I knew the viola da gamba had frets, but never realized they're movable; in very much the same way as a Sitar from India. This is truly a beautiful sounding instrument and I'm so glad there are folks like yourself that keep such important (and cool) pieces of musical history alive! Greetings from Cape Cod Massachusetts
I L O V E the fact, that you can play more than one chords together at the Viola da Gamba! This sound is what I was searching for and i am so glad for I found it!!!
I have been working at a bass repair shop for over 18 years and one of the most beautiful instruments we ever had coming in was a Double bass with Cello shape, yes, with the shoulders and all. There's a Reason why the double bass shape wise is an enlarged Gamba and this perfect Violin shaped Bass was a clear showcase of that reason: a double bass isn't tuned in fifths like a Cello is, it is tuned in fourths like a Gamba, that means that to play the higher register of the instrument, you have to reach up way high on the fingerboard which on that Violin shaped bass was a HUGE hassle. With the Gamba having sloped shoulders, reaching to the upper register is much easier. That bass was sold and the next time I saw it it had been converted to sloped shoulders, which was done professionally but I always though it was a shame, since it looked so beautiful with that perfect violin shape.
Until the latter part of the 18thc. double bass players had no need to venture far up the fingerboard as they just played bass parts - solo repertoire came later - and yet there are basses from 16th c. with sloping shoulders.
I think that's the first time I ever heard a Cello sound "happy". To me they always have a melancholy/sad sound to them. I really liked the looks of that Viola Da Gamba. It's elegant looking and I really liked the rich color of the wood. You played it as if it were expressing a deep longing for something. Very nice instruments and you play them well.
I honestly feel the Violes were the absolute pinnacle of stringed bowed instruments. The cellos and more modern violins cannot touch the pure emotion of the gamba or pardessus de viole. Pig gut > metal wound strings wins the heart any day!!!
because of the bowing style and the frets the viole has a more agressive, almost scratchy sound which (at least to me, someone uneducated in classical bowed instruments) seams a bit unpleasant time to time. While the cello and the upright can produce agressive, scratchy tones if desired(look at Bartók's string quartets or if you have the chance listen to Hungarian folk music live somewhere for extreme examples), i never heard the lower strings of a viole sound as soft and gentle as a cello's, they arr too raw in my opinion. Must agree with the gut thing :)
00Mindi00 I agree with you. I'm a professional cellist and love the sound of my instrument. However, when I heard Jordi Savall play the viola da gamba on the soundtrack for the French film "Tous les Matins du Monde " I fell completely in love with the sound. It touched a spot in my heart that no sound has before or since then. There is a sweetness and pureness to it that just can't be reproduced on the cello no matter how technically and musically proficient you are. Right now I'm in the process of buying a gamba and learning to play it.☺️
It's simply that there's more of the higher overtones. Once you get used to it you can find the sweetness in it, and sometimes then a modern cello sounds like an unsubtle overamplified box and the violin hurts your ears. It's all relative.
Came here when I was cross with Glenn Gould for recording Bach sonatas on a thick-sounding modern piano! I noticed on the same Sony CD that Leonard Rose, was playing a gruff four string cello instead of the sweet viola da gamba indicated by the label. Now away in search of something authentic! Thankyou Baroque Band for insight.
No, the cello IS the bass instrument of the violin family. The double bass belongs to the viol family, which is why the bass is shaped differently at the top of its body than the violin, viola and cello. The bass' body is shaped more like the viola da gamba.
@Greg Monks They now make 5ths Tuned Bass String Sets (Tuning is an Octave below a Cello C, G, D, A, plus for 5 String Versions a High E) because over the years 5ths Tuning for a Double Bass has came back.
@Greg Monks Oscar Stern here. Now you can make one, just slap on a set of Thomastik Light Tension 4/4 Size Spirocore 5ths Tuned Double Bass Strings on your Double Bass & you're ready to rock. 5ths Tuning allows you to play Cello pieces & arrangements down an Octave. A French Bass Bow (CodaBow Infinity French Style w/ Dark Kaplan Rosin) will Rock. Rock on & #StayHealthy.
@Greg Monks The popularity of extended range upright Basses with 5 (or more) Strings has gone back up because as technology got updated & the instruments became easier to hold, more and more people got back to them.
