Welcome ciaccona, (what was your CMoR3 name?)

So we have a pre-baroque expert in the house ? We certainly need one


John W

I think gamba means leg in Italian but shrimp in Spanish. Is from viola da gamba that you take your name ?
Tuned very like a guitar with an extra sting on the top. It's funny it doesn't actually have a leg like a cello.

LTR & Oliver,

Yes, the term 'gamba' is of course linked to the fact that the bass viol sits on the calves of the leg. In my case, this is a somewhat awkward procedure, having had both hip joints replaced.  I now rest it on a small stool. I am only a beginner, in fact I seem to have been a beginner for years !  There are smaller versions, the most common being the tenor & the treble which rests in your lap. The bass viol comes in many sizes from a large 'consort' bass, sometimes with seven strings, to a 'division' viol, perhaps the smallest of the true violas da gamba & is used for the most demanding music. A 'division' being a set of variations in which the performer shows just how good he is !  The accompanying picture with LTRs message is of Christopher Simpson ( 1605-1669 ),  & is part of his publication ' The Division Violist, ' a remarkable treatise on playing the instrument & still highly regarded today.

The sound of a consort of viols is quite unique. There is a melancholy character associated with gut strings. Because early string instruments had lower &  flatter bridges, it enabled the player to achieve 'double-stopping' more easily, the practise of playing chords across the strings,  & so achieve the effect of accompanying himself. A group of from four to six players has a very close texture, but  does provide a listening experience like no other group of instrumentalists.

Here endeth the lesson !!

Oliver,

Next week, ' This Week's Composer' is devoted to music from the time of Elizabeth I.
My Yamaha hard drive will be hard driven !

Have you heard  recordings by the viol consort Phantasm ?  I'm slowly building - up my collection of CDs by them.

BobbyZ,

I would go for the Phantasm CD of the Purcell Fantasias for viol consort.

A CD that has given me perhaps more pleasure than any other is on the Virgin/Veritas label & is called
' Pieces pour deux basses de viole'.  The two bass viol players being Jerome Hantai & Kaori Uemura. This is a real gem & comprises works by Couperin, Sainte Colombe, Locke & a  'division' by Christopher Simpson. I never tire of playing this disk.  Also great for converting those who thought they didn't like this kind of music !