Six Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord, BWV 1014–1019 alto solo. At first declamatory in the "forte" passages, the "piano" responses are expressive but subdued. Bach's knowledge of the expressive qualities of the violin is shown in the opening phrases, written so they can be played on the G string, the lowest string on the violin, regarded as having a "noble" tone. As explains, citing the opening of BWV 1017/3 as an example, the G string's "energy and powerful voice make it a whole instrument in itself and the lower this voice is, the more opportunity it gives to expression to attain the sublime." Around the violin melody, in
Violone with the violin, but can't necessarily be described as genuine violin family instruments because their tunings, proportions and/or construction issues may be at odds with the other sizes. In the Renaissance and Baroque era and even in the 2000s, there are players who changed or adapted their instruments in unique ways. In this category we might find bass viols that are tuned in E (instead of D), or where the bottom string is tuned an extra step lower, to a C (a pitch found in numerous Baroque works). Or we might find a contrabass/double bass tuned in fourths, but with