Octobass

The octobass is an extremely large bowed string instrument that was first built around 1850 in Paris by the French luthier Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume (1798–1875). It has three strings and is essentially a larger version of the double bass (the specimen in the collection of the Musée de la Musique in Paris measures 3.48 meters in length, whereas a full size double bass is generally approximately 2 meters in length). Because of the extreme fingerboard length and string thickness, the musician plays it using a system of levers and pedals. It has never been produced on a large scale or used much by composers (though Hector Berlioz wrote favorably about the instrument and proposed its widespread adoption). In addition to the Paris instrument, octobasses exist in the collections of the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, Arizona and the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.^[1]

In October 2016, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra was donated an octobass by the Quebec company Canimex and is now the only orchestra in the world to own one.^[2][3] This instrument was made by the luthier Jean-Jacques Pagès of Mirecourt, France in 2010.^[4]

Range and tuning

According to Berlioz, the three open strings were tuned C1, G1, and C2. This tuning gave it a low range one octave below the cello and equal to the modern double bass with low C extension. However, at the time when the octobass was invented, the double bass lacked this extension and could descend only to E1 or G1. The mechanism enabled each string to chromatically cover the range of a perfect fifth and gave the instrument a high range to G2.^[5] The instrument at the Musée de la Musique in Paris, which uses period-accurate gut strings, is tuned thus (though on at least some recordings the overall tuning is a half-step flat).^[6]

The instrument at the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, which uses modern wound metal strings, is tuned C0, G0, D1. This tuning gives it a low range two octaves below the cello and one octave below the modern double bass with low C extension. Berlioz specifically noted this tuning in his orchestration treatise, but considered it erroneous. As on the Paris instrument, the mechanism allows each string to cover a perfect fifth, giving it a high range to A1. The lowest notes in this tuning exceed the commonly-stated human hearing range of 20 Hz, but are nevertheless audible due to overtones.^[7] (An organ's 32′ stop also exceeds the supposed 20 Hz limit.)

The Montreal Symphony Orchestra octobass uses gut strings, is tuned A0, E1, B1 and has a high range to F♯2.^[8]

See also

Triple contrabass viol - A similar, but more recent, instrument that has appeared on a recording by the American composer Roscoe Mitchell.

References

Violin family
Instruments	Violin Viola Cello Double bass Violin range Kit violin Five string violin Violino piccolo Alto range Five string viola Vertical viola Viola pomposa Tenor range Tenor violin/Tenor viola Violotta Viola Profonda Cello range Five string cello Baritone violin Cello da spalla Cellone Violoncello piccolo Bass range Bass violin Violone Octobass
Parts	Bass bar Bow Bridge Chinrest Endpin F-hole Fingerboard Frog Scroll Shoulder rest Sound post Tailpiece Tuning peg
Techniques	Bowing Arco Col legno Down bow Up bow Martelé Portato Spiccato Tremolo Arpeggio Artificial harmonic Double stop Fingering Bariolage Pizzicato Scordatura Vibrato
Ensembles and genres	String quartet String trio String quintet String sextet String octet Violin concerto Viola concerto Cello concerto Double bass concerto Violin sonata Viola sonata Cello sonata Carnatic music
Other	Violin physics Violin history Rosin Stradivarius String section Violin lutherie Violin musical styles Violin octet