Note 91 — LOEFFLER

The viola d'amore, or viole d'amour, is a member of the now virtually obsolete family of viols. Its characteristic feature is a supplementary set of strings, passing beneath the fingerboard and through holes drilled in the lower part of the bridge, which vibrate sympathetically with the strings actually engaged by the bow. The tone produced is of a singularly rich and beautiful quality. Until Loeffler wrote for it in La Mort de Tintagiles, the only conspicuous modern use of the instrument was by Meyerbeer in his opera Les Huguenots, where it is employed in the accompaniment to Raoul's air in the first act, Plus blanche que la blanche hermine. This obbligato part, written by Meyerbeer especially for Chrétien Urhan (see foot-note on page 39), is now commonly given to an ordinary viola.