Introducing the Baroque Piccolo Cello 

The D major suite by J. S. Bach contains much upper range passage work which, because it's difficult to play, inevitably results in a certain increased intensity on a four-string cello. Playing the same suite on a five string cello relaxes the sound and changes the character of the piece as performed.

Made in 1739, almost 300 years old. If only it could talk. Ofcourse it will have had it's little repairs here and there but the fact that it is still being played today is a testament to the workmanship of mister Schonger.

It's a bit like if you combined a cello, violin, and viola into one instrument. I absolutely love it.

This came on my feed. The last piece played was just beautiful and the way the low notes collide with the high ones is just marvelous. I enjoyed this an awful lot.

I love these presentations of instruments I may never have heard of.

Bach's genius is ever inspiring. For me, never more so in his French inflected works. The Gavotte here is somehow unmistakable but also richly flavoured by the sound of French dance music for Viols. Gorgeous.

VERY nice! Beautiful instrument

So what you're saying is 'It's a sort of big viola.' 🙂

I literally screamed “Yes” when i saw the new upload. Also, the new background is really nice.

there is a certain something about the people who decide to make the cello their means of expressing their art. sidebar: there's more than a touch of hurdy-gurdy in that last piece.

If it ain't Baroque, don't fix it! I kept waiting for her to play a lyrical passage on that E-string. I enjoyed the video.

What a beautiful deep sound it makes, that low C# note

Thank you.

Fantastic sounding instrument!

Very cool and interesting!

What a wonderful instrument, beautifully played and explained. I must get one!

Very interesting! I've played BWV6 but on modern instruments (I played English horn--love the first air!), and I had no idea the "cello" part was actually for cello piccolo!

Delicious sound. Wonderful explanation. I hope you tour the USA someday soon!

Love these videos

Really beautiful playing!

Yay, another video from this series! We're all blessed

Such a beautiful instrument. ✨🙌 Thanks for the video!

Lovely!! Hope to hear more of this wonderful extended range cello.

Sounds beautiful.

beautiful instrument and beautifully played...

Thank you for this introduction to such a beautiful instrument.

Delightful, thank you. ☀️

Absolutely gorgeous

So beautiful. I miss playing cello. Thank you!

Truly beautiful

It’s fantastic! It’s beautiful, you’re beautiful, and the variety of instruments that were available for that time. Continues to amaze us. Thank you so so much for bringing us to our attention! Keep playing…

I've been studying music most of my life. I have a Music Education degree, and a ridiculous number of hours in college. I even studied cello for 5 years. And I've never heard of this instrument. Or the Bass violin I saw on Antiques Roadshow a couple of months ago. Beautiful sound. Amazing that the instrument you're playing is older than the USA.

Love it.

Wow those doubles-stops were beautiful. So rich and full sounding. Gave me goosebumps. Thank you for the really interesting information.

Thank you!!!

something special about an instrument so old

very interesting and beautiful!

Such a pretty instrument with the trimming around fingerboard, pegs etc. (curious to know if it was bone, ivory or a pale timber?). Also, old is the bow? Is it high tensioned, or the wood just shaped that way for this era instrument?

you can really see in her paying how much she loves this cello and how much they are becoming one while playing

What a delicious sound you bring from this instrument. It convinces me that this piece must have been created for you. Thank rou. L

It's a 5 string Cello (I have one too) and actually it can be used to play Violin music an Octave Lower than written

Realyy interesting, thanks :)

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Thanks

Without the low C, isn't it a "Tenor Violin" as described by Auguste Tolbecque ? Thank so much for this video.

Großartig!

It would be entertaining to see it next to a 'regular' cello.

I have often thought that violins are quite limited and actually hard at times to listen to. Your explanation about how string instruments were much more diverse several hundred years ago makes perfect sense.

I grumble and gripe about RU-vid's ads and swear never to support the advertisers, but where else can we see such fascinating clips?

i would love to own one to play bach's 6th suite...

Ah my favourite instrument, the little big small viol!

Gavotte II.. sweet!🙂

What a delight to see and hear a rare antiquarian instrument. I would've liked some close-up shots detailing what looks to be fine workmanship. Explanation of such a dark wood color, the white material edging the upper neck, etc. Of course how about a word regarding who is your lovely musician? More please. And many thanks

I love this instrument. I have an electric 'octave' violin which has 5 strings tuned exactly the same. I wonder if I can learn some Bach on it :)

For an example of an even smaller cello being played "da spalla" (on the shoulder) as Luise Buchberger mentions, here's the 6th Bach Cello Suite played by Sergey Malov as part of The Netherlands Bach Society: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-wbH3JYfRjOQ.html

And to think I'd only recently heard of the violoncello da spalla and today here's the violoncello piccolo! How many more types of cello are there?

I had heard of the violoncello piccolo before, but this is the first time I have actually seen one, and find it a bit surprising that it is almost the same size as a normal cello . . . although I just noticed that the Wikipedia article on the cello has a photo of one that is scarcely smaller than this one. Too bad these are not made any more.

Naivety perhaps, but expect all stringed instruments to be available with extra strings for flexibility.

Nice cello

The ‘Cello with five strings-just like the “Viola Pomposa”, Musicians could play the famous “Sixth Suite” of Bach.

i just wanna say i love her accent

The Picello 😊

I prefer the modern cello when playing the 6th suite. But this is beautiful! omg I would be so afraid of it getting dinged or broken and then the remainder of my life paying for it...

😊

Beautiful instrument! Interesting it was called "piccolo" which implies a higher register tuning, you'd expect overall that it would be either a 5th or full octave higher all around, like a viola. But I suppose in this case it's really just a cello with that added E string for an expanded range, and yet overall in a smaller size which lends it a thinner, airier, more delicate tone. I love the double stops at the end!

Violone = big viol Violoncello = little big viol Violoncello piccolo = little little big viol

Historic bass(low) flutes?

Ooooooo. That's a fruity sound. 💖

When you say piccolo cello, it technically mean the viola. Since the viola is tuned exactly one octave above the cello, hence "piccolo". Never expect there is another instrument bigger than the viola!

I didnt know Piccolo Daimao had a cello named after him.

2:07 Who was the lady singing? She sounded fantastic. The cello was impressive and I'd like to hear that whole performance.

4:05

Look how short the fingerboard is! It seems that the distance from the end of the fingerboard to the bridge is more than double that of a regular 'cello. That means you must lose a whole octave of playable stopped (non-harmonic) high notes. By eye, it looks like the end of the fingerboard gives each string about a twelfth of range. The E-string gives an additional fifth, of course, but the overall result must mean that this old piccolo cello actually has significantly less range than a regular 4-string 'cello played all the way to the end of its fingerboard. Is that true in practice? It seems that it is quite recent (Elgar?) that cellists play notes in the highest register.

Is this the instrument I heard in one of the Cantatas atThe Saffron Hall on Sunday?

Is the piccolo cello (expecially the four stringed G-d-a-e' version) practically the same as the "taille de violon" / tenor violin? Or should they be considered different instruments?

Anything to avoid viola

This is a lovely video. More study and use of 5 string is needed. Please, though, there is absolutely no historical reference anywhere to 5 strings as "violoncello piccolo".

Modern cellos need that 5th string.

I. Want. A 5-string. Cello.

Why are some older cellos - like this one - very dark in colour?

The cello almost sounds as good as her accent

So…a PiccoCello?

Such a shame the 5-string cello fell out of favor.

Viola on steroids

A pickled cello.