L'Achéron

The viola da gamba, although forgotten in the 19th century, has been the object of growing interest for several decades: since the 1930s and the creation of the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis by August Wenzinger, then the enthusiasm of the 1970s for baroque music and formidable musicians such as Jordi Savall or Wieland Kuijken, or the impact of the film All the mornings of the world (Alain Corneau, 1991) on the public at large, this mysterious and poetic instrument has not ceased to be popularised.

Nowadays, the viola da gamba is taught in most conservatories and is used in other types of music such as contemporary, experimental, electronic, pop, traditional, etc. The repertoire of the viola da gamba seems to be infinite: but what was its original identity? Where does it come from? Not being the ancestor of the cello but a simple cousin (in the same way as a flute with an oboe) the viola da gamba evolved enormously between the Renaissance and the Classical period before being neglected during the Romantic period. From Italy to France, via Germany and England, each nation defines the instrument differently by declining various aspects of its identity: from the transalpine improvisation to the Germanic modern Sonata, from the French Dance Suite to the Galant preclacissism, this concert lets us hear all the colours that the viola da gamba was able to assume in the past.

François Joubert-Caillet, bass viol