Violoncellos and accessories for all levels

At Luthier Vidal you will find everything you are looking for your cello acording to your preferences and needs as well as your level. We have instruments for beginners, advanced and professional. You can also find a selection of cellos, strings and baroque bows.

The cello as an instrument

The cello is a string instrument that is between the viola and the bass in terms of tonality. It takes the form of a lower violin which, for its size, is hold stranded up resting on the floor between the legs of the cellist so he or she can play it with the bow. Its name derives from the Italian word "violoncello" which means sky viola. From here also comes the abbreviation for its more commonly known name "cello". This instrument provides a rich and sonorous tone, being considered the instrument that is more similar to the human voice. Despite its size, the cello is a very expressive instrument and plays a fundamental role in the group of strings of the orchestra. Although usually runs the serious parts, it is so versatile that it is also use to interpret some melodic parts. It also takes part in a fundamental way on the base of quartets.

Cello history

This instrument takes its origins in the XV century, when lower violas da braccio adapted a derivation form of the violin. Despite that it emerged more or less at the same time as the violin, the cello was unsuccessful because it had a big rival at the moment, the viola da gamba. Also, other instruments from that period as the violón or the basset were certain similar to cello. At the beginning we can find some variants of the same instrument in terms of sizes, shapes and clamping tessituras and interpretation. It was from the next century that the cello began to gain ground to viola, resulting more effective on accompaniments. Italian luthiers, most of them from Cremona, began to give consistency to the instrument in the XVII century. Many of this generation of cellos were basically decorative, such as the Amati ones, but mostly were created for the use. In fact, it was for these decades when it was established as a permanent instrument in some official orchestras and some musicians began to compose works especially created for cello as those of Domenico Gabrieli and Giuseppe Maria Jacchini. But it was Stradivarius when, in the early XVIII century, normalized its size from 80 to 76cm making it most similar to the current model. Also it is known that the Stradivarius cellos are today the most expensive in the world and the most appreciated for their particular sound. Decades later, in the XIX, it was added the endpin as a support base. But it was still a not well recognized instrument to be played by the female gender, as it is need to place it between the legs in order to play the instrument. Thus, it was not until the twentieth century that some upper class women began using the cello. During the last century the heyday of interpreters of this instrument has been increasing, leaving us today with many good pieces and performers. A great example there is the hymns of the ONU composed by the catalan Pau Casals, "Hymn of Peace".

Cello parts

The cello physically follows the pattern of the bowed string instruments. It is characterized by the large size of its soundboard, or body, which is composed of an upper cover and a lower cover which are joined and closed by a side piece of wood. Inside there is the sound post, a wooden cylinder connecting the two covers by the sharper strings. Also with the soundboard we find the bass-bar, which helps to distribute the vibrations to the cover and at the same time provides support to the structure. Located between the two F shaped openings on the upper cover we find the bridge. This will give us a better or worse transmission of vibrations to the box depending on its cut and quality. Attached to the body, there is the neck upward running until the peg box where the pegs are arranged and, up to this, the scroll.

From the peg box until near the bridge we find the fingerboard, which is based on a hardwood bar which function is let the musician step the strings in order to obtain different notes. The four strings are arranged from the tailpiece to the peg box. For the tuning of these we moderate their tension by the pegs, and additionally by the keys included in the tailpiece providing a perfect sound by applying more pressure on the cord itself. Finally, at the bottom of the instrument we find the button where is located the endpin, whisch main function is none other than support the cello on the floor and adjust its height for comfort.

Despite the professional standard cello size is 4/4, there are other smaller sizes as ¾, ½ or 1/8.

Materials

The materials used for the soundboard is usually pine wood and the bridge, the mast and the head the material is maple wood. However, are also used as alternative materials beech wood, willow or cedar. Some low quality cellos can also be made in laminated and we can even find some made of composite materials such as carbon fiber. Tensors and endpins are generally made of steel, but there are some make of carbon fiber or even wood. Ebony wood is usually the material used for the fingerboard, pegs and tailpiece.

The bow

The bow is essential to get better results in the technical execution of the instrument. Besides it is a fundamental accessory to play the viola, as any bowed string instrument, this will determine the quality of the sound obtained when touched. Putting on a side the technical interpretation of the musician and the quality of the instrument, the bow takes an important role in the recipe, the good quality of this is necessary to complement it.

The bow consists in a head, a stick and hair bow. The last part, hair bow, are usually from male horses because his stronger manes. Although the color usually does not have much influence, bassists and cellists prefer to use black hair, as it is said that it provides more character to interpretation.