Le Pétites Concerts
French Baroque Music for Two Bass Gambas
with Pat O’Scannell and Michal Palzewicz
Ashland Springs Hotel Conservatory
Saturday, September 21, 2019 – 7:00 PM
Doors open at 6:30 PM
Tickets: $$25, under 21 FREE
Check, cash or credit card at the door.
Seating is first come first served.
Free hors d’ourvres; Wine available for purchase by the glass.
LISTEN…
Rigaudon I & II from Petites Sonates, Op. 66, Vol. 1
Musica Matrix presents DUO JETTÉ with Pat O’Scannell & Michal Palzewicz playing violas da gamba in a program of French Baroque music by Boismortier, Couperin and several composers who wrote specifically for the viol such as Forqueray and Marais.
The Viola da Gamba dominated the scene as a solo instrument before the gambas were replaced by the louder members of the violin family, which were more suitable to balance with increasingly large orchestras.
Gambas are not related to the violin family, but instead developed alongside it. Gambas are more related to fretted plucked instruments such as the guitar and lute. The style of playing is gentler, with an underhand bow hold controlled by the fingers on the hair of the bow.
The instrument has either six or seven strings, depending on the time period and genre. The chordal style of playing is called ‘Lyra Viol’, and the practice of writing for Gambas began in England in the Elizabethan period. The French innovated a seventh string so that the instrument could better provide its own bass line.