Bratsche

As Printed on a Score

The German name on viola staves (Bratsche; plural Bratschen; Br. later). Many German scores use Viola or its plural Violen instead — Mahler’s Fifth Symphony does — so all three labels point to the same section, written in alto clef.

Abbreviations: Br., Bratsch.

Also spelled: Bratschen, Violen

How Composers Use It

The name comes from the Italian viola da braccio, “arm viola”. Writing Bratsche rather than Viola is a matter of the score’s language, not of the instrument; Brahms put it in the title of his two songs for alto voice, viola and piano, Op. 91, pairing the viola’s middle register with the low female voice. In German parts, divided violas are marked geteilt and reunited with zusammen.

Example

Brahms, Zwei Gesänge, Op. 91 (“Geistliches Wiegenlied”), staff label: “Bratsche” — the viola of the work’s scoring, between the voice and the “Pianoforte”.

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