Marin Marais.... a treat for the heart as well as the head. He always leaves me with a warm feeling and deep in thought when I listen to his viol music.
Everything I see online says you can't play chords with violin, viola, cello or bass. Chords: 3 or more notes played simultaneously with sustain. The viola da gamba can play up to 5 strings at a time I believe. The bow is different. It has more slack. And it has movable frets. Truly an awesome instrument.
My Cello is a 5 String Cello which has a High E String, & 5 String Cellos are becoming way more popular these days as a way to play Solo Violin pieces an Octave down.
People complaining about the strings being out of tune either haven't performed under hot lights or played gut strings much. Out-of-tuneness happens, even if you've just tuned up. Clearly the subject can play and knows his history, so perhaps it's more constructive to offer positive feedback, or just forego commenting if you have nothing to add?
If you live in the States, you can start by checking out the Viola da Gamba Society of America, and see if they have any chapters or contacts in your state/area.
Adding to what xacharon said, you can look for a Viola da Gamba Society in another country if you're not in the U.S. Even if there isn't a society where you are, you can ask other societies if they have members near you.
Nice presentation, but please note that many paintings show that endpins were often used way before 1850. The 'violoncello' was even played on the shoulders quite often. As Leopold Mozart sais in his treaty 'Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule' (1756, the year in which his famous son was born): 'today the cello is more often being played between the legs' (!). And last but not least: many cellists in baroque Italy and even France played the gamba bow hold, as again is being proven by many paintings.
They now make Fretted Violins, Fretted Violas, Fretted Cellos, & even Fretted Upright Basses that are great for loud amplified settings, & just like the Viola da Gamba the Frets facilitate playing in tune when you're doing Chords.
The Upright Bass became the new member soon. My Cello is a 5 String Cello made by Yinfente. The 5 String Cello w/ a High E String is super versatile so you can actually play Violin pieces down an Octave
Very interesting! I've heard of the Viola de Gamba, but never saw one. Some pipe organs have a Viola de Gamba stop, which would probably be used either for a fuller sounding string chorus, or as a solo stop.
I think having the fingers touching the bow hair provides an adjustment to the tension. Loosening that tension facilitates playing chords. Tighten it up and you play single pitches.
For those who are (also) classical guitarists, the VdG tuning should be familiar. He gave his tuning as (lo to hi) A D G C E A D, and the top six strings are just the "lute" tuning for a guitar, but pitched a whole tone down. Lute tuning is E A D F# B E (3rd string down a half tone from regular tuning), which, if capo'd on a guitar at the 3rd fret, is "standard" real 6-string Renaissance lute tuning of G C F A D G, though others are possible. Stick on the low 7th string, and the pattern is still right. It is a surprisingly facile and capable tuning.
Christopher Simpson - The Division Viol, 1659 illustrates both cello shaped and viol shaped violas da gamba. The most relevant details are 6 or 7 strings on a viol, frets, and the tuning 4ths and a 3rd. The bass violin/violoncello has 4, occasionally 5 strings tuned in 5th, and no frets.
Many thanks for this amazing video, can you move the frets, means can the instrument play well tempered and natural scales as well? There are Oriental instruments have similar frets and they are movable.
There is not only one "baroque" tuning, there are many different baroque tunings. French secular 18th century pitch is A = 392 (A tone less than A = 440). But in Italy, the most common pitch was A = 460 (a semi-tone higher). You can naturally have A = 415 (french church pitch) and in some parts of Europe you can have A = 440. You can find all the pitches you want (the 1751 Hemsch harpsichord is stringed in A = 403).
@@richardwebb2348 of course ! But there are as many pitches as there are villages in Europe ! In order to play most of the repertoire, you must admit that a minimum of standardization is required ! A range of pitches semitones by semitones is a modern compromise, admittedly, but a little and necessary one !
When playing the six string version of the viola, what are the string configurations? Are they flexible, based on the piece? Do you purchase cello and double bass strings for this instrument or do they manufacture strings for it? On its construction history, where does it fit with violas, violins, and lutes and guitars? Did any notable string designers make these instruments, such as Guanairi or Stradivarius? Are there any notable compositions featuring this instrument as a soloist?
