cello (/ˈtʃɛloʊ/ CHEL-oh; plural celli or cellos) or violoncello (/ˌvaɪələnˈtʃɛloʊ/ VY-ə-lən-CHEL-oh; Italian

pronunciation: [vjolonˈtʃɛllo])[1] is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument
of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 and
A3. The viola's four strings are each an octave higher. Music for the cello is generally written in the bass
clef, with tenor clef, and treble clef used for higher-range passages.

Played by a cellist or violoncellist, it enjoys a large solo repertoire with and without accompaniment, as
well as numerous concerti. As a solo instrument, the cello uses its whole range, from bass to soprano,
and in chamber music such as string quartets and the orchestra's string section, it often plays the bass
part, where it may be reinforced an octave lower by the double basses. Figured bass music of the
Baroque-era typically assumes a cello, viola da gamba or bassoon as part of the basso continuo group
alongside chordal instruments such as organ, harpsichord, lute or theorbo. Cellos are found in many
other ensembles, from modern Chinese orchestras to cello rock bands.

Cellos are tuned in fifths, starting with C2 (two octaves below middle C), followed by G2, D3, and then
A3. It is tuned in the exact same intervals and strings as the viola, but an octave lower. Similar to the
double bass, the cello has an endpin that rests on the floor to support the instrument's weight. The cello
is most closely associated with European classical music. The instrument is a part of the standard
orchestra, as part of the string section, and is the bass voice of the string quartet (although many
composers give it a melodic role as well), as well as being part of many other chamber groups.

Works

Among the most well-known Baroque works for the cello are Johann Sebastian Bach's six
unaccompanied Suites. Other significant works include Sonatas and Concertos by Antonio Vivaldi, and
solo sonatas by Francesco Geminiani and Giovanni Bononcini. Domenico Gabrielli was one of the first
composers to treat the cello as a solo instrument. As a basso continuo instrument basso continuo the
cello may have been used in works by Francesca Caccini (1587–1641), Barbara Strozzi (1619–1677) with
pieces such as Il primo libro di madrigali, per 2–5 voci e basso continuo, op. 1 and Elisabeth Jacquet de
La Guerre (1665–1729) who wrote six sonatas for violin and basso continuo. The earliest known manual
for learning the cello,[citation needed] Francesco Supriani's Principij da imparare a suonare il violoncello
e con 12 Toccate a solo (before 1753),[4] dates from this era. As the title of the work suggests, it
contains 12 toccatas for solo cello, which along with Johann Sebastian Bach's Cello Suites, are some of
the first works of that type.

From the Classical era, the two concertos by Joseph Haydn in C major and D major stand out, as do the
five sonatas for cello and pianoforte of Ludwig van Beethoven, which span the important three periods
of his compositional evolution. Other outstanding examples include the three Concerti by Carl Philipp
Emanuel Bach, Capricci by dall'Abaco, and Sonatas by Flackton, Boismortier, and Luigi Boccherini. A
Divertimento for Piano, Clarinet, Viola and Cello is among the surviving works by Duchess Anna Amalia
of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1739–1807). Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart supposedly wrote a Cello Concerto
in F major, K. 206a in 1775, but this has since been lost. His Sinfonia Concertante in A major, K. 320e
includes a solo part for cello, along with the violin and viola, although this work is incomplete and only
exists in fragments, therefore it's given an Anhang number (Anh. 104).

Well-known works of the Romantic era include the Robert Schumann Concerto, the Antonín Dvořák
Concerto, the first Camille Saint-Saëns Concerto, as well as the two sonatas and the Double Concerto by
Johannes Brahms. A review of compositions for cello in the Romantic era must include the German
composer Fanny Mendelssohn (1805–1847) who wrote Fantasia in G Minor for cello and piano[5] and a
Capriccio in A-flat for cello.[6]

Compositions from the late-19th and early 20th century include three cello sonatas (including the Cello
Sonata in C Minor written in 1880) by Dame Ethel Smyth (1858–1944), Edward Elgar's Cello Concerto in
E minor, Claude Debussy's Sonata for Cello and Piano, and unaccompanied cello sonatas by Zoltán
Kodály and Paul Hindemith. Pieces including cello were written by American Music Center founder
Marion Bauer (1882–1955) (two trio sonatas for flute, cello, and piano) and Ruth Crawford Seeger
(1901–1953) (Diaphonic suite No. 2 for bassoon and cello).

The cello's versatility made it popular with many composers in this era, such as Sergei Prokofiev, Dmitri
Shostakovich, Benjamin Britten, György Ligeti, Witold Lutoslawski and Henri Dutilleux. Polish composer
Grażyna Bacewicz (1909–1969) was writing for cello in the mid 20th century with Concerto No. 1 for
Cello and Orchestra (1951), Concerto No. 2 for Cello and Orchestra (1963) and in 1964 composed her
Quartet for four cellos.

