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142-459: William Shield (5 March 1748 – 25 January 1829) was an English composer, violinist and violist . His music earned the respect of Haydn and Beethoven . Shield was born in Swalwell near Gateshead , County Durham, the son of William Shield and his wife, Mary, née Cash. He was first taught music by his father but, after both he and his mother died while Shield was still a child, he was apprenticed to

284-512: A gibbet at Tyburn . In 1669, the abbey was visited by the diarist Samuel Pepys , who saw the body of the 15th-century queen Catherine de Valois . She had been buried in the 13th-century Lady chapel in 1437, but was exhumed during building work for the Henry VII Chapel and not reburied in the intervening 150 years. Pepys leaned into the coffin and kissed her on the mouth, writing "This was my birthday, thirty-six years old and I did first kiss

426-508: A Little Cloister, on the site of the monks' infirmary. The Little Cloister dates from the end of the 17th century and contains a small garden with a fountain in the centre. A passageway from the Little Cloister leads to College Garden , which has been in continuous use for 900 years, beginning as the medicine garden for the monks of the abbey and now overlooked by canons' houses and the dormitory for Westminster School . The newest part of

568-494: A bomb that fell outside the chapel. No one was killed, and the abbey continued to hold services throughout the war. When hostilities ceased, evacuated objects were returned to the abbey, 60,000 sandbags were moved out, and a new permanent roof was built over the crossing. Two different designs for a narthex (entrance hall) for the west front were produced by architects Edwin Lutyens and Edward Maufe during World War II, but neither

710-409: A chamber setting. Jazz music has also seen its share of violists, from those used in string sections in the early 1900s to a handful of quartets and soloists emerging from the 1960s onward. It is quite unusual though, to use individual bowed string instruments in contemporary popular music. There are few well-known viola virtuoso soloists, perhaps because little virtuoso viola music was written before

852-506: A community of Benedictine monks on the site. At that time, the location was an island in the Thames called Thorney Island . This building has not survived, but archaeologists have found some pottery and foundations from this period on the abbey site. Between 1042 and 1052, Edward the Confessor began rebuilding Saint Peter's Abbey to provide himself with a royal burial church. It was built in

994-444: A jawbone which was taken by a boy from Westminster School and kept by his family until 1906, when it was returned to the abbey. In the 1830s, the screen dividing the nave from the choir, which had been designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor, was replaced by one designed by Edward Blore . The screen contains the monuments to the scientist Isaac Newton and the military general James Stanhope . Further rebuilding and restoration occurred in

1136-410: A lantern tower was never built. The current squat pyramid dates from the 18th century; the painted wooden ceiling below it was installed during repairs to World War II bomb damage. In the early 16th century, a project began under Abbot John Islip to add two towers to the western end of the church. These had been partially built up to roof level when building work stopped due to uncertainty caused by

1278-527: A large five-movement work with piano, Pietà , Airat Ichmouratov Viola Concerto No. 1 , Op. 7 and Three Romances for Viola, Strings, and Harp , Op. 22. The viola is sometimes used in contemporary popular music, mostly in the avant-garde . John Cale of The Velvet Underground used the viola, as do some modern groups such as alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs , Imagine Dragons , folk duo John & Mary , British Sea Power , The Airborne Toxic Event, Marillion , and others often with instruments in

1420-483: A lengthy viola solo. Gabriel Fauré's Requiem was originally scored (in 1888) with divided viola sections, lacking the usual violin sections, having only a solo violin for the Sanctus . It was later scored for orchestra with violin sections, and published in 1901. Recordings of the older scoring with violas are available. While the viola repertoire is quite large, the amount written by well-known pre-20th-century composers

1562-481: A major role in orchestral music, a prominent example being Richard Strauss ' tone poem Don Quixote for solo cello and viola and orchestra. Other examples are the "Ysobel" variation of Edward Elgar 's Enigma Variations and the solo in his work, In the South (Alassio) , the pas de deux scene from act 2 of Adolphe Adam 's Giselle and the "La Paix" movement of Léo Delibes 's ballet Coppélia , which features

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1704-550: A monastic and royal treasury. The outer walls and circular piers also date to the 11th century; several capitals were enriched in the 12th century, and the stone altar was added in the 13th century. The term pyx refers to the boxwood chest in which coins were held and presented to a jury during the Trial of the Pyx , when newly minted coins were presented to ensure they conformed to the required standards. The chapter house and Pyx Chamber are in

1846-442: A moveable neck and maple-veneered carbon fibre back, to reduce weight: violas played in the same manner as cellos (see vertical viola ); and the eye-catching "Dalí -esque" shapes of both Bernard Sabatier's violas in fractional sizes—which appear to have melted—and David Rivinus' Pellegrina model violas. Other experiments that deal with the "ergonomics vs. sound" problem have appeared. The American composer Harry Partch fitted

1988-830: A number of works for viola. Amplification of a viola with a pickup , an instrument amplifier (and speaker), and adjusting the tone with a graphic equalizer can make up for the comparatively weaker output of a violin-family instrument string tuned to notes below G3. There are two types of instruments used for electric viola: regular acoustic violas fitted with a piezoelectric pickup and specialized electric violas, which have little or no body. While traditional acoustic violas are typically only available in historically used earth tones (e.g., brown, reddish-brown, blonde), electric violas may be traditional colors or they may use bright colors, such as red, blue or green. Some electric violas are made of materials other than wood. Most electric instruments with lower strings are violin-sized, as they use

2130-587: A precursor to the House of Commons . Henry III also commissioned the Cosmati pavement in front of the High Altar. Further work produced an additional five bays for the nave, bringing it to one bay west of the choir . Here, construction stopped in about 1269. By 1261, Henry had spent £29,345 19s 8d on the abbey, and the final sum may have been near £50,000. A consecration ceremony was held on 13   October 1269, during which

2272-447: A queen." She has since been re-interred close to her husband, Henry V. In 1685, during preparations for the coronation of James II , a workman accidentally put a scaffolding pole through the coffin of Edward the Confessor. A chorister, Charles Taylour, pulled a cross on a chain out of the coffin and gave it to the king, who then gave it to the Pope. Its whereabouts are unknown. At the end of

2414-409: A romance for viola and orchestra, his Op. 85, which explores the emotive capabilities of the viola's timbre. In addition, his Eight pieces for clarinet, viola, and piano, Op. 83, features the viola in a very prominent, solo aspect throughout. His Concerto for Clarinet, Viola, and Orchestra , Op. 88 has been quite prominent in the repertoire and has been recorded by prominent violists throughout

