Violino piccolo
The violino piccolo (also called the Diskantgeige, Terzgeige, Quartgeige or Violino alla francese) is a stringed instrument of the baroque period. Most examples are similar to a child's size violin in size, and are tuned a minor third (B♭3–F4–C5–G5) or a fourth higher (C4–G4–D5–A5). Probably the most famous work featuring violino piccolo is the first Brandenburg Concerto of Johann Sebastian Bach.
The best-known violino piccolo is the Brothers Amati example in the National Music Museum, in Vermillion, South Dakota. By modern measurements, the body is 1⁄4 size, the neck 1⁄2 size, and the head corresponds to that of a 3⁄4 size instrument. The string length is the equivalent of a 4⁄4 violin stopped a minor third from the nut, which corresponds with its normal tuning of a third higher than a 4⁄4 violin. This Amati violin also has fingerboard widths similar to that of a 4⁄4 board cut a third shorter, which in view of the other measurements implies a clear conceptual relationship to the 4⁄4-sized violin.
When the construction of the violin changed as the rococo period began, it became possible to play many higher-pitched violin parts on a standard violin, and the piccolo was no longer considered necessary. In modern performances of older works that specifically call for the violino piccolo, it is common for a woodwind instrument capable of playing in its range, such as an oboe, to be substituted.
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