New York’s Metropolitan Museum Acquires Rare Five-String Cello

Those who think they’ve heard Bach’s cello suites played with historical authenticity may want to make a trip down to New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art to see their newest musical acquisition.

What’s happening?

New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art has acquired a five-stringed cello made by the Italian luthier,Girolamo Amati (1561-1630), c. 1610. The instrument is the only known five-string surviving cello in its original state from that period.

What makes this cello so special?

The Amati cello is connected to a musical dynasty. It hails from Cremona, Italy, the birthplace of Stradivarius instruments, which was declared a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage. Stradivarius studied with Girolamo Amati’s son, Niccolò Amati, and Girolamo’s father, Andrea Amati (c. 1511-1580), is considered the inventor of the modern violin family.

The cello acquired by the Met has a five-hole pegbox, short C-bouts and a processional hole on the back, suggesting it was likely played in a procession. (Read more on cello anatomy here.) It was discovered at an auction in the 1960s with its fifth peg hole blanketed off. J.S. Bach famously wrote his Cello Suite no. 6 for the instrument.

Where have I heard this before?

You probably haven’t. However, in 2018, the 19-year-old cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason played a 1610 Amati cello at the Royal Wedding. It had four strings, though.

Hear cellist Keiran Campbell play Bach’s 6th cello suite on the “Amaryllis Fleming” five-string Amati Brothers Piccolo Cello here:

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Sara Schabas

Sara Schabas is a Dora-nominated soprano, writer and yoga teacher. She has performed and created leading roles with companies including Vancouver Opera, Pacific Opera Victoria, the Dayton Opera, and Aspen Opera, and is a former member of Barbara Hannigan’s Equilibrium Young Artists. Currently based in Montreal, she is a doctoral student at McGill University — where she recently received the Wirth Vocal Prize — and editor of Art Song Canada magazine.