Violone
A large bass instrument of the viol family.
What it means
Violone designates a large bowed bass instrument, used above all in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The term is not fixed to a single type of build: depending on period, region, and source, it means a low instrument of the viol family with frets and six strings, a smaller bass instrument in cello range, or a forerunner of today's double bass. Common to the instruments is their task: to carry the bass part, often an octave below the notated line.
Musical use
In the Baroque continuo the violone supplements the foundation: while the harpsichord or organ supplies the harmonies and a cello or bassoon leads the bass part, it reinforces it in the low register and gives the sound space. Whether it plays an octave lower in a particular score or not is a question of the respective practice and is handled differently in editions. With the eighteenth century, the double bass in its present form becomes established; the transition proceeded gradually, and instruments with mixed features were long in use.
Performance practice
Clarify before the rehearsal which type of instrument is meant and in which octave it is to play — this question decides the effect of the whole bass and should not first come to light in the concert. The bow needs weight and a calm speed, so that the thick gut strings speak; expect a delay in response and start the stroke early. With fretted instruments, check the position of the frets regularly. Tune according to the ensemble and to the agreed pitch standard, which in early music can differ from today's standard pitch.
Bear in mind that the question of the octave register is not merely theoretical: a bass part played consistently in the low octave changes the harmony and balance of a whole texture. Check from the source and the scoring what could be meant, and decide consistently. In thinly scored passages the instrument can rest, where it would make the sound too heavy. Play with clear articulation, because low notes otherwise lose their contour, and tune to the pitch agreed within the ensemble.