2556-554: A search made near the centenary of his death and eventually a small marble tablet was put as near the grave as could be ascertained. John 'Mad Jack' Fuller commissioned sculptor Peter Rouw (1771–1852), of Portland Lane, London, to create a memorial to mark the grave of his friend William Shield in Westminster Abbey . Dr Ireland, Dean of the Abbey, is said to have refused permission for the tablet to be installed as he took objection to

2698-634: A series of works entitled The Viola in My Life , which feature concertante viola parts. In spectral music , the viola has been sought after because of its lower overtone partials that are more easily heard than on the violin. Spectral composers like Gérard Grisey , Tristan Murail , and Horațiu Rădulescu have written solo works for viola. Neo-Romantic, post-Modern composers have also written significant works for viola including Robin Holloway Viola Concerto Op. 56 and Sonata Op. 87, Peter Seabourne

2840-460: A service of evening prayer with archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams . On 29   April 2011, the abbey hosted the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton . In 2018, the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries were opened. Located in the medieval triforium , high up around the sanctuary, they are areas for displaying the abbey's treasures. A new Gothic access tower with a lift was designed by

2982-652: A shipbuilder in South Shields , continuing however to study music with Charles Avison in Newcastle upon Tyne . He became a noted violinist in Newcastle's subscription concerts before moving to Scarborough to lead a theatre orchestra. In 1772, he was appointed by Felice Giardini to play violin in the opera at Covent Garden (now the Royal Opera House ), and from 1773 he was principal violist there. In 1778 he provided

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3124-521: A short, square, eastern end (as was the English fashion), Westminster Abbey has a long, rounded apse , and it also has chapels radiating from the ambulatory, which is typical of a French Gothic style. However, there are also distinctively English elements, such as the use of materials of contrasting colours, as with the Purbeck marble and white stone in the crossing. The northern entrance has three porches, with

3266-961: A symphony with a main viola line: Harold en Italie , by Hector Berlioz . In the earlier part of the 20th century, more composers began to write for the viola, encouraged by the emergence of specialized soloists such as Lionel Tertis and William Primrose . English composers Arthur Bliss , Edwin York Bowen , Benjamin Dale , Frank Bridge , Benjamin Britten , Rebecca Clarke and Ralph Vaughan Williams all wrote substantial chamber and concert works. Many of these pieces were commissioned by, or written for, Tertis. William Walton , Bohuslav Martinů , Tōru Takemitsu , Tibor Serly , Alfred Schnittke , and Béla Bartók have written well-known viola concertos. The concerti by Bartók , Paul Hindemith , Carl Stamitz , Georg Philipp Telemann , and Walton are considered major works of

3408-462: A traditional-sized viola, particularly in orchestral music, changes in the tone of a viola can have unintended consequences upon the balance in ensembles. One of the most notable makers of violas of the twentieth century was Englishman A. E. Smith , whose violas are sought after and highly valued. Many of his violas remain in Australia, his country of residence, where during some decades the violists of

3550-426: A viola with a cello neck to allow the use of his 43-tone scale, called the "adapted viola". Luthiers have also created five-stringed violas, which allow a greater playing range. A person who plays the viola is called a violist or a viola player . The technique required for playing a viola has certain differences compared with that of a violin, partly because of its larger size: the notes are spread out further along

3692-655: A woman chained herself to her chair during a sermon by the Archbishop of Canterbury . On 11   June 1914, a bomb planted by suffragettes of the Women's Social and Political Union exploded inside the abbey. No serious injuries were reported, but the bomb blew off a corner of the Coronation Chair. It also caused the Stone of Scone to break in half, although this was not discovered until 1950 when four Scottish nationalists broke into

3834-485: Is also a quotation. Shield does not claim it as his own, as he does with some of the song tunes in the opera. Rosina premiered at the end of 1782. In 1784, Niel Gow published it, as Sir Alexander Don's Strathpey , in his Collection of Strathspey Reels . Like Shield, Gow does not claim to have composed it; it is closely related to older strathspeys such as Coming Through the Rye , and The Miller's Wedding . Viola In

3976-421: Is also available in a transcription for viola). Brahms also wrote " Two Songs for Voice, Viola and Piano ", Op. 91, "Gestillte Sehnsucht" ("Satisfied Longing") and "Geistliches Wiegenlied" ("Spiritual Lullaby") as presents for the famous violinist Joseph Joachim and his wife, Amalie . Dvořák played the viola and apparently said that it was his favorite instrument: his chamber music is rich in important parts for

4118-524: Is buried in Westminster Abbey / This gentleman's name[,] independent / of his high character and virtues / in private life[,] has a claim to be enroll'd / amongst the most eminent musical / composers that have hitherto prov'd / an ornament to the British nation / John Fuller of Rose Hill Esq, DDD . It is presumed that the words, "and is buried in Westminster Abbey" were inserted. DDD is an abbreviation for

4260-403: Is chiefly built in a Geometric Gothic style, using Reigate stone for facings. The church has an eleven-bay nave with aisles , transepts , and a chancel with ambulatory and radiating chapels . The building is supported with two tiers of flying buttresses . The western end of the nave and the west front were designed by Henry Yevele in a Perpendicular Gothic style. The Henry VII Chapel

4402-564: Is chiefly inspired by 13th-century French and English styles, although some sections of the church have earlier Romanesque styles or later Baroque and modern styles. The Henry VII Chapel , at the east end of the church, is a typical example of Perpendicular Gothic architecture; antiquarian John Leland called it orbis miraculum ("the wonder of the world"). The abbey is the burial site of more than 3,300 people , many prominent in British history: monarchs, prime ministers , poets laureate , actors, musicians, scientists, military leaders, and

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4544-795: Is close to the place where he was born, now a garage carrying out MOTs. In addition there is a room named the William Shield Room at the Gateshead Dryden Centre, home of the Gateshead Schools Music Service. The Gateshead Youth Orchestra regularly performs music by Shield, including the overtures to Rosina and The Travellers in Switzerland . The most recent revival of the "Shield wrote Auld Lang Syne " story seems to date from 1998, when John Treherne, Gateshead's Head of Schools' Music Service, uncovered an original edition of

4686-514: Is closed to the public, except for special events. The abbey includes side chapels radiating from the ambulatory. Many were originally included in the 13th-century rebuilding as altars dedicated to individual saints, and many of the chapels still bear saints' names (such as St Nicholas and St Paul). Saints' cults were no longer orthodox after the English Reformation, and the chapels were repurposed as places for extra burials and monuments. In

4828-466: Is equivalent to a half-size violin . For a child who needs a smaller size, a fractional-sized violin is often strung with the strings of a viola. Unlike the violin, the viola does not have a standard full size. The body of a viola would need to measure about 51 cm (20 in) long to match the acoustics of a violin, however it can only be played vertically like a Cello, hence the name Vertical viola . For centuries, viola makers have experimented with