Being fond of music but completely unable to play it AND being used to seeing violins, violas and cellos, this is the oddest looking instrument in the world :) But hey, great respect to the people who put in the effort to keep this stuff alive!
On the violin family the bow is held differently! You can watch the Bulgarin gadulka, the turkish "knee violin", A Chinese violin "erhu", and many others. They all have one thing in common: The holding of the bow, like it is done at the viola da gamba. So, this is the traditional way of holding the bow of a string instrument.
Rather say: the double bass looks like a big viola da gamba, because it is one! Aside from having only four strings, the double bass is in almost every other respect constructed like a very large gamba, rather than a violoncello. It evolved (slightly) from the violone, and wasn't made as a scaled-up fiddle (as the 'cello was).
samanli2014 thats becas the double bass is a member of the Viola de gamba family because it has that arched at the bottom of the neck and it is tuned in fourths some people think that the double bass is a member of the violin family but that is completely false it's actually in a different family
Viola used to be a more general term for stringed instrument. Viola da braccio means viola of the arm. I think viola d'amore (which has extra "sympathetic" strings that vibrate without being played on) may mean something like viola of love? Anyway, I like what you say!
Thanks a lot for the explanation! I had always wondered why the sound of a quite similar instrument (at least in shape) as the cello was so different, and I thought that it was mainly because of different string material. So it is the way the bow is held the main reason for that "softness"?
I have read somewhere that viola da gamba is not as loud as cello, is it for the method of holding bow? I mean, if I had a viola da gamba I would like/try holding the bow as a cello even if it's wrong historically. But again, is cello really louder than viola da gamba?
Da Gamba is cool, but I’m feeling Da Spalla lately. The ability to play standing or seated makes it more versatile and it’s 5th string makes it easier to navigate higher ranges than a modern cello. If I was to hire a cellist for a band (assuming I had plenty of money to pay them of course) I would probably insist on da Spalla.
Depends on the piece and and the instrument- there were treble viols, alto viols, tenor viols, and base viols. Gambas often played in ensembles known as viol consorts, so many families that owned one viol would normally own others in different ranges. th-cam.com/video/MwLz43-oPf0/w-d-xo.html It of course- there was (and is!) plenty of solo pieces written for instrument. Tenor/bass instruments were normally preferred for solo music th-cam.com/video/Y6-KkFzVIS8/w-d-xo.html A few composers of viola da gamba music- Marin Marais Tobias Hume August Kühnel Carolus Hacquart Carl Frederich Abel
For the bass viola da gamba (called "viol" or "gamba" for short), which is the one in this video and is about the size of a cello, it's usually bass and alto clefs. For the tenor viol (roughly guitar-size), it's usually alto clef, though can go into treble clef or treble clef down an octave. For the treble viol, it's treble clef or sometimes French violin clef (G clef on the bottom line).
I knew the viola da gamba had frets, but never realized they're movable; in very much the same way as a Sitar from India. This is truly a beautiful sounding instrument and I'm so glad there are folks like yourself that keep such important (and cool) pieces of musical history alive! Greetings from Cape Cod Massachusetts
I THINK I FOUND THE INSTRUMENT TO MY SOUL: THE VIOLA DA GAMBA
whoa when he played the viola da gamba my eyes started to water... totally awesome
I L O V E the fact, that you can play more than one chords together at the Viola da Gamba! This sound is what I was searching for and i am so glad for I found it!!!
I have been working at a bass repair shop for over 18 years and one of the most beautiful instruments we ever had coming in was a Double bass with Cello shape, yes, with the shoulders and all.
There's a Reason why the double bass shape wise is an enlarged Gamba and this perfect Violin shaped Bass was a clear showcase of that reason: a double bass isn't tuned in fifths like a Cello is, it is tuned in fourths like a Gamba, that means that to play the higher register of the instrument, you have to reach up way high on the fingerboard which on that Violin shaped bass was a HUGE hassle.
With the Gamba having sloped shoulders, reaching to the upper register is much easier.
That bass was sold and the next time I saw it it had been converted to sloped shoulders, which was done professionally but I always though it was a shame, since it looked so beautiful with that perfect violin shape.
