Solo Viol Music

Crum (ed.): First Solos for Bass Viol by Alison Crum A reprint (with some additional new material) of the original OUP edition of Alison Crum's essential work for beginner's technique on the viol. The perfect starter collection for any viol player!

Simply the best book for beginner viol players, this ring-bound book tells you everything you need to know to get started on the viol, with numerous examples and handy tips.

A sequel to First Solos for the Viol, this book provides a basic repertoire of Italian, French, English, Spanish and German music, mostly with a continuo part. These are "performing" pieces selected to be within the range of a competent though less experienced player.

55 short pieces from the Renaissance and Baroque for tenor viol beginners, selected and prefaced by Alison Crum. A reprint (with some additional new material) of the original OUP edition of Crum's essential work for beginner's technique on the viol. The must-have collection for anyone learning the viol! .

A hands-on guide for use in class, in a group or alone. For all instruments. At long last, a method for improvisation in Renaissance and Baroque music that is recommended by leading musicians and teachers, including Michael Schneider and Maurice van Lishout. The book provides an excellent overview - and vividly conveys the paths to "freer" music making - that is helpful not only for specialists, but also for amateurs. “Not only does Martin Erhardt teach us how to improvise on ostinato basses in a historically informed fashion, more importantly, he offers a basic attitude towards music making, which musicians in any style and of any playing level should instantly take to heart.” Prof. Maurice van Lieshout, The Hague “Martin Erhardt’s book … is outstanding for its clear structure; it gives a good overview of common ostinato models between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries and explains these analytically. The reader, whether layman or expert, will fi nd in these methodical and well thoughtout instructions a most welcome and easily applicable guide.” Prof. Markus Jans, Basel “Whether or not a musical idiom is fully understood—including the meaning of rules and regulations—is determined at the very latest, the moment one is faced with the task of expressing oneself ‘freely’— in other words, in an improvisation. … Fortunately, it is possible to educate oneself in this discipline as well and to methodically develop one’s expertise in the practice of improvisation. Martin Erhardt’s book, a product of his many years of practice, both as a performer and as a pedagog, is an important milestone. I strongly recommend it to anyone who is committed to the understanding of Early Music.” Prof. Michael Schneider, Frankfurt am Main

A sequel to First Solos for the Viol, this book provides a basic repertoire of Italian, French, English, Spanish and German music, mostly with a continuo part. These are "performing" pieces selected to be within the range of a competent though less experienced player.

UOEDM11 During its climax, the viol had a reputation for being able to imitate the finest nuances of the human voice and express the deepest feeling of the soul. At the end of the XVIII century, as it was considered too difficult and aristocratic, it became obsolete with respect to the new standards prevailing during that pre-revolutionary period, and it was rapidly deposed by the cello. This last was promoted throughout the whole of Europe by some virtuosi, mostly Italian. And so also Wilhelm Friedrich II, king of Prussia, at first pupil (by correspondence) of Forqueray the son, passed later on to the cello, under the guidance of Duport. In these last years the viol has found its splendour again, and its beautiful repertory, supported by some excellent musicians in concerts, recordings — even at the cine­ma — has obtained the recognition of the wide public and of certain institutions, which have included it in their teaching courses. The teaching of the Ancients, mostly based on direct transmittion and on the imitation of the teacher, has left us only few treatises, often lapidary and adaptable with difficulty to our current didactic methods. Thus, the apprentices of viol, having to face up to the venture of referring to a tradition which was interrupted for two centuries, will certainly welcome this new method with satisfaction. Intentionally devoid of photos and commentaries, this method does not intend to replace the living example of the teacher, but provides, in the form of progressive exercises, an essential help to the development of a synthetic and personal technique on the instrument. Many countries have recognized since long time the advantages offered by the viol in approaching the pleasures of music at different levels: – the different sizes making up the viol family allows the child to grow up having the experience of a superb ensemble repertory; – its humble but essential support role in the basso continuo aids the understanding of the musical structure; – its solo repertory, covering a wide range of styles, contains pieces by composers of great genius.

A reprint (with some additional new material) of the original OUP edition of Alison Crum's essential work for beginner's technique on the viol. The perfect starter collection for any viol player!

A sequel to First Solos for the Viol, this book provides a basic repertoire of Italian, French, English, Spanish and German music, mostly with a continuo part. These are "performing" pieces selected to be within the range of a competent though less experienced player.