4970-525: Is in the Bayeux Tapestry . The foundations still survive under the present church, and above ground, some of the lower parts of the monastic dormitory survive in the undercroft , including a door said to come from the previous Anglo-Saxon abbey. It was a little smaller than the current church, with a central tower. In 1103, thirty-seven years after his death, Edward's tomb was re-opened by Abbot Gilbert Crispin and Henry I , who discovered that his body

5112-435: Is normally tuned first, to the pitch of the ensemble: generally 400–442 Hz. The other strings are then tuned to it in intervals of fifths, usually by bowing two strings simultaneously. Most violas also have adjusters — fine tuners , particularly on the A string that make finer changes. These adjust the tension of the string via rotating a small knob above the tailpiece . Such tuning is generally easier to learn than using

5254-587: Is one of the more notable users of such an electric viola and he has used them both for melodies in his solo work and for drones in his work with The Velvet Underground (e.g. " Venus in Furs "). Other notable players of the electric viola are Geoffrey Richardson of Caravan and Ramsey. Instruments may be built with an internal preamplifier , or may put out an unbuffered transducer signal . While such signals may be fed directly to an amplifier or mixing board , they often benefit from an external preamp/ equalizer on

5396-548: Is possible for the ensemble. Mozart also wrote for the viola in his Sinfonia Concertante , a set of two duets for violin and viola, and the Kegelstatt Trio for viola, clarinet, and piano. The young Felix Mendelssohn wrote a little-known Viola Sonata in C minor (without opus number, but dating from 1824). Robert Schumann wrote his Märchenbilder for viola and piano. He also wrote a set of four pieces for clarinet, viola, and piano, Märchenerzählungen . Max Bruch wrote

5538-487: Is relatively small. There are many transcriptions of works for other instruments for the viola and the large number of 20th-century compositions is very diverse. See "The Viola Project" at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where Professor of Viola Jodi Levitz has paired a composer with each of her students, resulting in a recital of brand-new works played for the very first time. In the earlier part of

5680-476: Is strung with thicker gauge strings than the violin. This, combined with its larger size and lower pitch range, results in a deeper and mellower tone. However, the thicker strings also mean that the viola responds to changes in bowing more slowly. Practically speaking, if a violist and violinist are playing together, the violist must begin moving the bow a fraction of a second sooner than the violinist. The thicker strings also mean that more weight must be applied with

5822-524: Is the only major English saint whose body still occupies his shrine. Arranged around him in a horseshoe shape are a series of tombs of medieval kings and their queens: Henry III, Eleanor of Castile , Edward I, Philippa of Hainault , Edward III , Anne of Bohemia , and Richard II. Henry V is in the centre of the horseshoe, at the eastern end. Henry III's tomb was originally covered with pieces of coloured glass and stone, since picked off by generations of tourists. Above Henry V's tomb, at mezzanine level over

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5964-564: The English Reformation . In the 1530s, Henry VIII broke away from the authority of the Catholic Church in Rome and seized control of England's monasteries , including Westminster Abbey, beginning the English Reformation . In 1535, when the king's officers assessed the abbey's funds, their annual income was £3,000. Henry's agents removed many relics, saints' images, and treasures from

6106-500: The Public Record Office in 1863. It was restored by George Gilbert Scott in the 19th century. The entrance is approached from the east cloister via outer and inner vestibules , and the ceiling becomes higher as a visitor approaches the chapter house. It is an octagonal room with a central pillar, built with a small crypt below. Around the sides are benches for 80 monks, above which are large stained-glass windows depicting

6248-562: The Romanesque style and was the first church in England built on a cruciform floorplan. The master stonemason for the project was Leofsi Duddason, with Godwin and Wendelburh Gretsyd (meaning "fat purse") as patrons, and Teinfrith as "churchwright", probably meaning someone who worked on the carpentry and roofing. Endowments from Edward supported a community that increased from a dozen monks during Dunstan 's time, to as many as 80. The building

6390-630: The Sydney Symphony Orchestra had a dozen of them in their section. More recent (and more radically shaped) innovations have addressed the ergonomic problems associated with playing the viola by making it shorter and lighter, while finding ways to keep the traditional sound. These include the Otto Erdesz "cutaway" viola, which has one shoulder cut out to make shifting easier; the "Oak Leaf" viola, which has two extra bouts; viol -shaped violas such as Joseph Curtin 's "Evia" model, which also uses

6532-412: The ambulatory , is a chantry chapel built by mason John Thirske and decorated with many sculpted figures (including Henry V riding a horse and being crowned in the abbey). At the western end, the shrine is separated from the main church by a stone reredos which makes it a semi-private space. The reredos depicts episodes from Edward's life, including his birth and the building of the abbey. The shrine

6674-400: The coronations of 40 English and British monarchs and a burial site for 18 English, Scottish, and British monarchs. At least 16 royal weddings have taken place at the abbey since 1100. Although the origins of the church are obscure, an abbey housing Benedictine monks was on the site by the mid-10th century. The church got its first large building from the 1040s, commissioned by King Edward

6816-411: The refectory , and the east to the chapter house and dormitory. In the southwest corner of the cloisters is a cellarium formerly used by the monks to store food and wine; in modern times, it is the abbey café. The north cloister and northern end of the east cloister, closest to the church, are the oldest; they date to c.  1250 , whereas the rest are from 1352 to 1366. The abbey also contains

6958-474: The transepts were designed to be unusually long and the choir was placed east (rather than west) of the crossing; this is also seen in Rheims Cathedral . The 13th-century interior would have been painted in bright colours and gilded, although the piers would have been left unpainted. Although the nave was built over the course of centuries from the east to the west end, generations of builders stuck to

7100-417: The treble clef to make it easier to read. The viola often plays the "inner voices" in string quartets and symphonic writing, and it is more likely than the first violin to play accompaniment parts. The viola occasionally plays a major, soloistic role in orchestral or chamber music. Examples include the symphonic poem Don Quixote , by Richard Strauss , the 13th Quartet by Dmitri Shostakovich , and

7242-530: The viola repertoire . Hindemith , who was a violist, wrote a substantial amount of music for viola, including the concerto Der Schwanendreher . The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between 25 and 100 mm (1 and 4 in) longer than the body of a full-size violin (i.e., between 38 and 46 cm [15–18 in]), with an average length of 41 cm (16 in). Small violas typically made for children typically start at 30 cm (12 in), which