Until the latter part of the 18thc. double bass players had no need to venture far up the fingerboard as they just played bass parts - solo repertoire came later - and yet there are basses from 16th c. with sloping shoulders.
I think that's the first time I ever heard a Cello sound "happy". To me they always have a melancholy/sad sound to them.
I really liked the looks of that Viola Da Gamba. It's elegant looking and I really liked the rich color of the wood. You played it as if it were expressing a deep longing for something.
Very nice instruments and you play them well.
It's Gigue from Bach's Cello suite no.1, I love this piece
I love that African player, Yo Yo Magamba.
I honestly feel the Violes were the absolute pinnacle of stringed bowed instruments. The cellos and more modern violins cannot touch the pure emotion of the gamba or pardessus de viole. Pig gut > metal wound strings wins the heart any day!!!
because of the bowing style and the frets the viole has a more agressive, almost scratchy sound which (at least to me, someone uneducated in classical bowed instruments) seams a bit unpleasant time to time. While the cello and the upright can produce agressive, scratchy tones if desired(look at Bartók's string quartets or if you have the chance listen to Hungarian folk music live somewhere for extreme examples), i never heard the lower strings of a viole sound as soft and gentle as a cello's, they arr too raw in my opinion. Must agree with the gut thing :)
00Mindi00 I agree with you. I'm a professional cellist and love the sound of my instrument. However, when I heard Jordi Savall play the viola da gamba on the soundtrack for the French film "Tous les Matins du Monde " I fell completely in love with the sound. It touched a spot in my heart that no sound has before or since then. There is a sweetness and pureness to it that just can't be reproduced on the cello no matter how technically and musically proficient you are. Right now I'm in the process of buying a gamba and learning to play it.☺️
@@teok5665 As I said I dont know much about bowed instruments so I'll take your word for it.
It's simply that there's more of the higher overtones. Once you get used to it you can find the sweetness in it, and sometimes then a modern cello sounds like an unsubtle overamplified box and the violin hurts your ears. It's all relative.
Marin Marais
Came here when I was cross with Glenn Gould for recording Bach sonatas on a thick-sounding modern piano! I noticed on the same Sony CD that Leonard Rose, was playing a gruff four string cello instead of the sweet viola da gamba indicated by the label. Now away in search of something authentic! Thankyou Baroque Band for insight.
There is something about the Cello that tugs at my heart, I could listen to an artist for hours.
No, the cello IS the bass instrument of the violin family. The double bass belongs to the viol family, which is why the bass is shaped differently at the top of its body than the violin, viola and cello. The bass' body is shaped more like the viola da gamba.
Yes, and also the double bass is tuned in 4ths like the viol family, instead of 5ths like the violin family.
@Greg Monks They now make 5ths Tuned Bass String Sets (Tuning is an Octave below a Cello C, G, D, A, plus for 5 String Versions a High E) because over the years 5ths Tuning for a Double Bass has came back.
@Greg Monks Oscar Stern here. Now you can make one, just slap on a set of Thomastik Light Tension 4/4 Size Spirocore 5ths Tuned Double Bass Strings on your Double Bass & you're ready to rock. 5ths Tuning allows you to play Cello pieces & arrangements down an Octave. A French Bass Bow (CodaBow Infinity French Style w/ Dark Kaplan Rosin) will Rock. Rock on & #StayHealthy.
@Greg Monks The popularity of extended range upright Basses with 5 (or more) Strings has gone back up because as technology got updated & the instruments became easier to hold, more and more people got back to them.
Marin Marais.... a treat for the heart as well as the head. He always leaves me with a warm feeling and deep in thought when I listen to his viol music.
Viola da Gamba sounds so beautiful!
That last tune was pretty
On the gamba? I think it was the start of "Les Voix Humaines".
Yes. Indeed. Thats Voix les humaines. My favorite piece for Viola da gamba. 😁
@@xacharon It can be played on a Lute.
Wow, why we don't use the Viola da Gamba more offten in modern art music is shame. Have a string instrument that can do chords is amazing.
but string instruments can still play chords...
