Abstract
The baryton's reputation has relied, almost exclusively, upon the works written for the instrument by Joseph Haydn. Consequently the majority of research has dwelt upon Haydn and Esterhaza. Thus the only published baryton music consists of Haydn and Tomasini. Scholars have neglected the development of the instrument with the result that documentation was restricted to the Esterhazy composers. Hence the aim of this thesis is to provide a comprehensive survey of the baryton and its music. The first stage involved the assembly of a comprehensive catalogue of extant instruments and of manuscripts providing the primary source material for the discussion of the origins and development of the instrument. From the latter a thematic index was compiled together with a representative collection of baryton music. These and other transcriptions were studied with particular reference to the problems they posed. In addition to fulfilling these aims, further discoveries were made. The positive identification of the Leningrad tablatures as works for the baryton establishes the existence of the instrument in 1614 which predates previous research by some 30 years. The study of the Kassel Collection revealed some hitherto unknown concordances with contemporary Viola da Gamba literature. Finally, in evaluating the historical perspective of the baryton, a new picture emerges of a gamba-type instrument, with a predominantly solo, even virtuosic style. It reached its peak of development in the baroque period and gradually declined as it failed to compete on equal terms with the violin family. This led to rapid change as makers modified its structure and hence its playing technique. Although Haydn's music stands out as technically superior to any other written for the baryton, he was, by the late eighteenth century, writing for an instrument which had compromised itself and was soon to become virtually extinct.