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7384-456: The 17th century, the architect Christopher Wren was appointed the abbey's first Surveyor of the Fabric . He began a project to restore the exterior of the church, which was continued by his successor, William Dickinson . After over two hundred years, the abbey's two western towers were built in the 1740s in a Gothic– Baroque style by Nicholas Hawksmoor and John James . On 11 November 1760,

7526-531: The 19th century under the architect George Gilbert Scott , who rebuilt sections of the chapter house and north porches, and designed a new altar and reredos for the crossing. His successor, J. L. Pearson , finished the work on the north porches and also reconstructed the northern rose window. The abbey saw "Prayers For Prisoners" suffragette protests in 1913 and 1914. Protesters attended services and interrupted proceedings by chanting "God Save Mrs Pankhurst " and praying for suffragette prisoners. In one protest,

7668-411: The 20th century, more composers began to write for the viola, encouraged by the emergence of specialized soloists such as Tertis. Englishmen Arthur Bliss , Edwin York Bowen , Benjamin Dale , and Ralph Vaughan Williams all wrote chamber and concert works for Tertis. William Walton , Bohuslav Martinů , and Béla Bartók wrote well-known viola concertos. Hindemith wrote a substantial amount of music for

7810-439: The 20th century. From his earliest works, Brahms wrote music that prominently featured the viola. Among his first published pieces of chamber music, the sextets for strings Op. 18 and Op. 36 contain what amounts to solo parts for both violas. Late in life, he wrote two greatly admired sonatas for clarinet and piano, his Op. 120 (1894): he later transcribed these works for the viola (the solo part in his Horn Trio

7952-579: The Catholic Mary I , but they were again ejected under Elizabeth I in 1559. In 1560, Elizabeth re-established Westminster as a " royal peculiar " – a church of the Church of England responsible directly to the sovereign, rather than to a diocesan bishop – and made it the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter, a non-cathedral church with an attached chapter of canons, headed by a dean. From that date onwards,

8094-535: The Confessor , who is buried inside. Construction of the present church began in 1245 on the orders of Henry III . The monastery was dissolved in 1559, and the church was made a royal peculiar – a Church of England church, accountable directly to the sovereign – by Elizabeth I . The abbey, the Palace of Westminster and St Margaret's Church became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987 because of their historic and symbolic significance. The church's Gothic architecture

8236-452: The Dean and Chapter announced that, "after a considerable amount of preliminary and exploratory work", efforts toward the construction of a corona would not be continued. The Cosmati pavement underwent a major cleaning and restoration programme for two years, beginning in 2008. On 17   September 2010, Pope Benedict XVI became the first pope to set foot in the abbey when he participated in

8378-459: The English Gothic style favours large and elaborate towers, while Westminster Abbey did not have any towers until the 18th century. It is also more similar to French churches than English ones in terms of its ratio of height to width: Westminster Abbey has the highest nave of any Gothic church in England, and the nave is much narrower than any medieval English church of a similar height. Instead of

8520-530: The Latin Dat, Dicat, Dedicat which can be translated to "Gives, Devotes and Dedicates". A memorial cross was erected to honour Shield in 1891 at Whickham Church, his native parish. Near it is the oldest Shield grave. "Here lieth Peter Shield and Mary his wife, mother and children. Dep this life April Ye 8th 1747." In December 2009, Gateshead Council erected a memorial to William Shield in Swalwell, Gateshead. It

8662-551: The Roses , Elizabeth Woodville , the wife of Edward IV , took sanctuary at Westminster Abbey while her husband was deposed, and gave birth to Edward V in the abbot's house. In 1495, building work finally reached the end of the nave, finishing with the west window. Under Henry VII , the 13th-century Lady chapel was demolished and rebuilt in a Perpendicular Gothic style ; it is known as the Henry VII Chapel . Work began in 1503 and

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8804-515: The Unknown Warrior . Due to the fame of the figures buried there, artist William Morris described the abbey as a "National Valhalla ". Historians agree that there was a monastery dedicated to Saint Peter on the site prior to the 11th century, though its exact origin is somewhat obscure. One legend claims that it was founded by the Saxon king Sæberht of Essex , and another claims that its founder

8946-593: The abbey architect and Surveyor of the Fabric, Ptolemy Dean . In 2020, a 13th-century sacristy was uncovered in the grounds of the abbey as part of an archaeological excavation. The sacristy was used by the monks of the abbey to store objects used in Mass , such as vestments and chalices . Also on the site were hundreds of buried bodies, mostly of abbey monks. On 10 March 2021, a vaccination centre opened in Poets' Corner to administer doses of COVID-19 vaccines . The building

9088-505: The abbey at the outbreak of war, and were replaced by priests loyal to Parliament. The abbey itself suffered damage during the war; altars, stained glass, the organ, and the Crown Jewels were damaged or destroyed. Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell was given an elaborate funeral there in 1658, only for a body thought to be Cromwell's to be disinterred in January 1661 and posthumously hanged from

9230-488: The abbey is the Weston Tower, finished in 2018 and designed by Ptolemy Dean . It sits between the chapter house and the Henry VII Chapel, and contains a lift shaft and spiral staircase to allow public access to the triforium, which contains the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries. The tower has a star-shaped floorplan and leaded windows with an elaborate crown rooftop. The lift shaft inside is faced with 16 kinds of stone from

9372-541: The abbey owned estates across southeast England, including in Middlesex , Hertfordshire , Essex , Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire . The abbot was also the lord of the manor in Westminster, as a town of two to three thousand people grew around the abbey. As a consumer and employer on a grand scale, the abbey helped fuel the town's economy, and relations with the town remained unusually cordial, but no enfranchising charter

9514-600: The abbey was officially granted exemption from the Bishop of London 's jurisdiction, making it answerable only to the head of the Church itself. By this time, the abbey owned a large swath of land around it, from modern-day Oxford Street to the Thames, plus entire parishes in the City of London , such as St Alban, Wood Street and St Magnus the Martyr , as well as several wharfs. Outside London,

9656-470: The abbey's history, including Purbeck marble, Reigate stone, and Portland stone . The project took five years and cost £22.9   million. The galleries were designed by McInnes Usher McKnight. The church's interior has Purbeck marble piers and shafting. The roof vaulting is quadripartite, with ridge ribs and bosses and, at 102 feet (31 m), it is one of Britain's highest church vaults. To accommodate as many guests as possible during coronations,

9798-461: The abbey's own fire-watchers were able to stop the fire spreading to the whole of the church, the deanery and three residences of abbey clergy and staff were badly damaged, and the lantern tower above the crossing collapsed, leaving the abbey open to the sky. The cost of the damage was estimated at £135,000. Some damage can still be seen in the RAF Chapel , where a small hole in the wall was created by

