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(For the benefit of people who are not familar with the performance techniques of Baroque
music, I include a brief explanation of the concept of "continuo". The continuo was the
"rhythm section" of a Baroque ensemble, consisting of various combinations of instruments as
described in the article. The continuo part was often written as a "figured bass" or
"thoroughbass". This was a single-note bass part with various numbers written above the
notes, the numbers giving more or less the same information as modern chord symbols. For
more information, read Agazzari's 1607 description.)

A New Sound for Familiar Music

The Cello as an Accompanying Instrument in the 18th

Century
by Dimitry Markevitch

For years, it has generally been accepted that the usual, normal, and preferred accompanying
instrument for 18th-century music is the harpsichord. Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, in his well-
known Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments, states that "the best
accompaniment to a solo, one which is free of criticism, is a keyboard instrument and a cello".
Most modern performers assume, especially when confronted with figured basses, that a
keyboard instrument with a cello is the only possibility. The reality is different. If you study
early editions and read contemporary reports of 18th-century concerts, you will discover that
the cello is often mentioned as the accompanying instrument to a soloist, whether violin, flute,
voice, or another cello. Of course, much iconographic evidence shows a poor cellist sitting
next to the harpsichord, struggling to read the score over the harpsichordist's shoulder.
However, the cellist in this scene is usually depicted with an orchestra or large ensemble.

The term "basso" causes some confusion. As a general rule "basse" and "basso" mean the
cello. Even today a French luthier will always call the cello a "basse". Furthermore, the term
"basso continuo", or figured bass, does not necessarily mean that a harpsichord is called for.
Any type of chordal instrument, such as theorbo or lute, could be used. In large ensembles the
continuo is played by several instruments. In church music the organ is most likely involved.

When the composer specifically wanted the accompaniment of the harpsichord, he usually
specified "cembalo", "cembalo e violoncello", or something similar. Even when a composer
specified "cembalo" and provided a figured bass, these specifications were often ignored.
Sebastien de Brossard says in his Dictionnaire de Musique from 1705, that "Basso continuo
is often played simply and without figures on the bass violin". (There was also a practical side
to the question, as good harpsichords were not always available, and a cello, even if
cumbersome, is still easier to carry than a harpsichord.)

It should be obvious that no realization is called for

when the bass carries no figures. To quote again from
C.P.E. Bach, "a good accompaniment exposes the
ridiculousness of the demand that accompaniments be
realized from unfigured basses". The examples of such
unfigured basses are numerous, especially in Italian
instrumental music from the last of the 17th century to
the works of Boccherini for violoncello and basso. In
the Rondo of Boccherini's Sonata in C Major, G. 17,
the bass is asked to play "sul ponticello al punto
d'arco", an instruction obviously impossible to carry
out on a harpsichord. Works like these clearly indicate
the use of a cello for the bass. Boccherini's 32 sonatas
must be played with a second cello accompaniment to
appreciate how good they sound for two cellos.

The evolution towards keyboard-dominated music can be seen in the compositions of the
cellist Jean Louis Duport. He made his debut in Paris at the Concert Spirituel on February 2,
1768, accompanied on a second cello by his older brother, Jean-Pierre. He later produced
sonatas for cello with bass, but his last work, probably composed in 1815 and published
posthumously, is a duo for cello and piano.

Thus the turn of the century, with the advent of the pianoforte, marks the beginning of the end
of the practice of accompaniment by a second cello. Still, in the Paris Conservatoire method,
Methode de Violoncelle et de Basse d'Accompagnement, published in 1805 and written by
Henri Levasseur and Charles Baudiot, cellists and "Professeurs de Basse au Conservatoire", a
whole section is devoted to cello accompaniment. This section describes at length the role of
the cello in accompanying, particularly in recitatives. The prerequisites are a perfect
knowledge of harmony and a familiarity with figured chords. It shows the best manner of
playing these chords and gives examples of realizations of figured basses by the cello.
Nowhere is there mention of the harpsichord or any other instrument.

As early as 1741, Michel Corrette in his method, the first to appear, writes at length about the
use of the cello for accompaniments.

If all countries give preference to the cello to play the basso continuo, it is not without reason,
the bass being the foundation of harmony. It is thus necessary to choose the bass instrument
which is the most sonorous and with which one can play all sorts of music: powerful, simple,
figured, etc. Because a music which lacks a strong bass always leaves much to be desired by
the ear. Those jealous of the cello will always lose their arguments against the progress which
it makes every day. To all others, the cello satisfies ears sensitive to harmony. Also voices are
charmed to be accompanied by it, realizing that nothing makes them shine like the
accompaniment of this sonorous instrument which articulates so well its tones and speaks so
distinctly; so different from the instruments which only make cymbal-like and nasal sounds to
which it is necessary to ask each minute the name of the note which they have just played, the
ear having heard only a confused noise which forbids hearing all the beauty of the harmony of
which the bass is the principal object. It relates itself also very well with the transverse flute;
and the violin could never be better accompanied than by the cello which is its true bass,
being of the same family.
Corrette's last statement is corroborated by the fact that musicians such as Corelli, Vivaldi,
and Tartini preferred being accompanied by a cello. In the original Sala edition of 1705,
Vivaldi's Sonatas Opp. 1 and 2 were labeled for "Violine e Violone o Cembalo", that is for
violin and cello or harpsichord.

From the appearance in 1685 of Corelli's Sonatas for Violin and Cello or Harpsichord, Op. 2,
it is clear that a cello was the rule and the harpsichord the exception. This explains why there
are so many early editions labeled thus: for "violin and bass", "violin and cello", "cello and
bass", "violin and bass violin or harpsichord". This last instance is found in the works of
Handel and others, as published by Walsh in London, who continued to use this label until
past the middle of the 18th century. Handel's famous Water Music was published in 1733 with
a "thorough Bass for Harpsichord or Bass Violin".

It may be hard for us to accept the cello as an accompanying instrument, because the 19th
century imposed the use of the piano, and practically all the editions for the last 150 years
have accompaniments arranged for this instrument. But if we go back to the 18th century, we
see that authors such as Jean-Baptiste Baumgartner and John Gunn expected the cello to
accompany. Baumgartner, in his method published in The Hague in 1774, gives very detailed
instructions on cello accompaniment, with a table of chords. And Gunn, after advising study
and practice of accompaniment, prints excerpts from well known works by Corelli and
Handel.

Historical arguments would be meaningless if the cello did not sound good as an
accompanying instrument. But the fact is the cello sounds great as an accompanying
instrument, and when cellists begin to revive this practice, I am sure they will discover what a
joy it is, especially since the imagination can be given free rein. The number of works which
can be played with cello accompaniment is extremely great as it covers the majority of
accompanied instrumental solo, duo, and trio works from the end of the 17th century to the
beginning of the 19th, thus opening up a vast area of repertoire for the cellist who wishes to
explore this wonderful literature.

Strings, Vol. VI, No. 3, Nov./Dec. 1991

• The cello in traditional music

• Cello accompaniment concepts for today

Links
• The Baroque cello home page
• The Internet Cello Society
• The Cello & Scottish Fiddle Tunes

Go to the Cello Page.

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