"Alto violin (British nomenclature, alto violin)"

Alto violin (British nomenclature, alto violin) | Carleen Hutchins | 1974

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Audio Clips

The instruments that make up the New Violin Octet range from a tiny Treble Violin, tuned an octave higher than the ordinary violin and using steel wire of exceptionally high tensile strength for its E5 string, to a huge Contrabass Violin, tuned like an ordinary 4 string double bass but with an overall length of more than 2 metres. All eight instruments are matched and scaled to one another on acoustical principles, and use specially developed electronically generated plate tuning techniques. There is a Soprano Violin, tuned a fourth above the ordinary violin; a Tenor Violin, tuned a fifth above the cello; and a Bass Violin, tuned a fourth above the double bass. Tuned C3 G3 D4 A4.

Viola

Carleen Hutchins

Montclair

North America

United States of America

Instrument Data

Instrument Information

Title

Alto violin (British nomenclature, alto violin)

Alternative Title

Alto violin of the New Violin Family.

Accession Number

2794

Collection

MIMEd

Date Information

Date Made

1974

Period

20th century; 1970s

Gallery Information

Gallery

Wolfson Gallery

Case

Bowed strings and bagpipes case 6

Maker Information

Maker Name

Carleen Hutchins

Maker Biography

Carleen Hutchins was born in 1911 in Springfield, Massachusetts. She was a high school teacher who turned her hand to making violins and is best known for her creation of a family of eight proportionally sized violins called the violin octet. She also conducted much research into the acoustics of violins and authored many publications concerning the issue. She received many awards for her work including four honorary doctorates. She died in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, in 2009.

Made In

City

Montclair

Country

United States of America

Description

Other Information

Specific usage history: brought to Britain for the International Congress on Acoustics, 1974; musical and scientific research programme at the Royal College of Music, London, funded by the Leverhulme Trust, 1976-79; University College, Cardiff, 1980-86; Faculty of Music, University of Edinburgh, 1987- .

Technical Description

This instrument has a soundboard of spruce; back, ribs, scroll and neck of maple; fingerboard and tail-gut protector of ebony, tailpiece, pegs and endpin holder of rosewood. The instrument has an orange varnish and dyed pear/poplar/dyed pear purfling; there are ebony plugged holes just inside the purfling at each of the points and offset plugged holes at the top and bottom. The back has good figure. The tailpiece is angled on top rather than curved. The scroll and neck are of one piece.

Measurements: Neck length 169mm; fingerboard length 351mm, width at nut 27.2mm, at bottom 51.1mm. Soundboard arch 20mm; Back arch 20mm.

Inscription: Labelled "CARLEEN HUTCHINS / SUS No. 126 / Montclair, N.J. 1974", the '126' and '74' being handwritten, the rest printed. "CMH" monogram in middle of label. "VIOLA. C-G-D-A" handwritten. "CMH" monogram stamped on the inside of the back. "C-G-D-A / VIOLA" handwritten on the inside of the back. "CATGUT ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY, INC" label under treble sound-hole, with handwritten "developed by:" on label.

Playing accessories: tail-pin, chin-rest. With hard case and soft case.

General literature refrences: Hutchins 1962; Hutchins 1967; Hutchins 1973; Atwood 1986.

Performance characteristics: described in Skeaping 1980; can be played either viola-style under the chin or cello-style using tail-pin. Tuned C3, G3, D4, A4.

Specific literature references: Darius 1977; Skeaping 1980.
Illustration references: New Scientist 75 No. 1061, 21 July 1977, p. 175.

Specific usage history: brought to Britain for the International Congress on Acoustics, 1974; musical and scientific research programme at the Royal College of Music, London, funded by the Leverhulme Trust, 1976-79; University College, Cardiff, 1980-86; Faculty of Music, University of Edinburgh, 1987-.

Current ownership: Gift of Peter Fellgett.

Provenance

Gift of Peter Fellgett.

Classification