9940-439: The abbey. The golden feretory that housed the coffin of Edward the Confessor was melted down, and monks hid his bones to save them from destruction. The monastery was dissolved and the building became the cathedral for the newly created Diocese of Westminster . The abbot, William Benson, became dean of the cathedral, while the prior and five of the monks were among the twelve newly created canons . The Westminster diocese

10082-459: The abbot at Westminster Abbey. In 1303, the small crypt underneath the chapter house was broken into and a great deal of the king's treasure was stolen. It was thought that the thieves must have been helped by the abbey monks, fifty of whom were subsequently imprisoned in the Tower of London . From 1376, Abbot Nicholas Litlyngton and Richard II donated large sums to finish the church. The remainder of

10224-468: The amp and speaker to create a big sound, so they do not need a large soundbox. Indeed, some electric violas have little or no soundbox, and thus rely entirely on amplification. Fewer electric violas are available than electric violins. It can be hard for violists who prefer a physical size or familiar touch references of a viola-sized instrument, when they must use an electric viola that uses a smaller violin-sized body. Cale, formerly of The Velvet Underground,

10366-502: The bow to make them vibrate. The viola's bow has a wider band of horsehair than a violin's bow, which is particularly noticeable near the frog (or heel in the UK). Viola bows, at 70–74 g (2.5–2.6 oz), are heavier than violin bows (58–61 g [2.0–2.2 oz]). The profile of the rectangular outside corner of a viola bow frog generally is more rounded than on violin bows. The viola's four strings are normally tuned in fifths:

10508-509: The building was simply a church, though it was still called an abbey. Elizabeth also re-founded Westminster School , providing for 40 students (the King's (or Queen's) Scholars ) and their schoolmasters. The King's Scholars have the duty of shouting Vivat Rex or Vivat Regina ("Long live the King/Queen") during the coronation of a new monarch. In the modern day, the dean of Westminster Abbey remains

10650-493: The central one featuring an elaborately-carved tympanum , leading it to acquire the nickname " Solomon 's porch" as a reference to the legendary temple in Jerusalem . The abbey retains its 13th- and 14th-century cloisters , which would have been one of the busiest parts of the church when it was part of a monastery. The west cloister was used for the teaching of novice monks, the north for private study. The south cloister led to

10792-658: The chair of the school governors. In the early 17th century, the abbey hosted two of the six companies of churchmen who produced the King James Version of the Bible. They used the Jerusalem Chamber in the abbey for their meetings. The First Company was headed by the dean of the abbey, Lancelot Andrewes . In 1642, the English Civil War broke out between Charles I and his own parliament . The Dean and Chapter fled

10934-401: The church had existed prior to 1600). In June 2009, the first major building work in 250 years was proposed. A corona – a crown-like architectural feature – was suggested to be built around the lantern over the central crossing, replacing an existing pyramidal structure dating from the 1950s. This was part of a wider £23-million development of the abbey completed in 2013. On 4 August 2010,

11076-494: The church to steal the stone and return it to Scotland. In preparation for bombing raids during World War II , the Coronation Chair and many of the abbey's records were moved out of the city, and the Stone of Scone was buried. In 1941, on the night of 10   May and the early morning of 11   May, the Westminster Abbey precincts and roof were hit by incendiary bombs. Although the Auxiliary Fire Service and

11218-536: The coats of arms of several monarchs and the abbey's patrons and abbots. The exterior includes flying buttresses (added in the 14th century) and a leaded roof designed by Scott. The interior walls of the chapter house are decorated with 14th- and 15th-century paintings of the Apocalypse , the Last Judgement , and birds and animals. The chapter house also has an original, mid-13th-century tiled floor. A wooden door in

11360-452: The earliest of an English king, on display near the west door. Building work was not fully complete for many years. Henry V , disappointed with the abbey's unfinished state, gave extra funds towards the rebuilding. In his will, he left instructions for a chantry chapel to be built over his tomb; the chapel can be seen from ground level. Between 1470 and 1471, because of fallout from the Wars of

11502-410: The earliest viola concertos known, and one for two violas ), Alessandro Rolla , Franz Anton Hoffmeister and Carl Stamitz . The viola plays an important role in chamber music . Mozart used the viola in more creative ways when he wrote his six string quintets . The viola quintets use two violas, which frees them (especially the first viola) for solo passages and increases the variety of writing that

11644-459: The eastern aisle of the north transept are named after (from south to north) St John the Evangelist, St Michael, and St Andrew. The chapels of St Nicholas, St Edmund, and St Benedict are in the south ambulatory. The footprint of the south transept is smaller than the northern one because the 13th-century builders butted against the pre-existing 11th-century cloisters . To make the transepts match,

11786-403: The eastern end of the nave is a large screen separating the nave from the choir, made of 13th-century stone, reworked by Edward Blore in 1834, and with paintwork and gilding by Bower in the 1960s. Behind the main altar is the shrine and tomb of Edward the Confessor . Saints' shrines were once common in English medieval churches, but most were destroyed during the English Reformation and Edward

11928-473: The end of a short cable, before being fed to the sound system . In rock and other loud styles, the electric viola player may use effects units such as reverb or overdrive . Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey , formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster , is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster , London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of

12070-448: The entire eastern end, the transepts , and the easternmost bay of the nave . The Lady chapel , built from around 1220 at the extreme eastern end, was incorporated into the chevet of the new building. Part of the new building included a rich shrine and chapel to Edward the Confessor, of which the base only still stands. The golden shrine with its jewelled figures no longer exists. 4,000 marks (about £5,800) for this work came from

12212-678: The estate of David of Oxford, the husband of Licoricia of Winchester , and a further £2,500 came from a forced contribution from Licoricia herself, by far the biggest single donation at that time. Around 1253, Henry of Reynes was replaced by John of Gloucester, who was replaced by Robert of Beverley around 1260. During the summer, there were up to 400 workers on the site at a time, including stonecutters, marblers, stone-layers, carpenters, painters and their assistants, marble polishers, smiths, glaziers, plumbers, and general labourers. From 1257, Henry III held assemblies of local representatives in Westminster Abbey's chapter house ; these assemblies were

12354-402: The fingerboard and often require different fingerings. The viola's less responsive strings and the heavier bow warrant a somewhat different bowing technique, and a violist has to lean more intensely on the strings. The viola is held in the same manner as the violin; however, due to its larger size, some adjustments must be made to accommodate. The viola, just like the violin, is placed on top of