Cellos violins violas and double basses can all do chords
I'm a viola player, and I even knew that. ^
Everything I see online says you can't play chords with violin, viola, cello or bass. Chords: 3 or more notes played simultaneously with sustain. The viola da gamba can play up to 5 strings at a time I believe. The bow is different. It has more slack. And it has movable frets. Truly an awesome instrument.
Well that’s why string instruments always play in groups and if soloing, with a piano or (sometimes) a guitar.
My Cello is a 5 String Cello which has a High E String, & 5 String Cellos are becoming way more popular these days as a way to play Solo Violin pieces an Octave down.
People complaining about the strings being out of tune either haven't performed under hot lights or played gut strings much. Out-of-tuneness happens, even if you've just tuned up. Clearly the subject can play and knows his history, so perhaps it's more constructive to offer positive feedback, or just forego commenting if you have nothing to add?
I love his face when he plays the G on the viola De Gamba, 2:39.
I don’t know why but G’s are notoriously difficult to tune on cello, maybe viol too.
2:39
This is the first time i've seen or heard of this instrument. Thank you for showing us. It's very interesting and has a beautiful sound.
How do you get into learning an instrument like this? I wish I had access to one to try it. They are very expensive to buy!
If you live in the States, you can start by checking out the Viola da Gamba Society of America, and see if they have any chapters or contacts in your state/area.
isthiswhereitype1
Adding to what xacharon said, you can look for a Viola da Gamba Society in another country if you're not in the U.S. Even if there isn't a society where you are, you can ask other societies if they have members near you.
Nice presentation, but please note that many paintings show that endpins were often used way before 1850. The 'violoncello' was even played on the shoulders quite often. As Leopold Mozart sais in his treaty 'Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule' (1756, the year in which his famous son was born): 'today the cello is more often being played between the legs' (!). And last but not least: many cellists in baroque Italy and even France played the gamba bow hold, as again is being proven by many paintings.
Benjamin Glorieux Nerd
TheCubedPanda thanks!
Violoncello da spalla.
Viola da gamba is so cute. Also all the strings' pitch is like a whole step off
Love this!
They now make Fretted Violins, Fretted Violas, Fretted Cellos, & even Fretted Upright Basses that are great for loud amplified settings, & just like the Viola da Gamba the Frets facilitate playing in tune when you're doing Chords.
I love this instrument !
This instrument is so beautiful. I want to play it.
The Viola de Gamba looks beautiful.
The Upright Bass became the new member soon. My Cello is a 5 String Cello made by Yinfente. The 5 String Cello w/ a High E String is super versatile so you can actually play Violin pieces down an Octave
Thank you for a very enjoyable demonstration!
Very interesting! I've heard of the Viola de Gamba, but never saw one. Some pipe organs have a Viola de Gamba stop, which would probably be used either for a fuller sounding string chorus, or as a solo stop.
What a beautiful instrument. Shame on modern day world.
I leatned a lot from this video thumbs up
Am I correct in saying that the bow hold for the viola da gamba is similar to the german bow hold on bass?
Alex Binkley no very very different
its related.
Also is the tuning done on 415 or 440? Hearing it on the video it's actually sounding a second below normal tuning from when I played it
Alex Binkley the da gamba was out of tune even for 415. The cello was in 415 but I tune
I think having the fingers touching the bow hair provides an adjustment to the tension. Loosening that tension facilitates playing chords. Tighten it up and you play single pitches.
You know you have a good mic setup and clarity when you can pick out the sound of him breathing through his nose while playing.
hahaha I just noticed that XD
Yeah, I'm wondering what his set up is as well. I'm getting preparing to record some Sonatas by Vivaldi.
Neither the strings, the instruments, nor the music was meant to be performed at A440. That's a modern construct.
Great information, thanks 👍
Now you have Aquila Red Synthetic Bowed Instrument Strings as a Valid Alternative to Gut.
Fretted Violins & Fretted Cellos also exist & Mark Wood makes them.
Thanks for the tutorial. Simple and clear explanation.
Love the Viol.
Unfortunately, little opportunity to earn such a beautiful instrument.
