The viola d'amore (pronounced [ˈvjɔːla daˈmoːre, viˈɔːla -]; Italian for "viol of love") is a 6- or 7-stringed musical instrument with additional sympathetic strings, which was commonly used during the Baroque period. It is played under the chin like a violin.

Structure and sound

The viola d'amore has many similarities to the viol family. It resembles a thinner treble viol without frets and often includes sympathetic strings. The six-string viola d'amore and the treble viol have a similar range of playable notes. Like all viols, it has a flat back. A detailed carved head at the top of the peg box is common on both viols and viola d'amore, though some viols do not have one. Unlike viols, the viola d'amore’s head is often shaped like Cupid blindfolded, symbolizing the blindness of love. This was also one of the three common sound hole shapes for viols. The viola d'amore is unfretted and played like a violin, held horizontally under the chin. It is about the same size as the modern viola.

The viola d'amore typically has six or seven playing strings, which are played by drawing a bow across them, like a violin. It also has an equal number of sympathetic strings placed below the main strings and fingerboard. These strings are not played directly but vibrate in response to the notes played. Some instruments have up to fourteen sympathetic strings. Although sympathetic strings are now a defining feature of the instrument, early versions of the viola d'amore did not include them. The first clear mention of a viola d'amore with sympathetic strings appears in the 1730s. Both versions with and without sympathetic strings were made and played throughout the 18th century.

Because of the sympathetic strings, the viola d'amore produces a soft and warm sound. Leopold Mozart, in his book Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule, described the instrument as "especially charming in the stillness of the evening."

The first known use of the name "viol d'amore" appears in John Evelyn’s diary on November 20, 1679: "for its swetenesse & novelty the Viol d'Amore of 5 wyre-strings, plaid on with a bow, being but an ordinary violin, play'd on Lyra way by a German, than which I never heard a sweeter Instrument or more surprizing…"

Range

On the treble viol, the pitch range above the octave (d) on the highest string was rarely used except in modern music. The viola d'amore was usually tuned especially for the piece it was to play, similar to a method called scordatura. By the late 1700s, an almost standard tuning was established, known as Open D Major: A, d, a, d', f♯', a', d".

Use

The instrument was very popular in the late 17th century. However, it was rare for a musician to specialize in playing the viola d'amore, as it was common for professional musicians to play several instruments, especially those related to their main instrument. Later, the instrument was no longer used as often because the violin family became preferred for their louder sound compared to the softer sound of the viol family. In the last century, there has been renewed interest in the viola d'amore. Two viola players, Henri Casadesus and Paul Hindemith, played the viola d'amore in the early 20th century. The film composer Bernard Herrmann also used the instrument in some of his musical scores. It is important to note that, like violins, the modern viola d'amore was slightly changed from its Baroque version to handle the extra tension of steel-wrapped strings.

Leoš Janáček originally planned to include the viola d'amore in his second string quartet, "Intimate Letters." The instrument's use was meant to reflect the nature of his relationship with Kamila Stösslová, who inspired the work. However, during rehearsals, it was found to be impractical, so Janáček changed the part to use a regular viola. Sergei Prokofiev's ballet Romeo and Juliet also includes a viola d'amore.

Today, the viola d'amore is often played in musical groups that focus on performing Baroque music using original instruments from that time.

Scordatura notation

Scordatura notation was first used in the late seventeenth century to help violinists read music written for violins with different tunings. It was especially useful for instruments like the viola d'amore, which are not tuned in the usual fifths, and for other stringed instruments with uneven spacing between strings. Composers such as Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber, Antonio Vivaldi, and Johann Joseph Vilsmayr (a student of Biber) wrote music for violins with one or more strings retuned to notes outside the normal fifths. Because the viola d’amore was often played by violinists and many tunings were used, scordatura notation made it easier for violinists to read the music.

Scordatura notation has several forms. Treble clef, alto clef, and soprano clefs are used by different composers. Bass clef is usually used for notes on the lower two or three strings (on six- or seven-string instruments) and sounds an octave higher than written. In scordatura, players imagine they are playing a violin (or sometimes a viola, using the alto clef) tuned in normal fifths. Scordatura notation tells the player where to place their fingers, not what note will sound. Because of this, it is sometimes called a tablature or "finger" notation.