12496-534: The fingerboard, or tuned up by pressing the part of the string in the pegbox. These techniques may be useful in performance, reducing the ill effects of an out-of-tune string until an opportunity to tune properly. The tuning C–G–D–A is used for the great majority of all viola music. However, other tunings are occasionally employed, both in classical music , where the technique is known as scordatura , and in some folk styles. Mozart , in his Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra in E ♭ , wrote

12638-498: The first composers of musicals. William Shield died on Sunday 25 January 1829 (the date celebrated as Robbie Burns Day) at his house at 31 Berners Street , London. His will (dated 29 June 1826) left his worldly goods and a glowing testimonial "to my beloved partner, Ann, Mrs. Shield". Victorian chroniclers skirted round the problem, but when the will was proved on 6 March 1829 the estate was claimed by, "Ann Stokes, alias Shield, Spinster, belonging to Marleybone". His favourite violin

12780-449: The funeral of George II was held at the abbey, and the king was interred next to his late wife, Caroline of Ansbach . He left instructions for the sides of his and his wife's coffins to be removed so that their remains could mingle. He was the last monarch to be buried in the abbey. Around the same time, the tomb of Richard   II developed a hole through which visitors could put their hands. Several of his bones went missing, including

12922-496: The great composers, several preferred the viola to the violin when they were playing in ensembles, the most noted being Ludwig van Beethoven , Bach and Mozart. Other composers also chose to play the viola in ensembles, including Joseph Haydn , Franz Schubert , Mendelssohn, Dvořák, and Benjamin Britten . Among those noted both as violists and as composers are Rebecca Clarke and Hindemith. Contemporary composers and violists Kenji Bunch , Scott Slapin , and Lev Zhurbin have written

13064-405: The greatest amount of material related to the viola, including scores, recordings, instruments, and archival materials from some of the world's greatest violists. Music that is written for the viola primarily uses the alto clef , which is otherwise rarely used. Viola music employs the treble clef when there are substantial sections of music written in a higher register. The alto clef is defined by

13206-415: The later side; the shields on the aisle walls are carved on the earlier side, and painted on the later side. Above the crossing, in the centre of the church, is a roof lantern which was destroyed by a bomb in 1941 and restored by architect Stephen Dykes Bower in 1958. In the choir aisles, shields of donors to the 13th- and 14th-century rebuilding are carved and painted in the spandrels of the arcade . At

13348-405: The left hand, facilitated by employing the fleshier pad of the finger rather than the tip, and to hold the bow and right arm further away from the player's body. A violist must bring the left elbow further forward or around, so as to reach the lowest string, which allows the fingers to press firmly and so create a clearer tone. Different positions are often used, including half position. The viola

13490-402: The left shoulder between the shoulder and the left side of the face (chin). Because of the viola's size, violists with short arms tend to use smaller-sized instruments for easier playing. The most immediately noticeable adjustments that a player accustomed to playing the violin has to make are to use wider-spaced fingerings. It is common for some players to use a wider and more intense vibrato in

13632-416: The lowest string is C (an octave below middle C ), with G, D, and A above it. This tuning is exactly one fifth below the violin, so that they have three strings in common—G, D, and A—and is one octave above the cello. Each string of a viola is wrapped around a peg near the scroll and is tuned by turning the peg. Tightening the string raises the pitch; loosening the string lowers the pitch. The A string

13774-407: The main structure was completed by 1509, although decorative work continued for several years afterwards. Henry's original reason for building such a grand chapel was to have a place suitable for the burial of another saint alongside the Confessor, as he planned on having Henry VI canonised. The Pope asked Henry VII for a large sum of money to proclaim Henry VI a saint; Henry VII was unwilling to pay

13916-536: The most recent being in 1985. In 1980, Maurice Riley produced the first attempt at a comprehensive history of the viola, in his History of the Viola , which was followed with the second volume in 1991. The IVS published the multi-language Viola Yearbook from 1979 to 1994, during which several other national chapters of the IVS published respective newsletters. The Primrose International Viola Archive at Brigham Young University houses

14058-682: The music for the comic opera The Flitch of Bacon to a libretto by Henry Bate . On 21 February 1776 he was in Durham, where he attended the meeting of the city's masonic lodge at the Marquis of Granby tavern. The lodge Minutes indicate that he was by this date already a member of the St. John's lodge in Newcastle. He later also became a member of the Sunderland Phoenix lodge No.94 and The Sea Captain's Lodge (later to become Palatine Lodge No.97 ), where he

14200-744: The north ambulatory are the Islip Chapel, the Nurses' Memorial Chapel (sometimes called the Nightingale Chapel), the Chapel of Our Lady of the Pew, the Chapel of St John the Baptist, and St Paul's Chapel. The Islip Chapel is named after Abbot John Islip , who commissioned it in the 16th century. The screen inside is decorated with a visual pun on his name: an eye and a boy falling from a tree (eye-slip). Additional chapels in

14342-486: The old nave was pulled down and rebuilding commenced, with his mason Henry Yevele closely following the original design even though it was now more than 100 years out of date. During the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, Richard prayed at Edward the Confessor's shrine for "divine aid when human counsel was altogether wanting" before meeting the rebels at Smithfield . In the modern day, the abbey holds Richard's full-length portrait,

14484-499: The only violist to ever win the Carl Flesch International Violin Competition , and Emanuel Vardi , the first violist to record the 24 Caprices by Paganini on viola. Many noted violinists have publicly performed and recorded on the viola as well, among them Eugène Ysaÿe , Yehudi Menuhin , David Oistrakh , Pinchas Zukerman , Maxim Vengerov , Julian Rachlin , James Ehnes , and Nigel Kennedy . Among

14626-452: The opening bars are immediately recognisable. Probably the first printed appearances of the modern tune are first, Shield's use of it in Rosina . In the final allegro, what is essentially the modern form of the tune appears on the oboe; as this section contains Scotch snap rhythms, with a drone accompaniment on bassoon 'in imitation of bagpipes', it may well be that the use of this melody by Shield

14768-468: The opera Rosina in the Gateshead Public Library, while he was looking for new works for the town's youth orchestra. "I thought it was appropriate to look at the work of a Gateshead-born composer. I picked out Rosina by Shield," Treherne said. "I started to copy out the score and hummed the tune as I was writing it down. I was coming to the end when I realised the tune floating through my head

14910-428: The original design and it has a unified style. Markers of the long gap in building between 1269 and 1376 are relatively minor, but can be seen at the fifth bay from the crossing. The spandrels above the arches are towards the earlier east end are decorated with diaper-work , and are plain towards the (later) west end. The lancet windows on the earlier side have a foiled circle, and have an unencircled quatrefoil on

