Viola pomposa Viola pomposa The viola pomposa (also known as the violino pomposo) is a five-stringed instrument developed around 1725. There are no exact dimensions applicable to all instruments used under this name, although in general the pomposa is slightly wider than a standard viola (hence the Italian adjective "pomposa"). It uses four viola strings, tuned conventionally (C-G-D-A), with the addition of a high E string (usually a violin string), giving it a greater range than the orchestral viola; the trade-off comes in a sound which is slightly more resonant than a violin. The viola pomposa is played on the arm and
Tabula Rasa (Pärt) "A," until in mm. 6, when the pattern reverses, and again the instrument sections are phased in, displaced by a half measure, but this time beginning with the lowest instrument pair (cello and contrabass). The string orchestra’s phasing pattern is reflected in the solo violin parts. When the orchestra is phasing in each part from highest pitch range to lowest, the solo violin plays an eighth note melody, when the solo bass line is played, the solo parts switch and play triplets, and when the chamber orchestra reverses the pattern and phase in again from the lowest pitch range to