Baryton

The baritone (also masculine " the baritone "; formerly Pariton, Paridon, Barydon, Bordon, Italian Viola (di) bordone or Bardone ) is a string instrument of the late 17th century, was used primarily in the 18th century. In addition to the playing strings has the baritone resonating strings that can be plucked with the left hand and give it a clear finish. Leopold Mozart calls it " one of the most graceful instruments".

Construction

The baritone has the size and mood ( DG cea d ') of a tenor - bass - viol. A seventh string to double -A is rare, their use is not documented in the 18th century music - even the D and G strings come in the literature hardly. The instrument is held as a viol between her legs. The bow was made ​​in the upper or lower handle depending on personal preference of the player. If necessary, a metal stand could be used on the instrument, the sting.

In addition to the playing strings made ​​of gut metallic resonance, drone or sympathetic strings are stretched across the ceiling, similar to the viola d' amore, or Hardanger fiddle. The instrument of Prince Esterházy has nine sympathetic strings, typically in the mood A de fis cis gah 'and d'. They give the instrument a sharp sound rich in overtones, the well settles it from the accompanying instruments, viola and cello most commonly used. The metal strings can be retuned to maximize the response. Andreas Lidl, 1769-1774 cellist in the court orchestra to esterházy between the number of metal strings have increased to 27 ( Quarter ). A baritone " ex Lidl " by Joachim Tielke 1687 in London's Horniman Museum obtained ( it is no longer in its original state ); better preserved is the instrument by 1686 at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, also by Joachim Tielke. Finally, there is a fragment of a Barytons from the same workshop. The sympathetic strings are either attached to the bottom block on pins and run through a second (usually slants) web - so at mapped modern replica. Often, however, they are attached to blocks that are glued like the web of a concert guitar on the ceiling.

Unique to the baritone, however, is that his neck has on the reverse a large window through which the metal strings with the thumb of the left hand can be plucked. The resulting sounds are similar to a harpsichord or a mandolin. In the early baroque the baritone resonating strings were more in the area of counter- octave while playing strings made ​​of gut, a third were usually tuned higher. The purpose was to be able to accompany arias with a plucked bass and one to two crossed voices. Increasing the number of sympathetic strings, so even chromatic accompaniments are possible, but is the already complicated to playing instrument thereby completely unwieldy, as already Schilling 1842 describes in terms of the virtuoso Sebastian Ludwig Friedel: " ... only the neck as the fingerboard and the hidden harp [ meaning the sympathetic strings ] were of such a wide scale that would probably have been difficult to find hands in creation that could treat both simultaneously. "

The fascination of Barytons in the late 18th century, the so-called "age of sensibility ", also has a philosophical- psychological reason. The mechanism was considered a " miracle science". They had understood the phenomenon of vibration and its spread in the body. These findings of the resonance is transferred to the spiritual kinship - the sympathy ( in English called the resonant sides sympathetic strings), which only shows up when the vibrations of a soul be taken from the other. In this baritone is given obvious between the two contrasting materials gut and metal that mutually excite themselves to vibrate.

Variants

The instrument of Prince Nikolaus Esterházy may well be regarded as exemplary and formative for a "family look ". Even today's most replicas are based on this model and similar, although such a little used tool just begging to experiments and own creations. The instrument featured in possession of Manfred Herbig was built in 1973 by Wolfgang A. Uebel in Celle to historical models. To the family look of the Barytons include the shape of the body, the flame holes and the rosette. The "Singing Farmer " as the top component, here for an instrument of Simon Schödler in Brussels, the type of instrument features such as the snail, the violin family, or Cupido ( Cupid), the viola d' amore. Corpus constructed in accordance Gambenart and has a flat bottom with a bend at the top.

Dissemination

The baritone was always a rare instrument that found a certain spread in the late 18th century in southern Germany and Austria. In the early baroque and baroque it was except in the operas of Attilio Ariosti (1666-1729) hardly used. The most prominent Barytonspieler was Nikolaus ( Miklós ) I Prince Esterházy ( 1714-1790 ), called "the Magnificent". The prince demanded loudly employment contract of the standing in his service from 1761 Joseph Haydn ( 1732-1809 ) regularly compositions " for the Gamba ". Overall, Haydn wrote 175 works with Bass, including 126 trios for baritone, viola and cello. The research assumes that the prince from 1765 to 1775 and then his intensely played choice of musical interest rather turned to the new puppet theater. His passion is thanks to them that the instrument was not forgotten. Long before his reign ( 1762-90 ) he settled in 1750 by Johann Joachim Stadlmann in Vienna make a particularly valuable instrument equipped with intricate carvings and a fingerboard made ​​of ivory and ebony. Such an object was, of course, representation and investment piece for the treasury - a " masterstroke ". Andreas Lidl, 1769-1774 cellist in the court orchestra esterházy between, caught in Paris, London and Germany sensation and recognition with the baritone. The last major Barytonsolist of the 18th century was Karl Friedrich Abel ( 1723-1787 ).

