboards than modern cellos. This affects left-hand performance practice, as higher notes are not available on these instruments.
4. 4. Gut strings: A modern cello can use either gut strings or strings made of metal alloys. Most Baroque cellos are strung with gut strings for a period-accurate re-creation of early music. The C strings and G strings of recreated Baroque cellos are wire wound, but the D strings and A strings have exposed gut.
5. 5. Bow curvature: A Baroque cello bow curves outward. Modern cello, viola, and violin bows curve inward. As such, Baroque cellists hold their bows closer to the point of balance, rather than at the frog.
6. 6. Musical literature: Baroque cellos do not facilitate the same library of musical literature that modern cellos do because they have a limited range. Even famed Baroque period cello works—like Bach's Cello Suite No. 3 in C major—are now commonly performed on modern cellos.

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