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Not playing the second string
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It is easy to dismiss the viola as the violin's country cousin. But this instrument is an important harmonic constituent of a symphony orchestra.
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THE VIOLA is the second member of the stringed family of instruments. It looks like the violin, and is played like the violin, and can do absolutely every thing that a violin can do. But it is larger and is tuned a fifth lower, and therefore has a deeper voice. The violin and viola have the same ancestors. The violin being the highest sounding member of the string family in the orchestra got the most melodies to play. The viola, however, has the alto range and usually plays in the range of the middle C of the piano. But it is a very important member of the string family though it rarely gets the main themes to play.
Being a larger instrument, it has a deeper, thicker and a rounder tone compared to the violin, and is the perfect bridge between the treble and the bass instruments within the string family. Most violinists can play the viola quite well if they try. Yehudi Menuhin was an excellent viola player himself. He went on to suggest that all violinists should play their entire repertoire on the viola to improve their violin playing skills! The viola being bigger, having a thicker bow and strings, strengthens both the fingers and the bowing arm of a violinist, and also facilitates better arm movement and fingering resulting in a better tone while playing the violin.
Viola was for long considered a secondary instrument, and those playing it were usually the `not-so-good' violinists relegated to the instrument. It also gave the genuine violists a bad name.
Bach however, loved the instrument, and composed the sixth Brandenburg concerto for the viola. In fact, this concerto is devoid of violins. Gluck gave the violas prominent parts to play in the orchestra. Haydn later championed their cause, followed by Mozart, with whom the instrument was a big favourite. In his string quintets, he allocated two violas instead of two violins, as is the norm. His concerto for the violin and viola, called Sinfonia Concertante, brought out the beauty and the richness of tone of the viola to the hilt. Beethoven too, gave it very important parts in the orchestra. The second movement of the Fifth Symphony saw the violas introducing and carrying the tune.
A full symphony orchestra usually has 12 to 14 violas, compared to around 34 to 36 violins. Much of the time, one may not be aware of the violas playing at all. When playing the melodies on the higher register, they are usually mistaken for the violins playing in the lower register, or when they play low, mistaken for the cellos playing in the higher register. Violas usually play the tunes that go on to build a beautiful harmonic structure within the orchestra.
The late romantics and the modern composers though, gave violas very prominent parts to play, far more than their classical ancestors. The viola goes solo in Berlioz's Harold in Italy, where it represents the hero. This was perhaps the first instance of a major composer giving a concerto like role to the viola. Richard Strauss made the viola play the second solo part representing Sancho Panza in his Don QuixoteHindemith, a violist himself, composed the best sonatas for the instrument.
Since the 18th Century, it has assumed a standing of its own. Last century saw great violists such as William Primrose, Milton Katims and Kim Kashkashian who were trained as violists from the beginning. But ironically, some of the best violinists have stolen the thunder from the strict violists. Menuhin was one of them. Pinchas Zukkermann, considered to be the best violist in the concert halls today, is also one of the best violinists in the world. If you want to get the feel of the viola and see the difference in the sound between the violin and viola playing solo, the work I would suggest is Mozart's Concerto for the Violin and the Viola. For those wanting to savour its sound in ensembles, listen to Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No.6.
But the viola finds its biggest use as a harmonic constituent of the orchestra. If the orchestra were a human body and the violin section its heart that is felt in some way all the time, the violas can be compared to the liver. It is felt more than heard. When it is in trouble, the orchestra has a big harmonic upset.
SATISH KAMATH
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