The Baritón

The baritón or baryton is a rubbed string instrument of the viola da gamba family, commonly used in Europe during the 18th century. It fell into disuse due to its great difficulty of interpretation. Its size is similar to that of the cello; It has six or seven gut strings that are rubbed with the bow, plus between nine and twenty-four sympathetic strings (usually twelve) that are pressed by the musician's thumb to create a tonal contrast and which give great resonance to the sound of the instrument.
  The baritone is rarely touched today. It can also be called, in different languages, baryton, bariton, barydon, paradon, paridon, pariton, viola paradon, viola di bordoni, viola di bardone or viola di bordone.