The cello is a relatively large instrument – one might even think of it as a massive violin – but did you know that the cello isn’t even its full name? The word ‘cello’ is merely an abbreviation of the word ‘violoncello’. If you don’t speak Italian then at a stretch, you might think the name means ‘violin cello’ but you’d be wrong.
When translated literally, it means ‘little big viola’. The cello is in fact a small version of another instrument, which is known as a violone. If you’ve never heard one of those then you’re not alone; only a few players around the world specialise in this instrument and the closest you’re going to get hear one in an ordinary setting is by listening to a double bass (which combines features of both the viola and the violin families).
Not only is the cello a small version of the violone, but a violone is also a large type of viola. Hence ‘little big viola’. We admit they could have just gone with ‘small violone’ but where’s the fun in that? With the ‘violoncello’ all too often truncated down to ‘cello’ in modern times, the name of the instrument often had an apostrophe sitting in front of the ‘c’. This abbreviation has fallen by the wayside in recent years – much like the Waterstones apostrophe – and as such, we’re left with the cello being called the cello!
Apart from all this, we know that a Cello has the most amazing sound and if you were to hire this amazing instrument for your private event or corporate party, we are sure that your guests will no doubt think this wonderful entertainment!!
