violino piccolo
The violino piccolo (also called the Diskantgeige, Terzgeige, Quartgeige or Violino alla francese and sometimes in English as the Piccolo Violin) is a stringed instrument of the baroque period. Most examples are similar to a child's size violin in size, and are tuned a minor third (B 3 –F 4 –C 5 –G 5) or a fourth higher (C 4 –G 4 –D 5 –A 5). The most famous work featuring violino piccolo is the first Brandenburg Concerto of Johann Sebastian Bach.
Also recorded as piccolo violin · diskangeige · violino alla francese · quartgeige
violino piccolo
Frinck51 · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Name
- Violino piccolo (piccolo violin)
- Field
- necked box lute played with a bow.
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Documentary summary
The violino piccolo (also called the Diskantgeige, Terzgeige, Quartgeige or Violino alla francese and sometimes in English as the Piccolo Violin) is a stringed instrument of the baroque period. Most examples are similar to a child's size violin in size, and are tuned a minor third (B 3 –F 4 –C 5 –G 5) or a fourth higher (C 4 –G 4 –D 5 –A 5). The most famous work featuring violino piccolo is the first Brandenburg Concerto of Johann Sebastian Bach.
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In this article
Overview
Overview
The best-known violino piccolo is the Brothers Amati example in the National Music Museum in Vermillion, South Dakota. The string length is the equivalent of a violin stopped a minor third from the nut, which corresponds with its normal tuning of a third higher than a violin. It's notated in E flat. This Amati violin also has fingerboard widths similar to that of a board cut a third shorter, which in view of the other measurements implies a clear conceptual relationship to the -sized violin. When the construction of the violin changed as the rococo period began, it became possible to play many higher-pitched violin parts on a standard violin, and the piccolo violin was no longer considered necessary. Violins of similar tuning have been built in modern times (specifically the soprano violin of the new violin family) but have not yet been accepted as standard. • Illustration — A Stradivarius violino piccolo at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Violino piccolo (piccolo violin) • Classification — *Bowed string instruments • Related — * Violin • Viola • Cello • Double bass
Primary material
Documents and archives
authority file
- Gemeinsame Normdatei 1172213283, Violino piccolo.
Unverified · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
reference work
- “Violino piccolo”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q830863: violino piccolo
Unverified · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.cita Downie Banks grove
- 2.cita Praetorius praetorius
- 3.cita Sirch pp. 50-65 sirch .
- 4.Violino Piccolo by Girolamo Amati, Cremona, 1613. National Music Museum.
- 5.cita Holman p. 580 holman .
- 6.Al tempo di Monteverdi la nomenclatura degli strumenti ad arco non era ancora chiaramente definita. In particolare, per quanto riguarda i "violini piccioli alla francese" impiegati nell'Orfeo, si riteneva comunemente che la parte fosse destinata al violino piccolo descritto in questa voce. Tuttavia alcuni studiosi, come il violinista e musicologo americano David Boyden, sostengono che Monteverdi potesse riferirsi a delle varianti di pochette (altro strumento ad arco di piccola taglia molto comune all'epoca in Francia, e questo giustificherebbe l'espressione "alla francese"), probabilmente strumenti simili a quelli ritratti nelle tavole XVI (8) e XXI (1) del Syntagma musicum. Secondo altre teorie, le parti di violino piccolo sarebbero state invece suonate da violini e le parti di violino dalle viole. Cfr. .
- 7.Leopold. Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule. Johann Jakob Lotter und Sohn. 1787.
- 8.Leopold. A Treatise on the Fundamental Principles of Violin Playing. Oxford University Press. 1985. 0-19-318513-X.
- 9.The New Grove Dictionary of Musical Intruments, voce Quinton. MacMillian. vol. 3. 1984. 0-333-37878-4.
- 10.Dizionario Enciclopedico Universale della Musica e dei Musicisti, voci Violino piccolo e Quinton. UTET. Il Lessico, vol. 4. 1984. 88-02-03820-1.
- 11.Carleen. Maley Hutchins. New Violin Family.
- 12.Nicholas. Ancient European Musical Instruments. October House. 1941.
- 13.Ephraim. On Praetorius and the sizes of Renaissance bowed instruments. The Fellowship of Makers and Researchers of Historic Instruments. 89. 1997.
- 14.Violini piccoli di Antonio Stradivari su cozio.com.
- 15.Cozio.com: small violin by Antonio & Girolamo Amati, 1613.
- 16.Cozio.com: small violin by Hendrick Jacobs, 1660c.
- 17.John. 1991.
- 18.Cozio.com: small violin by Omobono Stradivari, 1740.
- 19.Cozio.com: small violin by Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù, 1740.
- 20.Questo strumento è l'unico Guarneri del Gesù conosciuto che monta ancora la catena originale.
- 21.Cozio.com: small violin by Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù, 1735.
- 22.Violino piccolo di Pietro Antonio Cati sul sito del museo degli strumenti musicali di Lipsia.
- 23.Violino piccolo al Germanisches Nationalmuseum.
- 24.Manoscritto di Christ lag in Todesbanden conservato presso la Sächsische Landesbibliothek – Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek di Dresda.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
authority file
Gemeinsame Normdatei 1172213283, Violino piccolo.Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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