Scordatura Tuning in Performance and Transcription: A Guide Using Domenico Gabrielli's Seven Ricercari for Violoncello Solo
Sera Cheon · OhioLink ETD Center (Ohio Library and Information Network) · 2013
In the seventeenth century, the modern tuning of the cello, C-G-d-a, gradually replaced others as standard, winning out over older tunings, including, B-flat-F-c-g.However, the Bolognese makers who reinvented the cello in the 1660s-wiring gut strings with copper wire and creating a smaller cello capable of greater pressure-, also used a new tuning, C-G-d-g (Italian tuning).While this tuning did not catch on in the rest of Italy or Europe, and even in Bologna, died out by the end of the century, several composers, including Giovanni Gabrielli employed it in their solo cello works.Gabrielli's Seven Ricercari (1689) is one of the first works for solo cello and it was written in Italian tuning.Most modern editions notate these pieces in modern tuning, and alter chords and other passages that are difficult or impossible to play.However, with a good transcription, Italian tuning is quite feasible for the modern player; it allows for all the notes as Gabrielli intended and creates a slightly different sound for the cello, which fits this music nicely.For this reason, this document advocates for the use of Italian tuning (now called a scordatura tuning) and provides a transcription of these pieces and a guide for performers who wish to transcribe other pieces originally in Italian tuning.iii iv Acknowledgement To the many individuals who have helped me complete this document, I would like to offer my deepest gratitude: to my advisor, Yehuda Hanani, especially, for his work on this project as well as the invaluable musical instruction in my doctoral program, and for teaching me how to be a professional musician; to Lee Fiser, who was also one of my cello teachers, for his energy, passion, and imagination that has translated into my own playing, and for his many helpful comments and encouragement as I completed this research; and to Vivian Montgomery, whose expertise in Baroque performing practices guided many of the finer details of this document, for her insight and for providing Baroque instruments to use as well as lessons.I would like to thank two publishers, Arnoldo Forni