basse de violon

Thanks to generous donations from the Zabawas Foundation and the Cultuurfonds, the Musical Instrument Foundation was able to purchase this exceptional basse de violon in 2012, with the specific goal of making it available for use on a project basis. The instrument is particularly unique because it has retained its original back length of 80.7 cm. Most basse de violons were made smaller as early as the 18th century because this made it physically possible to play the “new repertoire.”

Both students and professional musicians are eligible for this temporary loan. More information is available from Geertje van der Linden at 020-6221255 or vanderlinden@muziekinstrumentenfonds.nl.

What do musicians think of this instrument?
Cellist Anita Gluyas has already used the instrument several times and has this to say about it: “The Basse de Violon is one of the most wonderful instruments I have had the fortune to play. It is such a privilege and joy to have the chance to work with an instrument that has the potential for such beautiful tone colors; I feel like my imagination is the only limit! My colleagues found the sound of the instrument so beautiful that I have been booked for further work with it.”

The basse de violon was the largest instrument in the violin family and enjoyed popularity in the 16th and 17th centuries. The famous orchestra “Les 24 violons du Roi” included six of these instruments, likely built by Andrea Amati on commission from Charles IX of France. In the 17th century, Lully conducted this orchestra, which at that time belonged to Louis XIV, and was used primarily for ballet and court dances. Due to its large size, the basse de violon was particularly suited to playing bass lines and formed an important foundation in chamber music at the time, a role later taken over by the double bass.

The demise of the basse de violon was heralded by the invention of wound strings in 1680. By winding gut strings (with copper wire, for example), low notes could be produced with much shorter strings. This was a welcome development, as the basse de violon had its limitations, especially for the shorter people of that era. Its size was reduced to what we know today as the cello. Soon, musical compositions evolved to the point where they could no longer be performed on the larger model. That marked the end of the basse de violon. So today, examples can only be found in museums… or so we thought! With the discovery of this basse de violon, the Musical Instrument Fund has been able to add a unique historical instrument to its collection.

Listen to here on Spotify to hear the basse de violon played by Lucia Swarts in Johann Sebastian Bach’s Fifth Cello Suite.