Viola d'amore

14-string instrument; 7 melodic and 7 resonant.

Although it appears in the 17th century as an instrument with 5 metal strings and without its characteristic sympathetic strings, its use dates back to the 18th century. It reached its peak in the 17th and 18th centuries, especially in the chamber and orchestral music of the time. Composers such as Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber, Johann Sebastian Bach and Antonio Vivaldi wrote for the viola d'amore.

It has a warm, resonant tone rich in harmonics, thanks to the sympathetic strings that add a dimension of resonance. Its sweeter sound and great resonance make it a perfect instrument for achieving ethereal sounds.

Leopold Mozart, when talking about the viola of love, wrote:

"It is a distinctive kind of fiddle which sounds especially charming in the stillness of the evening. Above, it is strung with six gut strings of which the lower three are covered (i.e., are wire-wound like most modern strings), while below the fingerboard are stretched six steel strings, which are neither plucked nor bowed but are there merely to duplicate and prolong the sound of the upper strings."