THE DOUBLE BASSES OF GASPARO BERTOLOTTI «DA SALÒ»: A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON THE ORIGINS OF DOUBLE BASS

Abstract

The Purpose of the Article. The aim of the study is to clarify the origin of the double bass, determine its connections with the families of viols and violins, and substantiate the period and conditions of the emergence of the violin-type double bass based on historical, iconographic and instrumental sources.
Research Methodology. The employs historical, analytical, and comparative methods. An analysis of archival and musicological sources supported by dendrochronological data. The results indicate that the double bass originated within the violin family rather than the viol tradition.
Results. Taking into account the ongoing debate about the origins of the double bass, the author refers to the instruments of the famous 16 th-century Italian luthier, founder of the Brescian school of violin makers, Gaspare Bertolotti da Salò. Based on iconographic sources and dendrochronological certificates, the author argues that the double bass emerged in the second half of the 16 th century as a bowed bass instrument of the violin family.
In the process of analysing the images, the author focuses on the structural features characteristic of instruments of the
violin family. This confirms that the double bass belongs to the violin family, while double bass violas existed in parallel.
The Novelty and Practical Significance. The introduction into scientific circulation in Ukrainian organology of
systematised data on the oldest known double basses by the 16th-century lutier Gasparo‘da Salò’, confirmed by
dendrochronology studies, as well as a rethinking of the place of the double bass in the evolution of stringed bowed
instruments. Its design developed over more than three centuries, leading to its modern form and its key role among
orchestra bass instruments.