Boccherini and the cello

In his highly informative article 'Boccherini as cellist and his music for cello', EM, xxxiii/3 (May 2005), pp.191-210, Christian Speck writes that 'Certain structural properties in several of his compositions for the cello lead one to suspect that Boccherini may have used a five-stringed instrument, a cello piccolo, in the performance of certain pieces, such as the sonata "L'Imperatrice". . . new critical document studies have revealed that in addition to an "Estayner" (Jacob Stainer), Boccherini did in fact possess a small cello. In a property inventory of 26 April 1787, he describes his two cellos as "un Violon de Estayner" and "un Violon Chico" ("a small cello").'

As proposed in my article, 'A wider role for the tenor violin?', Galpin Society journal (1994), pp.123-53, the cello-type tenor violin was an instrument that was often used and important in the Baroque era. Indeed, much of the solo as well as ensemble repertory assumed to have been written for the violoncello was most probably written for the cello-type tenor violin. I would argue that, quite possibly, Boccherini's small cello was this instrument, the four-stringed cello-type tenor violin with G-D-a-e tuning. We do not know the measurements of Boccherini's small cello, but I note with interest that a large number of Boccherini's important cello compositions do not use the C string and that the first cello parts, at least in several of the string quintets with two cellos, also lack any C-string notes.

Prof. Speck writes that 'Above all, Boccherini's string quintets, which are mostly scored for two cellos, offer technically demanding solo passages for the cellist. The composer could have intended a particular instrument for the performance of the demanding first cello parts in some quintets. This conjecture is supported by corresponding title additions in the parts of, for example, the edition of the six string quintets, op.27 (1779), published by Pleyel in Paris in 1813 as op.49: "The first cello can be replaced by an alto cello" . . . This assumption may stem from Pleyel. However, it may stem from Boccherini who sold all his compositions together with rights to Pleyel . . . All the same, it is highly suggestive that Pleyel proposed an "alto violoncello" as an alternative instrument, which would have been unusual around 1813. The publisher would certainly have been able to achieve more sales with an arrangement of the string quintet for the standard quintet scoring of two violas. If Pleyel had intended this scoring, however, he would surely have described the alternative instrument as "alto viola".'

The suggestion for the alternative instrument, alto cello instead of the first cello, surfaced before the above-mentioned 1813 publication and survived for over a century. In a 1798-9 publication of Boccherini's 12 quintets, also published by Pleyel, identical but alternative parts are included for the first cello and alto cello. Other examples include 12 quintets and 24 quintets, published c.1804 and c.1810, again by Pleyel, also with alternative first cello and alto cello parts. The alto cello, without an alternative part for the first cello, is suggested for 93 quintets by an 1820 publication (chez Janet et Cottelle, Paris) and for 51 quintets in 1829 (also Janet et Cottelle, Paris). In four out of the six quintets in a 1949 Ricordi publication (edited by Enrico Polo), the first cello parts are notated in the tenor clef, they do not use the C string and-according to the editor-the title-page in the original manuscript suggests the alto-violoncello for the first cello part.

Prof. Speck mentions that 'The alto and soprano registers are usually preferred for the solo part, both in Boccherini's sonatas and in his concertos for cello.' I examined the 19 cello sonatas, the 11 cello concertos and the three sonatas for two cellos catalogued by Yves Gérard. I also looked at two cello sonatas (published for the first time by Prof. Speck, not mentioned by Gérard) and at one cello concerto (published independently both by Aldo Pais and Prof. Speck, not mentioned by...