Arpeggione

1968 Arpeggio Henning Aschauer

Arpeggio or Arpeggio ( Italian: Arpeggione ; otherwise guitar-cello or guitar of love , German Liebes-Guitarre , French Guitarre d'amour ) - stringed string instrument. Close to the cello in size and method of sound extraction, but, like a guitar , has six strings and frets on the fretboard.

It was designed in 1823 by the Viennese craftsman Johann Georg Staufer ; a little later a similar tool was created in Pest by Peter Teufelsdorfer. It was implied that such an instrument would be most convenient for combining playing the bow and plucked instruments.

During the 1820s, arpeggios enjoyed a certain popularity. The editor-in-chief of the Universal Musical Newspaper, Friedrich August Canne, wrote about the new instrument:

“The beauty of the sound, which in high registers has a great resemblance to an oboe , and in bass resembles a basset horn , will lead the expert in amazement ... The charm and penetration of the instrument are equally excellent

(Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung, March 1, 1823)

The first performer in the arpeggio was Vincenz Schuster , who translated for him a number of works by contemporary composers ( Ludwig Spor , Bernhard Romberg , etc.). Schuster, in 1824, was the first to play Franz Schubert's Sonata specially written for arpeggio and piano, and in 1825 he published a manual on playing the arpeggio.

However, a decade after its invention, the instrument was largely forgotten. Schubert's sonata began to be played on a cello or viola, and the word "Arpeggione" often appears as its name. It was only at the end of the 20th century, with a general increase in interest in authentic sound , that the arpeggio was remembered. In particular, the German singer Gerhard Darmstadt recorded an album of works for arpeggios, playing on an exact copy of an instrument of the beginning of the XIX century, made by a modern master. The famous performer on this instrument is the Italian gambist Amelie Sheman .