JAVS Spring 2024

sizing results in the general nasal or veiled tone heard in many violas, but not in other members of the violin family. 37 The viola is generally slower to speak, more temperamental, and vibrates less than other instruments in the violin family. 38 In order for a viola to be comparable to a violin and a cello in terms of pitch, range, resonance, and size, it would need to be much larger. Some resources suggest that the strings of a viola would need to be six inches longer than what they currently are for the instrument to be considered acoustically accurate. 39 While the resonance and overall sound quality of a much larger viola would theoretically be sublime, this instrument would be virtually unplayable because of the increased length. However, even small increases in the body length of a viola can make tremendous improvements in sound quality. Violists playing on larger-than-average violas benefit from improved sound production. Yet, as string instruments increase in size, individual notes become more spread out on the fingerboard, making it more difficult for the musician to play in tune. One of the greatest problems for many violists playing larger instruments is their inability to reach across the upper bout to play in higher positions, especially on the lower three strings. 40 Additionally, as the proportions of the instrument increase, luthiers would likely also choose to increase the width of the fingerboard to be relative to the rest of the instrument, which can be seen in the Cavaceppi viola. This expanded space would provide an additional challenge to the musician, as techniques such as playing double-stop fifths, changing the bow level to match the string, and generally hopping across strings with the left hand would become more difficult. These sizing complications result in issues that would make intonation a struggle, too, especially at fast tempi. Although a violist could train their hand to reach these notes, they could easily experience muscle strain throughout their left hand and down their arm. Playing such a large viola every day for hours on end could easily result in a serious injury over time. For these reasons, large violas are particularly unpopular amongst violists today. Throughout the years, many luthiers, performers, and acousticians have attempted to improve the viola by designing and building instruments that

Gino Cavaceppi Gino Cavaceppi was born in Rome, Italy on October 26, 1931. From a young age, he was fascinated with both playing and building instruments. 28 He seriously studied violin performance starting at age fourteen and played multiple instruments over the course of his life. 29 He built his first instrument, a double bass, at age sixteen, and worked with various makers in Rome. Cavaceppi met his wife, Sharleen Ownbey, a native Floridian, in Italy. They were married in Rome in 1967 and moved to Atlanta in the same year, where Cavaceppit worked for Emile Baran of DelKalb Music Supply. Two years later, Cavaceppi and Ownbey settled in Alachua, Florida to be closer to her family. 30 In Alachua, Cavaceppi established his own shop and built violins, violas, cellos, and basses. Cavaceppi grew his reputation as an instrument maker and was featured in The Violin Makers of the United States , a book containing articles on the leading violin makers of America. Over the course of his career, Cavaceppi made about 30 violins, 5 violas, 6 cellos, and 3 double basses. Many of his instruments are known for their orange-red coloring, which is a result of a transparent oil varnish of his own making. 31 He also repaired instruments for local performers as well as for the University of Florida. 32 Beyond building instruments, Cavaceppi additionally composed and played in several ensembles both in Italy and the United States. 33 He was a member of the Violin Society of America and the Musician’s Union. Gino Cavaceppi taught David Forbes, a Gainesville archetier, in Forbes’s early career in the early 1980s. Cavaceppi passed away suddenly on January 6, 1987, at the age of 56. 34 A Scientifically Imperfect Instrument With a body length of seventeen inches, Cavaveppi’s viola (no. 21) in the Cade collection is considered large for a viola, which raises questions about viola sizing. Unlike other instruments in the string family, which have had standardized body lengths for hundreds of years, today’s viola has no standard body length. 35 This is because, from a scientific standpoint, the viola is a flawed instrument. 36 Over time, violas have varied in body length from 15 inches to over 20 inches; currently, 16 inches is a common body length. But today, the average viola is also only about twenty percent larger than a standard-sized violin. This discrepancy in viola

32

Journal of the American Viola Society / Vol. 40, No. 1, Spring 2024