With the change of sound aesthetics at the beginning of the 19th century, the baritone almost disappeared. The Bohemian cellist, conductor and composer Hauschka Vincent (1766-1840) was admired in Vienna, among others, as Barytonspieler. In Berlin they celebrated the coming of Mannheim royal Prussian cellist Sebastian Ludwig Friedel ( 1768 - 1830 ) as extraordinary Barytonisten ( Schilling ). He owned the now in the Victoria & Albert Museum kept instrument of Joachim Tielke, 1686 ( with Lion's head, flanked by two dragons ) and has had to increase the number of sympathetic strings after several conversions on 22. This instrument is shown in the drawing ( top right). Friedel received it first as " Darleihen " from the hand of the Elector Carl Theodor in Mannheim. Previous owner was King Maximilian of Bavaria in Munich ( Hellwig ).

Under the " first Renaissance period instruments and performance practices " at the beginning of the 20th century learned in addition to the viola da gamba and the baritone a revival. As early protagonists are mentioned here Christian Dobereiner, Karl Maria Švamberk, Janos Liebner, August Wenzinger and John Koch.

Compositions

The 176 works with baritone Joseph Haydn have already been mentioned. Among them are duets for two barytons, two quintets ( Barytontrio and two horns ), six octets ( string quartet, baritone, bass, two horns ), concerts with three part string orchestra and more. Prince Nikolaus Esterházy I Prince of ordered also works with baritone with other composers, so 24 trios with Luigi Tomasini, the concertmaster in the court orchestra led by Haydn. Only three of them are with viola, the other occupied with violin. A 25 Barytontrio Alfred Lessing found in the Holy Cross Monastery in Vienna. Also, 24 trios each of Joseph Burgk Steiner (?) And Anton Neumann ( 1740-1776 ) are preserved. Andreas Lidl (approx. 1740 to 1789, also incorrectly referred to Anton ), 1769-1774 cellist in the court orchestra esterházy between, published six trios as opus 1 in London in 1776, a further six trios in Paris and another six in London (see RISM ). Although these were published for violin or flute in the first vote, it must be assumed that Lidl she played on the baritone, because Haydn himself had already chosen this path of the publication. Works with baritone Sebastian Ludwig Friedel were probably never printed ( Schilling ) and therefore seem inaccessible, if not lost. From Vincent Hauschka (1766-1840) five quintets ( baritone, string quartet ) and five duets ( Bass, Cello ) are called, they are considered as lost.

In the early 1960s the Hungarian baritone and composer Janós Liebner discovered (* 1923) in Vienna, the manuscript of a series of Italian Canzonetti, signed " Vincenzo Hauschka " for diverse voices with Barytonbegleitung, and led some of them publicly in the subsequent years.

With the rediscovery of Barytons in the 20th century works were again composed. 1979 and 1983 wrote Manfred Herbig for his " Braunschweiger Barytontrio " two three-movement trio. 1984 was a solo cantata for tenor, Barytontrio and Harpsichord ( Jesus in the desert). Manfred Spiller, Wolfenbüttel, wrote four trios, and Heinz -Albert Heindrichs, Gelsenkirchen, the original Bagatelles in a set for the " Braunschweiger Barytontrio ". The trio Maria Aegyptiaca by Wolfgang Andreas Schulz, named after the wall paintings by Tintoretto in Venice, was premiered by the " Braunschweiger Barytontrio " 1984. Peter Michael Hamel wrote for Jörg Eggebrecht Mid Spring: six miniatures Duo for Viola and Bass, where he uses the 16 sympathetic strings in different ways. In the 1960s and 1970s, about a dozen contemporary works for Janós Liebner was composed, so among other things, by the Frenchman Henri Tomasi ( Troubadours 1967), by the Englishman Clive Muncaster (solid obbligato solo part in the oratorio The Hidden Years and two arias from it for soprano with Barytonbegleitung 1968), from the Hungarian György Ránki ( Solostücke 1959) and Ferenc Farkas ( Sonatina all ' antica 1962 Concertino in 1964, five troubadour songs for soprano and baritone 1968 Bakfark variations for baritone solo, 1971), by the German Hoffmann ( concert ) and grave ( Sonata ), by the Austrians Eder de Lastra ( solos ) and Dallinger ( Sonata ), and two authorized and devoted to transcriptions of Frank Martin ( Chaconne, Sonata da Chiesa ).

There are no further details known about a 1985 written by Sándor Veress Barytontrio ( 1907-1992 ) and a concert ( Divertimento concertante 1971) for baritone and chamber orchestra by Janós Liebner.

Árpád Pejtsik has reconstructed some baritone duets by Haydn and rewritten for two cellos.