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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 smaller than a standard viola. It uses four viola strings, tuned conventionally (C-G-D-A), with the addition of a violin E string, giving it a greater range than either the traditional viola or violin; the trade-off comes in a sound which is slightly less resonant than a viola and slightly less sweet than a violin. The viola pomposa is played on the arm and has a range from C'3 to G'6 with fingered notes. Using harmonics, the range can be extended to C'8. It should not be confused with the violoncello piccolo, tuned an octave lower, for which Bach composed his sixth Violoncello Suite. Bach probably never saw, and certainly never wrote for, the true viola pomposa; the claim that he invented it is false, and is based on a posthumous misunderstanding. Among the late Baroque and early Classical composers who used the instrument are Georg Phillip Telemann (1681-1767; two sections of Der Getreue Musikmeister), Johann Gottlieb Graun (c. 1703-1771; a double concerto with flute), and Christian Joseph Lidarti (1730-1795; at least two sonatas). By 1800 the instrument disappeared, apart from antiquarian or modernized editions (one of the Lidarti sonatas, heavily edited and with an added cadenza, was republished around 1904). Early in the twenty-first century several contemporary composers independently rediscovered its potential. Recent music for the instrument includes works by Justin E.A. Busch, Harry Crowl, Rudolf Haken, and Zoltan Paulinyi. Paulinyi must surely be considered the leading modern exponent of the viola pomposa; in addition to his activities as a composer and performer, he has published extensive essays extolling the instrument.
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Crowl, Harry. 2008. "AntÃteses, Concert for viola pomposa and full orchestra". Recorded in 2010.