UOEDM22 During its climax, the viol had a reputation for being able to imitate the finest nuances of the human voice and express the deepest feeling of the soul. At the end of the XVIII century, as it was considered too difficult and aristocratic, it became obsolete with respect to the new standards prevailing during that pre-revolutionary period, and it was rapidly deposed by the cello. This last was promoted throughout the whole of Europe by some virtuosi, mostly Italian. And so also Wilhelm Friedrich II, king of Prussia, at first pupil (by correspondence) of Forqueray the son, passed later on to the cello, under the guidance of Duport. In these last years the viol has found its splendour again, and its beautiful repertory, supported by some excellent musicians in concerts, recordings — even at the cine­ma — has obtained the recognition of the wide public and of certain institutions, which have included it in their teaching courses. The teaching of the Ancients, mostly based on direct transmittion and on the imitation of the teacher, has left us only few treatises, often lapidary and adaptable with difficulty to our current didactic methods. Thus, the apprentices of viol, having to face up to the venture of referring to a tradition which was interrupted for two centuries, will certainly welcome this new method with satisfaction. Intentionally devoid of photos and commentaries, this method does not intend to replace the living example of the teacher, but provides, in the form of progressive exercises, an essential help to the development of a synthetic and personal technique on the instrument. Many countries have recognized since long time the advantages offered by the viol in approaching the pleasures of music at different levels: – the different sizes making up the viol family allows the child to grow up having the experience of a superb ensemble repertory; – its humble but essential support role in the basso continuo aids the understanding of the musical structure; – its solo repertory, covering a wide range of styles, contains pieces by composers of great genius.

Preface by Biordi: This book has been written for intermediate level viola da gamba students, as a working tool to assist them in their study of scales and arpeggios in every key, covering the instrument’s full extension. The scales and arpeggios develop over two, three or, when possible, four octaves. Some fingering has been included to allow the students to play in parts of the fingerboard rarely used, but of fundamental importance in the study of the more complex repertoire of this instrument. I decided it would be useful to include only the essential fingerings, although in particular cases fingerings have been added to make for easier reading. All position shifts have been indicated. Those notes without fingering are intended to be played without position changes until indicated. In the three-octave scales I used fingering that requires the use of a 4-4 position change, as often appears in Marin Marais’s works for viola da gamba.

UOEDM37 The present Method, devised as an anthology divided into five sections, intends to help satisfy a need, felt by many, for texts for didactic use for the Viola da gamba. It is addressed to those students and teachers who want access to concise, guiding information about the most significant musical -literature dedicated to this instrument. The selection of texts proposed here, conforming to the historical original versions both in the use of graphic symbols for embellishments and more generally with respect to the various styles and notational forms, is intended to aid in the study of the various complete compositions and the respective bibliographical panorama. The original historical European pieces and treatises cited here were chosen from the Renaissance period on as those considered most useful for learning to play the instrument. Bowings and fingering are given for the studies, the scales and arpeggios, as well as in all the -historical compositions which were without them. For didactic purposes the pieces in tablature are printed opposite transcriptions into mensural notation, while those with separate Bass parts are here given in score. Three tables are included summarizing the symbols for fingering, embellishments, dynamics and bowings, extracted from the Avertissements by M. Marais, as found in his five books of Pièces de Viole. The scales, the arpeggios and some studies – for practical reasons – designate the strings by Roman numeral and are provided with a respective Legend . The musical portraits for two viols or viol and basso continuo – given here for didactic use and presented in order of difficulty – are dedicated to viola students and friends. In the Appendix, for the study of the soprano viol in concert , three pieces in trio are provided.

50 difficult excerpts from the bass viol repertoire selected by Alison Crum, with advice on technical aspects of bowing and fingering. Excerpts from Bach, Marais, Telemann, Abel, Couperin, Simpson, Schenk and others.

An English Translation of the Spanish text relating to the playing of divisions and embellishments on the viol edited by Ian Gammie

Essential scale patterns taken across all the strings, with variations in bowing as well as fingerings.

TWV 40: 26–37

48 Tunes from Restoration England arranged for unaccompanied bass viol

Selected Solos for Unaccompanied Bass Viol

with Variants, Examples and Advice for Playing and Improvising on any Instrument

15 essential exercises for the viol, designed and illustrated by Bram Ollieuz. The result is a breathtaking little exercise book (in English) that, through its beauty and clarity, tries to seduce viol players to further develop and improve their basic techniques. Each of the 15 chapters introduces a specific technical aspect of playing the gamba through a simple exercise, followed by variations that gradually become more challenging. What makes this book particularly compelling is the way graphic designer Bram Ollieuz has created a sumptuous and artistic appearance that brings the practicing mind to a place of focus, patience and curiosity. Included in the book is a QR code that directs users to a website with a detailed online video tutorial, in which the author performs all the exercises. 76 pages