Contraviolon

Contraviolon 1. obs. Ger. term for the double bass; 2. a large violone, also called grosse Bassgeige, Bassviolon, in the 18th c. In the Fr. translation of Quantz it is called grande basse de violon, the tuning being given as E1 A1 D0 G0, that of our double bass. Eisel in 1738 describes it as a double bass with 4 strings, sometimes tuned an oct. below the violoncello, i.e., C1 G1 D0 A0, sometimes in 4ths, and says that the Italians call it violone grosso (67, Koch: Lexikon, 1802). Eisel, Johann…