In the 2010s, the instrument is found in popular music, but was more commonly used in 1970s pop and
disco music.[citation needed] Today it is sometimes featured in pop and rock recordings, examples of
which are noted later in this article. The cello has also appeared in major hip-hop and R & B
performances, such as singers Rihanna and Ne-Yo's 2007 performance at the American Music Awards.[7]
The instrument has also been modified for Indian classical music by Nancy Lesh and Saskia Rao-de Haas.
[5]

History

The violin family, including cello-sized instruments, emerged c. 1500 as a family of instruments distinct
from the viola da gamba family. The earliest depictions of the violin family, from northern Italy c. 1530,
show three sizes of instruments, roughly corresponding to what we now call violins, violas, and cellos.
Contrary to a popular misconception, the cello did not evolve from the viola da gamba, but existed
alongside it for about two and a half centuries. The violin family is also known as the viola da braccio
(meaning viola for the arm) family, a reference to the primary way the members of the family are held.
This is to distinguish it from the viola da gamba (meaning viola for the leg) family, in which all the
members are all held with the legs. The likely predecessors of the violin family include the lira da braccio
and the rebec. The earliest surviving cellos are made by Andrea Amati, the first known member of the
celebrated Amati family of luthiers.[8]

The direct ancestor to the violoncello was the bass violin.[citation needed] Monteverdi referred to the
instrument as "basso de viola da braccio" in Orfeo (1607). Although the first bass violin, possibly
invented as early as 1538, was most likely inspired by the viol, it was created to be used in consort with
the violin. The bass violin was actually often referred to as a "violone", or "large viola", as were the viols
of the same period. Instruments that share features with both the bass violin and the viola da gamba
appear in Italian art of the early 16th century.

The invention of wire-wound strings (fine wire around a thin gut core), around 1660 in Bologna, allowed
for a finer bass sound than was possible with purely gut strings on such a short body. Bolognese makers
exploited this new technology to create the cello, a somewhat smaller instrument suitable for solo
repertoire due to both the timbre of the instrument and the fact that the smaller size made it easier to
play virtuosic passages.[citation needed] This instrument had disadvantages as well, however. The
cello's light sound was not as suitable for church and ensemble playing, so it had to be doubled by
organ, theorbo, or violone.

Around 1700, Italian players popularized the cello in northern Europe, although the bass violin (basse de
violon) continued to be used for another two decades in France.[9] Many existing bass violins were
literally cut down in size to convert them into cellos according to the smaller pattern developed by
Stradivarius, who also made a number of old pattern large cellos (the 'Servais').[10] The sizes, names,
and tunings of the cello varied widely by geography and time.[10] The size was not standardized until
around 1750.

Despite similarities to the viola da gamba, the cello is actually part of the viola da braccio family,
meaning "viol of the arm", which includes, among others, the violin and viola. Though paintings like
Bruegel's "The Rustic Wedding", and Jambe de Fer in his Epitome Musical suggest that the bass violin
had alternate playing positions, these were short-lived and the more practical and ergonomic a gamba
position eventually replaced them entirely.

A baroque cello strung with gut strings. Note the absence of fine-tuning pins on the tailpiece.

Baroque-era cellos differed from the modern instrument in several ways. The neck has a different form
and angle, which matches the baroque bass-bar and stringing.[11][12] In addition, the fingerboard is
usually shorter than that of the modern cello, as the highest notes are not called for in baroque music.
Modern cellos have an endpin at the bottom to support the instrument (and transmit some of the sound
through the floor),[13] while Baroque cellos are held only by the calves of the player. Modern bows
curve in and are held at the frog; Baroque bows curve out and are held closer to the bow's point of
balance. Modern strings normally have a metal core, although some use a synthetic core; Baroque
strings are made of gut, with the G and C strings wire-wound. Modern cellos often have fine tuners
connecting the strings to the tailpiece, which makes it much easier to tune the instrument, but such pins
are rendered ineffective by the flexibility of the gut strings used on Baroque cellos. Overall, the modern
instrument has much higher string tension than the Baroque cello,[14] resulting in a louder, more
projecting tone, with fewer overtones.

Few educational works specifically devoted to the cello existed before the 18th century and those that
do exist contain little value to the performer beyond simple accounts of instrumental technique. One of
the earliest cello manuals is Michel Corrette's Méthode, thèorique et pratique pour apprendre en peu
de temps le violoncelle dans sa perfection (Paris, 1741).[15]

Modern use