Les Vingt-quatre Violons Du Roi - Instrumentation

Instrumentation

The five-part instrumentation of the Vingt-quatre Violons consisted of the following string instruments:

• 6 premiers violons (first violins, tuning: g - d1 - a1 - e2)
• 4 hautes-contre (tuning: c – g – d1 - a1)
• 4 tailles (tuning: c – g – d1 - a1)
• 4 quintes (tuning: c – g – d1 - a1)
• 6 basses de violon (tuning: ‚B flat – F – c- g)

The three middle parts were played by violas of equal tuning, but different size (corpus between 39 and 48 cm), resulting in different timbre and volume. The basse de violon was tuned a whole step lower than a modern cello but was roughly the same size and shape. The group could be further augmented by the addition of violone doubling the basses de violon. Sometimes a bass viol could be substituted for a basse de violon; the Petite Bande also included several viol players. The instrumentation of the Vingt-quatre Violons greatly influenced the five-part string writing that prevailed in 17th and 18th century France, especially the early-18th-century French orchestral symphonies of Jean-Féry Rebel, etc.