It is often thought that the viola da gamba dropped out of British musical life in the 1690s. The author demonstrates that the instrument continued to be used through the 18th and 19th centuries, up to the beginning of the early music revival in the 1890s.
Written for musicians by a musician, Meantone Temperaments on Lutes and Viols demystifies tuning systems by providing the basic information, historical context, and practical advice necessary to easily achieve more satisfying tuning results on fretted instruments. Despite the ov…
"This study shows how the unique situation in Berlin produced the last major corpus of music written for the viola da gamba, and how the more virtuosic works were probably the result of close collaboration between Hesse and the Berlin School composers. The reader is also introdu…
"The viola da gamba was a central instrument in European music from the late fifteenth century well into the late eighteenth. In this comprehensive study, Bettina Hoffmann offers both an introduction to the instrument -- its construction, technique and history -- for the non-spe…