15052-506: The past, the viola varied in size and style, as did its names. The word viola originates from the Italian language. The Italians often used the term viola da braccio , meaning, literally, 'of the arm'. "Brazzo" was another Italian word for the viola, which the Germans adopted as Bratsche . The French had their own names: cinquiesme was a small viola, haute contre was a large viola, and taile

15194-449: The pegs, and adjusters are usually recommended for younger players and put on smaller violas, though pegs and adjusters are usually used together. Some violists reverse the stringing of the C and G pegs, so that the thicker C string does not turn so severe an angle over the nut , although this is uncommon. Small, temporary tuning adjustments can also be made by stretching a string with the hand. A string may be tuned down by pulling it above

15336-405: The piece are easier to achieve on the viola. However, occasional changes must be made due to differences in the ways that the two instruments are played, as well as their differences in range. In early orchestral music, the viola part was usually limited to filling in harmonies , with very little melodic material assigned to it. When the viola was given a melodic part, it was often duplicated (or

15478-427: The placement of C 4 on the middle line of the staff. As the viola is tuned exactly one octave above the cello, music that is notated for the cello can be easily transcribed for alto clef without any changes in key. For example, there are numerous editions of Bach's Cello Suites transcribed for viola. The viola also has the advantage of smaller scale-length, which means that the stretches needed by cellists to play

15620-546: The remains of Edward the Confessor were moved to their present location at the shrine behind the main altar. After Henry's death and burial in the abbey in 1272, construction did not resume and Edward the Confessor's old Romanesque nave remained attached to the new building for over a century. In 1296, Edward I captured the Scottish coronation stone, the Stone of Scone . He had a Coronation Chair made to hold it, which he entrusted to

15762-417: The size and shape of the viola, often adjusting proportions or shape to make a lighter instrument with shorter string lengths, but with a large enough sound box to retain the viola sound. Prior to the eighteenth century, violas had no uniform size. Large violas (tenors) were designed to play the lower register viola lines or second viola in five part harmony depending on instrumentation. A smaller viola, nearer

15904-431: The size of the violin, was called an alto viola . It was more suited to higher register writing, as in the viola 1 parts, as their sound was usually richer in the upper register. Its size was not as conducive to a full tone in the lower register. Several experiments have intended to increase the size of the viola to improve its sound and harmony. Hermann Ritter 's viola alta , which measured about 48 cm (19 in),

16046-540: The slow movement in scordatura), Alexander Glazunov (who wrote an Elegy , Op. 44, for viola and piano), and Maurice Ravel all promised concertos for viola, yet all three died before doing any substantial work on them. In the latter part of the 20th century a substantial repertoire was produced for the viola; many composers including Miklós Rózsa , Revol Bunin , Alfred Schnittke , Sofia Gubaidulina , Giya Kancheli and Krzysztof Penderecki , have written viola concertos . The American composer Morton Feldman wrote

16188-427: The south transept overhangs the western cloister; this permitted a room above the cloisters which was used to store the abbey muniments . In the south transept is the chapel of St Faith , built c.  1250 as the vestry for the abbey's monks. On the east wall is a c.  1290  – c.  1310 painting of St Faith holding the grid-iron on which she was roasted to death. The octagonal chapter house

16330-431: The sum, and so instead he is buried in the centre of the chapel with his wife, Elizabeth of York , rather than a large raised shrine like the Confessor. A view of the abbey dated 1532 shows a lantern tower above the crossing , but this is not shown in any later depiction. It is unlikely that the loss of this feature was caused by any catastrophic event: structural failure seems more likely. Other sources maintain that

16472-424: The time, although Rosina is the only one that has survived in the form of a complete score. Rosina has a number of features associated with later English comic opera , and even modern musical comedy – including the use of English, spoken dialogue, lightness of theme, and the use of folk and popular medodies. At least to that degree, it may be regarded as one of the ancestors of the musical, and Shield as one of

16614-448: The twentieth century. Pre-twentieth century viola players of note include Stamitz, Rolla, Antonio Rolla , Chrétien Urhan , Casimir Ney , Louis van Waefelghem , and Ritter. Important viola pioneers from the twentieth century were Tertis, William Primrose , Hindemith, Théophile Laforge , Cecil Aronowitz , Maurice Vieux , Borisovsky, Lillian Fuchs , Dino Asciolla , Frederick Riddle , Walter Trampler , Ernst Wallfisch , Csaba Erdélyi,

16756-504: The vestibule, made with a tree felled between 1032 and 1064, is one of Britain's oldest. It may have been the door to the 11th-century chapter house in Edward the Confessor's abbey, and was re-used as the door to the Pyx Chamber in the 13th century. It now leads to an office. The adjoining Pyx Chamber was the undercroft of the monks' dormitory. Dating to the late 11th century, it was used as

16898-642: The viola by performers and composers in the twentieth century led to increased research devoted to the instrument. Paul Hindemith and Vadim Borisovsky made an early attempt at an organization, in 1927, with the Violists' World Union. But it was not until 1968, with the creation of the Viola-Forschungsgesellschaft, now the International Viola Society (IVS), that a lasting organization took hold. The IVS now consists of twelve chapters around

17040-467: The viola part in D major, and specified that the violist raises the strings in pitch by a semitone. He probably intended to give the viola a brighter tone so the rest of the ensemble would not overpower it. Tertis, in his transcription of the Elgar cello concerto , wrote the slow movement with the C string tuned down to B ♭ , enabling the viola to play one passage an octave lower. A renewal of interest in

17182-416: The viola. Two Czech composers, Bedřich Smetana and Leoš Janáček , included significant viola parts, originally written for viola d'amore , in their quartets " From My Life " and " Intimate Letters " respectively: the quartets begin with an impassioned statement by the viola. This is similar to Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven all occasionally played the viola part in chamber music. The viola occasionally has

17324-400: The viola; being himself a violist, he often performed his own works. Claude Debussy 's Sonata for flute, viola and harp has inspired a significant number of other composers to write for this combination. Charles Wuorinen composed his virtuosic Viola Variations in 2008 for Lois Martin. Elliott Carter also wrote several works for viola including his Elegy (1943) for viola and piano; it

17466-399: The word "gentleman" being used in its text. Fuller subsequently had the tablet installed at his home church, St Thomas à Becket, Brightling , Sussex where it remains. A medallion portrait of William Shield in profile is accompanied by this inscription: Sacred to the memory of / WILLIAM SHIELD esquire / master of His Majesty's band of music / who died January 25th 1829 / aged 80 years / and

17608-827: The world, the largest being the American Viola Society (AVS), which publishes the Journal of the American Viola Society . In addition to the journal, the AVS sponsors the David Dalton Research Competition and the Primrose International Viola Competition . The 1960s also saw the beginning of several research publications devoted to the viola, beginning with Franz Zeyringer's, Literatur für Viola , which has undergone several versions,