In Biber's Harmonia Artificiosa no. VII, a unique version of scordatura notation is used. Biber employs a nine-line staff. The clefs are based on the alto clef, as if the player is reading music for a viola. The piece is written for a six-stringed instrument. The upper part of the staff represents the upper four strings, and the lower part represents the lower four strings (still imagining the player is reading the four strings of a viola in alto clef). This means there are two ways to notate notes on the middle two strings, but the correct way becomes clear when playing the piece.

Repertoire

• Heinrich Biber (1644–1704)
• Christian Pezold (1677–1733)
• Attilio Ariosti (1666–1729)
• Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741)
• Christoph Graupner (1683–1760)
• Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–1767)
• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
• Johann Joachim Quantz (1697–1773)
• Louis-Toussaint Milandre (18th century)
• Carlo Martinides (around 1731–1794)
• Joseph Haydn (1732–1809)
• Carl Stamitz (1745–1801)
• Franz Anton Hoffmeister (1754–1812)
• Joseph Leopold Eybler (1765–1846)
• Louis van Waefelghem (1840–1908)
• Charles Martin Loeffler (1861–1935)
• Ottorino Respighi (1879–1936)
• Henri Casadesus (1879–1947)
• Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887–1959)
• Frank Martin (1890–1974)
• Paul Hindemith (1895–1963)
• Bruno Maderna (1920–1973)
• Salvatore Sciarrino (*1947)
• Paul Rosenbloom (*1952)
• Georg Friedrich Haas (*1953)
• Michael Edwards (*1968)
• Dario Palermo (*1970)
• Emily Doolittle (*1972)
• Rachel Stott (*1968)
• Hans Vermeersch (*1957)
• Daniel Wyman

• Les Huguenots (1836) by Giacomo Meyerbeer
• Bánk bán (1861) by Ferenc Erkel
• Le jongleur de Notre-Dame (1901) and Cendrillon (1899) by Jules Massenet
• Madama Butterfly (1904) by Giacomo Puccini
• Palestrina (1912) by Hans Pfitzner
• Káťa Kabanová (1919) by Leoš Janáček; the viola d’amore represents the title character.
• Romeo and Juliet (1935–1936) by Sergei Prokofiev
• …?risonanze!… (1996–1997) by Olga Neuwirth
• The Misprision of Transparency (2001) by Aaron Cassidy

• Bernard Herrmann’s score for On Dangerous Ground (1951) uses the viola d’amore to play the female protagonist’s theme. Virginia Majewski, the performer, is credited in the film’s opening titles.
• Bernard Herrmann’s score for Little Girl Lost, a Twilight Zone (1962) episode, uses the viola d’amore to create a special mood. Virginia Majewski performs the instrument beautifully.
• James Newton Howard’s score for After Earth (2013) includes four violas d’amore to create eerie sounds. The performers are Pamela Goldsmith, Roland Kato, Jennie Hansen, and Adriana Zoppo.

Note: The papers of Walter Voigtlander include 142 arrangements and transcriptions for the viola d’amore.

Pedagogical works

• The Modern Viole d'Amour Player, Systematically Arranged Material for the Study of the Viole d'Amour for the Violin Player by Walter Voigtlander (written before 1914). This is a simple teaching method that starts with the basics of the instrument and gradually increases in difficulty. It includes adapted exercises from violin and viola method books by famous teachers. The book also includes additional materials with solo and orchestral pieces by many composers, including Voigtlander’s own 42 Studies (see below). This work is part of The Walter Voigtlander Collection of Viola d'Amore Music, from about 1890 to 1930, at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts (see finding aid).

• 42 Studies Transcribed for the Viole d'Amour for the Violin Player, and Viola Studies for Self-Study by Walter Voigtlander. This book has notes written in both German and English. It is the more advanced of his two teaching works and was mainly intended for his own use, according to Rosenblum. It includes exercises from well-known violin and viola method books, adapted for the viola d'amore. This work is also part of The Walter Voigtlander Collection of Viola d'Amore Music, from about 1890 to 1930, at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts (see finding aid).

• 16 Studi-Capricci for Viola d'amore by Aurelio Arcidiacono (1915–2000). These are advanced practice pieces that are excellent for performances. They were published by Amore Publications in 1990.