NZSO - e T he R o r ass l Viola la o C T goetz...the violin, the viola has a lon ger body and lon...
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The Viola What does a viola look like? The viola is very similar looking to the violin. The materials and construction method used are almost identical, except that the viola is larger than the violin. Usually a viola will be between two and eight centimetres longer than a violin. Compared to the violin, the viola has a longer body and longer strings, which means that it makes a lower sound than the violin. Just like the violin the viola is held under the chin. As the instrument is quite large and heavy it can be quite tiring to play. You also need to have quite long arms and large hands to play the viola. Special small sized violas are made for smaller people to learn on! The viola in the orchestra The viola section usually sits in between the violins and the cellos. In a large orchestra there will be up to 12 violas. As the sound of the viola is so rich and mellow, composers often use it to make the sound of the string section rich and mellow. The viola often has accompanying figures or supporting harmonies that add depth to the music. If the composer wants a really romantic melody then the violas might be asked to play the tune an octave lower than the violins. The Viola Classroom Resource NZSO Music for Schools - Rachel Hyde ©2011 nzso.co.nz/education Repertoire that features the viola In early orchestral music the viola part was usually limited to filling in harmonies and it very rarely got a melody. One important exception to this is the Brandenburg Concerto No 6 by Bach, which has two melodic viola parts. There are a few pieces composed before the 20th century for solo viola and orchestra, including Harold in Italy by Berlioz, and concertos by Telemann and Stamitz. The viola does play an extremely important role in chamber music, with Mozart, Mendelssohn and Brahms all composing pieces with fantastic viola parts. In the 20th century more composers began writing soloistic music for viola, and there are beautiful concertos by Walton, Martinu and Bartok. Composers such as Vaughan Williams, Carter, Debussy and Bloch have all contributed works to the growing viola repertoire. In the NZSO you will see that the viola are placed on the right hand side of the outside of the orchestra. This is quite unusual, the viola are often placed next to the 2nd violins, where the NZSO cellos sit. This special arrangement was chosen by the NZSO Music Director, Pietari Inkinen, to create a particular balance of sound between all of the instruments in the string section. Didyou Know... [Need image] Sonata pian’e forte by Giovanni Gabrieli, from 1597. Research Task... The viola is often asked to play the melody an octave below the violins. What is an octave? Use the internet or a music dictionary to discover the meaning of the musical term octave. If you have a piano or any other musical instrument, try and play some octaves. FACT bass oboe Trombone percussion 2nd Violin trumpet french horn Viola double Cello harp 1st Violin timpani flute Clarinet TUBA Bassoon goetz
Transcript of NZSO - e T he R o r ass l Viola la o C T goetz...the violin, the viola has a lon ger body and lon...
TheViola
What does a viola look like?The viola is very similar looking to the violin. The materials and construction method used are almost identical, except that the viola is larger than the violin. Usually a viola will be between two and eight centimetres longer than a violin. Compared to the violin, the viola has a longer body and longer strings, which means that it makes a lower sound than the violin. Just like the violin the viola is held under the chin. As the instrument is quite large and heavy it can be quite tiring to play. You also need to have quite long arms and large hands to play the viola. Special small sized violas are made for smaller people to learn on!
The viola in the orchestraThe viola section usually sits in between the violins and the cellos. In a large orchestra there will be up to 12 violas. As the sound of the viola is so rich and mellow, composers often use it to make the sound of the string section rich and mellow. The viola often has accompanying figures or supporting harmonies that add depth to the music. If the composer wants a really romantic melody then the violas might be asked to play the tune an octave lower than the violins.
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NZSO Music for Schools - Rachel Hyde ©2011 nzso.co.nz/education
Repertoire that features the violaIn early orchestral music the viola part was usually limited to filling in harmonies and it very rarely got a melody. One important exception to this is the Brandenburg Concerto No 6 by Bach, which has two melodic viola parts. There are a few pieces composed before the 20th century for solo viola and orchestra, including Harold in Italy by Berlioz, and concertos by Telemann and Stamitz. The viola does play an extremely important role in chamber music, with Mozart, Mendelssohn and Brahms all composing pieces with fantastic viola parts. In the 20th century more composers began writing soloistic music for viola, and there are beautiful concertos by Walton, Martinu and Bartok. Composers such as Vaughan Williams, Carter, Debussy and Bloch have all contributed works to the growing viola repertoire.
In the NZSO you will see that the viola are placed
on the right hand side of the outside of the orchestra. This is quite unusual, the
viola are often placed next to the 2nd violins, where the NZSO cellos sit. This special arrangement was
chosen by the NZSO Music Director, Pietari Inkinen, to create a particular balance of sound between all of the
instruments in the string section.
DidyouKnow...
[Need image]
Sonata pian’e forte by Giovanni Gabrieli, from 1597.
Research Task... The viola is often asked to play the melody an octave below the violins. What is an octave? Use the internet or a music dictionary to discover the meaning of the musical term octave. If you have a piano or any other musical instrument, try and play some octaves.
FACT
bass
oboe
Trombone
percussion
2ndViolin
trumpetfren
ch
horn
Viola
double
Cello
harp
1st
Violin
timpani
flute
Clarinet
TUBA
Bassoon
goetz