17750-480: Was Auld Lang Syne." Ballad operas generally quoted well known tunes, and in this case the tune is certainly much older. A fine and elaborate setting of an older tune with this name "For Old Lang Syne, by Mr. Beck", with variation appears in the Balcarres Lute Book, from Scotland. Here attributions such as "By Mr. Beck" are generally used to indicate the composer of the setting, not the underlying tune. This book

17892-479: Was a tenor . Today, the French use the term alto , a reference to its range. The viola was popular in the heyday of five-part harmony , up until the eighteenth century, taking three lines of the harmony and occasionally playing the melody line. Music for the viola differs from most other instruments in that it primarily uses the alto clef . When viola music has substantial sections in a higher register, it switches to

18034-502: Was a great plunderer of folk tunes (in his case mostly from his native Northumbria ). Shield's compositions include a large number of operas and other stage works. These included one on Robin Hood (1784), text by Macnally , as well as instrumental music, but he is principally known for his English light opera Rosina (1781). It was intended to be used as a light afterpiece to a more "serious" work sung in Italian. Such works were common at

18176-542: Was admitted as a joining member on 14 June 1792. Details of the frequency of Shield's attendance at these north-east lodges is not yet clear, but can only have been occasional, given his career in London. Shield also worked as a composer for Covent Garden and, in that capacity, he met Joseph Haydn . In 1817, he was appointed Master of the King's Musick . Like Haydn and Beethoven, not to mention several other composers of his time, Shield

18318-599: Was built in a late Perpendicular style in Huddlestone stone, probably by Robert and William Vertue . The west towers were designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor and blend the Gothic style of the abbey with the Baroque style fashionable during his lifetime. The modern Westminster Abbey is largely based on French Gothic styles, especially those found at Reims Cathedral , rather than the contemporaneous English Gothic styles. For example,

18460-402: Was built. Because of its outstanding universal value, the abbey was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, together with the nearby Palace of Westminster and St Margaret's Church . In 1997, the abbey, which was then receiving approximately 1.75 million visitors each year, began charging admission fees to visitors at the door (although a fee for entering the eastern half of

18602-462: Was compiled around 1700, it has remained in the possession of the same family since its compilation, and it is now held by the National Library of Scotland . As variation sets are generally composed on recognisable tunes, this is very probably older still. A later appearance of this old tune, was published by William McGibbon , who died in 1756. While both of these settings are on the earlier tune,

18744-496: Was completed around 1060 and was consecrated on 28   December 1065, about a week before Edward's death on 5   January 1066. A week later, he was buried in the church; nine years later, his wife Edith was buried alongside him. His successor, Harold Godwinson , was probably crowned here, although the first documented coronation is that of William the Conqueror later that year. The only extant depiction of Edward's abbey

18886-450: Was dissolved in 1550, but the abbey was recognised (in 1552, retroactively to 1550) as a second cathedral of the Diocese of London until 1556. Money meant for the abbey, which is dedicated to St Peter, was diverted to the treasury of St Paul's Cathedral ; this led to an association with the already-old saying " robbing Peter to pay Paul ". The abbey saw the return of Benedictine monks under

19028-403: Was given to King George IV , who insisted that the full value be given to Ann. Within six months she also sold his library of music, but nothing more is known of her. Shield is buried in the same grave as Johann Peter Salomon in the floor of the south cloisters of Westminster Abbey . Surprisingly, it seems no marker of any kind was put in place at the time to show where he lay. There was quite

19170-469: Was in unison with) the melody played by other strings. The concerti grossi, Brandenburg Concertos , composed by J. S. Bach , were unusual in their use of viola. The third concerto grosso, scored for three violins, three violas, three cellos, and basso continuo, requires virtuosity from the violists. Indeed, Viola I has a solo in the last movement which is commonly found in orchestral auditions. The sixth concerto grosso, Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 , which

19312-474: Was intended for use in Wagner 's operas. The Tertis model viola, which has wider bouts and deeper ribs to promote a better tone, is another slightly "nonstandard" shape that allows the player to use a larger instrument. Many experiments with the acoustics of a viola, particularly increasing the size of the body, have resulted in a much deeper tone, making it resemble the tone of a cello. Since many composers wrote for

19454-636: Was issued during the Middle Ages . Westminster Abbey continued to be used as a coronation site, but after Edward the Confessor, no monarchs were buried there until Henry III began to rebuild it in the Gothic style . Henry III wanted it built as a shrine to venerate Edward, to match great French churches such as Rheims Cathedral and Sainte-Chapelle , and as a burial place for himself and his family. Construction began on 6   July 1245 under Henry's master mason, Henry of Reynes. The first building stage included

19596-523: Was scored for 2 violas "concertino", cello, 2 violas da gamba , and continuo, had the two violas playing the primary melodic role. He also used this unusual ensemble in his cantata, Gleichwie der Regen und Schnee vom Himmel fällt, BWV 18 and in Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut, BWV 199 , the chorale is accompanied by an obbligato viola. There are a few Baroque and Classical concerti, such as those by Georg Philipp Telemann (one for solo viola , being one of

19738-435: Was still in perfect condition. This was considered proof of his saintliness, and he was canonised in 1161. Two years later he was moved to a new shrine, during which time his ring was removed and placed in the abbey's collection. The abbey became more closely associated with royalty from the second half of the 12th century, as kings increasingly used the nearby Palace of Westminster as the seat of their governments. In 1222,

19880-548: Was subsequently transcribed for clarinet. Ernest Bloch , a Swiss-born American composer best known for his compositions inspired by Jewish music, wrote two famous works for viola, the Suite 1919 and the Suite Hébraïque for solo viola and orchestra. Rebecca Clarke was a 20th-century composer and violist who also wrote extensively for the viola. Lionel Tertis records that Elgar (whose cello concerto Tertis transcribed for viola, with

20022-550: Was the fictional 2nd-century British king Lucius . One tradition claims that a young fisherman on the River Thames had a vision of Saint Peter near the site. This seems to have been quoted as the origin of the salmon that Thames fishermen offered to the abbey, a custom still observed annually by the Fishmongers' Company . The origins of the abbey are generally thought to date to about 959, when Dunstan and King Edgar installed

20164-503: Was used by the abbey monks for daily meetings, where they would hear a chapter of the Rule of St Benedict and receive their instructions for the day from the abbot. The chapter house was built between 1250 and 1259 and is one of the largest in Britain, measuring nearly 60 feet (18 m) across. For 300 years after the English Reformation, it was used to store state records until they were moved to

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