Violoncell

As Printed on a Score

The German name on cello staves (Violoncell; plural Violoncelle; Vcelle., Vcl. or Vc. later). The plural looks like the French singular, but in a German score Violoncelle is simply the cello section; where cellos and basses share a staff, the labels are printed over the separate lines when they divide.

Abbreviations: Vcl., Vc., Vcelle.

Also spelled: Violoncelle

How Composers Use It

Choosing Violoncell (or Violoncelle) is a matter of the score’s language — Mahler labels his cello staves this way — and changes nothing in the writing: bass clef at pitch from C2, tenor and treble clef for the high register, geteilt (get.) for divided passages and zusammen to reunite them.

Example

Mahler, Symphony No. 5, first movement (Trauermarsch), staff label: “Violoncelle.”, shortened to “Vcelle.” on later systems.

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