viola d'amore

American  

[vee-oh-luh dah-mawr-ey, -mohr-ey, -duh-] / viˈoʊ lə dɑˈmɔr eɪ, -ˈmoʊr eɪ, -də- /

noun

viola d'amores plural

1. a treble viol with numerous sympathetic strings and several gut strings, producing a resonant sound.

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viola d'amore British  

/ vɪˈəʊlə dæˈmɔːrɪ /

noun

1. an instrument of the viol family having no frets, seven strings, and a set of sympathetic strings. It was held under the chin when played

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• viola d'amores
  plural

Etymology

Origin of viola d'amore

1690–1700; < Italian: literally, viol of love

Example Sentences

Glendale Noon Concerts Ergo Musica plays works for viola d’amore, soprano and baroque cello.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 14, 2019

Edendale Up Close Concerts Ergo Musica plays works for viola d’amore, soprano and baroque cello.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 14, 2019

At the Stone on Monday, Garth Knox breathes new life into an old instrument, the viola d’amore, whose sympathetic strings resonate even as they remain untouched by the bow.

From New York Times • Jun. 21, 2014

Three of them were for viola d’amore, a member of the viol family that was largely superseded in the classical period by the violin and its relatives.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 19, 2014

And besides being a master of his own instrument he plays the viola d'amore, that sweet-toned survival, with sympathetic strings, of the 17th century viol family, and the Hungarian czimbalom.

From Violin Mastery Talks with Master Violinists and Teachers by Martens, Frederick Herman