My Instrument-Viola da Gamba-
The historical background of the performance
The revivalism in the 20th century
The historical background of the performance
The revivalism in the 20th century
Bass Viola da Gamba, Treble Viola da Gamba, Tenor Viola da Gamba
Almost people might misunderstand that the Viola da Gamba is the origin of the violin families or has a kinship with them because of the similarity of the appearance. However, it isn’t true. Both instruments came from totally different origin. The Viola da Gamba first appeared in Europe in the late 15th century and we can find it in paintings, in which one of the earliest known representations of the Renaissance viol was depicted. Subsequently it became one of the most popular Renaissance and Baroque instruments. After that, the Viola da Gamba quickly spread across the Mediterranean through the Balearic Islands and Sardinia to Italy. In the early 16th century, the Viola da Gamba became to appear in the court. Jambe de Fer (A 1556), for example, wrote that “the viola da gamba was played by gentlemen, merchants and other men of virtue as a pastime, whereas the violin was usually considered a professional instrument of the lower classes and often played in the streets to accompany dances or to lead wedding processions.”(qtd. in “Viol”). Although this instrument continued to flourish as a solo instrument until the middle of the 18th century, it was seldom found outside the court.
The structure of the Viola da Gamba is very unique. First of all, the Viola da Gamba was made in many different size during its history; pardessus (high treble), treble, alto, small tenor, tenor, bass and contrabass. Only the treble, tenor and bass Viola da Gamba, however, were regular members of the viol consort which is a small instrumental ensemble for playing music composed before c1700 and were found at courts as well as in homes from the early 16th century. The shape of the Viola da Gamba was also very variable and changed during its history and we can find the influence of the guitar family or the violin family in some 16th century instruments. A distinctive shape had evolved in Venice by the 1540s, which is characterized by steeply down-sloping shoulders and narrow upper body (“Viol”). The most characteristic form of the Viola da Gamba might be its deep ribs, sloping shoulders and middle bouts that occurred early in the 16th century. Moreover, it was standardized during the 17th and 18th centuries. I would like to mention about the structure in more detail, comparing with the structure of the violin family. First, there is not an endpin. Cello, which is one of the violin families, has an endpin to put on the floor. The Viola da Gamba, however, doesn’t have it. Therefore, we hold it between our legs. “Gamba” means “legs” in Italian. “Viola da Gamba” means “leg-Viol” (“Viol”). Next characteristic structure is the “Frets”. Gamba usually has seven frets like a Guitar, which was placed at intervals of a semitone. These frets are very convenient things to catch the right point than Cello. The structure of the “Strings” also differs from the violin families. Viola da Gamba has usually six strings, but sometimes it has seven strings. It depends on the style of instruments. England style model has only six strings. The standard tuning of the six-string Viola da Gamba was a sequence of 4th, 4th, major 3rd, 4th, 4th. Three principal types of Viola da Gamba, treble, tenor, and bass are tuned as follows: d-g-c’-e’-a’-d”(treble), G-c-f-a-d’-g’(tenor), D-G-c-e-a-d’ (bass). While French style model has a seventh string which is tuned A’. Jean Rousseau and Sainte-Colombe attributed this innovation of additional string in 1687 (“Viol”). The way of holding the bow is different from the violin family. When we play the instruments of the violin family, the bow is held from the top of the frog. However, when we play the Viola da Gamba, the bow is held with an underground grip. The bowing is also the exact reverse of violin bowing. “Pitch” is totally different from the violin family. While Viola da Gamba uses the old pitch, the violin family uses the modern pitch. The difference between the old pitch and the modern pitch is the old pitch is halftone lower than the modern pitch.
The music for Viola da Gamba was heard all over Europe and England. England, in particular, has a very rich history of the composers and performers for the Viola da Gamba. By 1540, Henry III had engaged a complete consort of Italian players. This royal patronage may have inspired an English school of performance and composition. In France, consort music was not as popular as was the use of the Bass Gamba as a solo virtuoso instrument. Pieces for the Viola da Gamba and continuo accompaniment, duets for two Viola da Gamba, and trio sonatas for violin, Viola da Gamba and continuo were written by composers such as Francois Couperin, Boismortier and the renowned virtuoso Marin Marais. In Germany, the Viola da Gamba was played in both solo and chamber music. Heinrich Schutz incorporated Viola da Gamba in his sacred music: Buxtehude in his cantatas and sonatas—in which the virtuoso Johann Schenck often performed. J.S.Bach often used the Viola da Gamba as an obligato instrument in sacred works. Telemann, and C.P E. Bach last great German Viola da Gamba player was C.F.Abel, whose career flourished mainly in England. In the 13th and 14th century, the Viola da Gamba was used as an instrument for noble men and they enjoyed playing Viola da Gamba by themselves as well as listening to the music of their own musical bands that they hired. This instrument was suited to play or be heard in small and cozy salon rather than the big concert hall.
