Diego Ortiz:
Tratado del glosas

Tobias Hume:
The First Part of Ayres, French, Pollish and others together… with Pavines, Galliards, and Almaines

Benjamin Hely:
The complete violist

Angelo Michele Bertalotti:
Regole facilissime per apprendere con facilita e prestezza li canti fermo e figurato

The absolute protagonist of this recording is the solo viola da gamba which guides us on a musical journey from 1553 (Tratado de glosas by Diego Ortiz) to 1698/99 (Ricercare per diversi toni by Angelo Michele Bertalotti and The Complete Violist by Benjamin Hely). In so doing, it puts us in touch with a repertoire that may not be universally known, but still deserves to be discovered. Above all, it must be disclosed because it gives tangible testimonies that partially rectify some deep-rooted convictions about the viola da gamba. In fact, contrary to what is often believed, after blossoming in the Renaissance, this instrument did not leave the stage ex abrupto in the mid-17th century, crushed beneath the increasing weight of the cello. Instead, it continued to enjoy its own literature, certainly less striking but not less relevant. We are referring not only to the better-documented compositions for consort, but also to the solo repertoire which frequently had didactic and artistic value - often characterized by chamber allure due to its reserved nature.

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Recorded at Church “Santuario di Maria Santissima Madre di Dio, XI sec.” Santa Maria Imbaro (CH) Italy, August 2021. Viola da gamba made by Chiara Segaliari, Genova 2017, after Jacobus Stainer, Absam 1667.