For those who are (also) classical guitarists, the VdG tuning should be familiar. He gave his tuning as (lo to hi) A D G C E A D, and the top six strings are just the "lute" tuning for a guitar, but pitched a whole tone down. Lute tuning is E A D F# B E (3rd string down a half tone from regular tuning), which, if capo'd on a guitar at the 3rd fret, is "standard" real 6-string Renaissance lute tuning of G C F A D G, though others are possible. Stick on the low 7th string, and the pattern is still right. It is a surprisingly facile and capable tuning.
I always liked the Gambe, ok i am on the violin but the Gambe is very spesial and all the nice chords on it:)
Excuse my lack of knowledge but what instrument is playing in that intro? sounds very beautiful
The harpsichord.
Thanks, good video.
Excellent video!!! :D Very informative. I am switching to Baroque cello soon :)
It is a cello.... a BAROQUE cello not a modern cello you see today
1:00 I'd check the pitch of those strings there
Man the frets make a big difference
They add precision to the finger placement
he's using a baroque bow
Can I bow the Cello like a Viola da Gamba?
Yes. I think that was the old technique.
Verry intersting !
Christopher Simpson - The Division Viol, 1659 illustrates both cello shaped and viol shaped violas da gamba. The most relevant details are 6 or 7 strings on a viol, frets, and the tuning 4ths and a 3rd. The bass violin/violoncello has 4, occasionally 5 strings tuned in 5th, and no frets.
Many thanks for this amazing video, can you move the frets, means can the instrument play well tempered and natural scales as well? There are Oriental instruments have similar frets and they are movable.
Yes, you can! Sixth comma meantone is a common one. I only know of one person who's experimented with non- Western intervals
Thank you.
nice clear comparison of the two ... ^_^
Was going to say that the C sounded more like a B flat... til you said this. Thanks for the information, I didnt know there was a baroque 415 tuning!
Oh brother! There's one in every crowd.
Viols are tuned like Renaissance lutes, as are vihuelas.
There is not only one "baroque" tuning, there are many different baroque tunings. French secular 18th century pitch is A = 392 (A tone less than A = 440). But in Italy, the most common pitch was A = 460 (a semi-tone higher). You can naturally have A = 415 (french church pitch) and in some parts of Europe you can have A = 440. You can find all the pitches you want (the 1751 Hemsch harpsichord is stringed in A = 403).
Handel's tuning fork A=422.5
@@richardwebb2348 of course ! But there are as many pitches as there are villages in Europe ! In order to play most of the repertoire, you must admit that a minimum of standardization is required ! A range of pitches semitones by semitones is a modern compromise, admittedly, but a little and necessary one !
Both are very beautiful instruments. Although I am more a cello guy.
@Trioptio Baroque tuning is A = 415 I believe and normal Tuning would be A = 420
Modern tuning is generally close to A=440. There are various Baroque tunings.
When playing the six string version of the viola, what are the string configurations? Are they flexible, based on the piece? Do you purchase cello and double bass strings for this instrument or do they manufacture strings for it? On its construction history, where does it fit with violas, violins, and lutes and guitars? Did any notable string designers make these instruments, such as Guanairi or Stradivarius? Are there any notable compositions featuring this instrument as a soloist?
Being fond of music but completely unable to play it AND being used to seeing violins, violas and cellos, this is the oddest looking instrument in the world :) But hey, great respect to the people who put in the effort to keep this stuff alive!
You have not yet seen or heard all the different types of insruments in the world.
My brain hurt when he said the names of the notes, but to my modern ear, they sounded a half-step flat.
They were. A=415 instead of A-440
Was that "Bois Epais" that was being played on the gamba? Thank you for this brief explanation & demonstration. Lovely.
On the violin family the bow is held differently! You can watch the Bulgarin gadulka, the turkish "knee violin", A Chinese violin "erhu", and many others. They all have one thing in common: The holding of the bow, like it is done at the viola da gamba. So, this is the traditional way of holding the bow of a string instrument.
I just did some research: You will not find the Turkish "knee violin", the name of this instrument is "rebab"
One traditional way to hold the bow - not 'the' way.
Thanks, Craig!
I think the music at the end is La Du Vaucel (Forqueray)..
Please! What's the name of opening music? It fells me in paradise
Viola da gamba looks like a small double bass!