As the popularity of violin grew throughout the 17th century, the Viola da Gamba could no longer compete. The violin, which has a lager sound and the capabilities of being heard in the concert halls, became the premiere instrument of choice. The violin family replaced the Viola da Gamba like this. However, the 20th century has seen a resurgence of interest in the viol for the authentic performance of early music. Organizations and universities worldwide continue to teach and perform early music. Especially, Arnold Dolmetsch (1858-1940) was a pioneer to revive it. He was intuitively aware that the viol was being misunderstood. In the 1890s, after considerable research into music and instruments of the 16th to 18th centuries, he began to give concerts on original instruments (“Viol”). He also devoted to collect, restore and produce the recorder, lute and harpsichord as well as to play to explore the lost sound. He made a point of the understanding about the custom of performance in those days. He began to organize the concerts for early music in 1889 and he had a home concert with his family at his home in 1990s. After Dolmetsch’s death, his achievement was taken over by his children. His firstborn son Rudolph Dolmetsch embarked on a promising career as a conductor, Viola da Gamba and harpsichord player. His younger brother Carl Dolmetsch, well-known recorder player, founded the Society of Recorder Players in 1937. Their sister Nathalie also founded the English Viola da Gamba Society in 1948 (Haskell, 42). From these their accomplishments, it is obvious that the Dolmetsch’s took an important part in the movement for early music not only in England but also in worldwide. His belief in the early music is expressed in the final sentence of his book as follows; “We can no longer allow anyone to stand between us and the composer.”(qtd. in the early music revival, 43). That is to say, he linked between the theoretical and practical aspects of reviving a lost performing tradition and demonstrated practically the early music by the original way of performance. He was the first man who showed the original sound and spirit to us without being intruded the modern concept. It is not too much to say that his significant efforts made a firm basis for the revival movement of today’s early music. In the middle of 20th century, Wolf Erichson has contributed in the modern recording. He has strained at the place where he records the music, so that most of the 800 or so albums he’s surprised over the past four decades have been made in churches. He concerned about the recording location above all and he thought the church is the best place. We can find his principle to the recording in his statement as follows; “The great paintings and architecture of Europe are preserved in museums, but music is an interior legacy. Almost all of this early music was lost for so long. Only now are we able to bring it back to life and make it available to the public. Artists and record companies should make this a priority, to nurture this legacy and market it and make people aware of its worth. It’s an obligation we all have to each other.”(qtd. in Bambarger). He also directed and produced various early-music labels from 1960s to late 1980s. Recently, we can also get various informations about early-music on the Internet. E-mails and notes send the appeal of news-group. We can find any information which we want to know into the group; schedules of concerts in various parts of the world, informal reviews, personal opinions of the recordings of a specific work (Greig, 1995). This democracy has obvious merit in this respect that musicological and performance-based territorialism is so easily exposed as well as news-groups can get a surprising range of subscribers from amateur performers to eminent musicologist.
In this research paper, I surveyed Viola da Gamba as following; first, I mentioned the history of the Viola da Gamba which isn’t so familiar to people. Second, I indicated the unique structure of it, comparing from the one of the violin family. Third, I explained the historical background of it in England, France and Germany. The last is the 20th century has seen a revival of the early music. The revival movement from 19th to 20th century always has one complicated issue, which is at the core of this movement; the pursuit of the authenticity. However, it doesn’t merely mean to reproduce the way of historical performance, neither does it mean to look up to the lost sound in a reminiscent and melancholic mood. What does “the revival movement” really mean? What we really have to inquire of this movement is not just to reproduce the music of the past precisely but to find the active attitude to face this issue and to find how we can invest the new meaning in early-music itself. We might find the significance of the existence of the early-music through this new exploration.
Made in 1976,England.
This Bass Gamba is French Style in which there are 7 strings.
Can you see there are 7 frets on the neck?