Rather say: the double bass looks like a big viola da gamba, because it is one! Aside from having only four strings, the double bass is in almost every other respect constructed like a very large gamba, rather than a violoncello. It evolved (slightly) from the violone, and wasn't made as a scaled-up fiddle (as the 'cello was).
Andrea Falconiero Or 5 strings >_
samanli2014 thats becas the double bass is a member of the Viola de gamba family because it has that arched at the bottom of the neck and it is tuned in fourths some people think that the double bass is a member of the violin family but that is completely false it's actually in a different family
No
the music starting around 4:08 is Marin Marais - Les Voix Humaines
4:08
i absolutely Need ti know the Mame of the Clavier intro
first few bars of the "Gigue" movement from JS Bach's cello suite #1 in G major
As with the Viola da Gamba and the contemporary Violoncello, so with the Viola d'Amore, an arm viol, and the contemporary Viola d'Orchestra.
Viola used to be a more general term for stringed instrument. Viola da braccio means viola of the arm. I think viola d'amore (which has extra "sympathetic" strings that vibrate without being played on) may mean something like viola of love? Anyway, I like what you say!
Its tuned to baroque 415
What song did you start playing on the viol at the end?
I play cello
Thanks a lot for the explanation! I had always wondered why the sound of a quite similar instrument (at least in shape) as the cello was so different, and I thought that it was mainly because of different string material. So it is the way the bow is held the main reason for that "softness"?
Partly, but also the instrument is built more lightly with different bracing inside.
And the frets also affect the sound.
Actually, erik karl, the double bass is a viol, so it's not technically the bass member of the violin family.
Anybody knows the intro and outro music?
Does anyone know the track used in 4:37 ?
I have read somewhere that viola da gamba is not as loud as cello, is it for the method of holding bow? I mean, if I had a viola da gamba I would like/try holding the bow as a cello even if it's wrong historically. But again, is cello really louder than viola da gamba?
The double bass is actually Contrabass.
Скажите пожалуйста, как называется композиция, которая стоит на заставке
I think he is a cello player.. look at his left hand when he plays the viola da gamba. But very nice anyway! thank you for the video =)
Anyone know the name of harpsichord piece in the intro and exit?
What piece is the introduction?
Whats the name of the piece he played on the Baroque Cello?
What type of Bow is he using for demonstration?
nope, is tuned in the baroque 415 a tuning
viola de gamba :D
Does it djent?
its one of the j s bach cello suites 5 or 6
The irony: cello and viola da gamba are introduced by a - very charming - gentleman whose surname means "trumpet player".
WRONG!
The strings are low for baroque tuning. They’re about a quarter step flat, or a whole and a quarter from modern tuning
There wasn't just one baroque tuning. It depended on where you were in what period.
What is the song he's playing on the cello?
It’s a little bit like my upright double bass. The similarities are kind of spread out, like rugby to gridiron football.
Viola de gamba G sounded flat. He heard it too. lol
he's using a typical baroque bow.
Da Gamba is cool, but I’m feeling Da Spalla lately. The ability to play standing or seated makes it more versatile and it’s 5th string makes it easier to navigate higher ranges than a modern cello. If I was to hire a cellist for a band (assuming I had plenty of money to pay them of course) I would probably insist on da Spalla.
Question: is the viola da gamba music written in bass clef and tenor or alto?
Depends on the piece and and the instrument- there were treble viols, alto viols, tenor viols, and base viols. Gambas often played in ensembles known as viol consorts, so many families that owned one viol would normally own others in different ranges.
th-cam.com/video/MwLz43-oPf0/w-d-xo.html
It of course- there was (and is!) plenty of solo pieces written for instrument. Tenor/bass instruments were normally preferred for solo music
th-cam.com/video/Y6-KkFzVIS8/w-d-xo.html
A few composers of viola da gamba music-
Marin Marais
Tobias Hume
August Kühnel
Carolus Hacquart
Carl Frederich Abel
For the bass viola da gamba (called "viol" or "gamba" for short), which is the one in this video and is about the size of a cello, it's usually bass and alto clefs. For the tenor viol (roughly guitar-size), it's usually alto clef, though can go into treble clef or treble clef down an octave. For the treble viol, it's treble clef or sometimes French violin clef (G clef on the bottom line).