Performers:
André Lislevand viola da gamba
Kore Orchestra
Joanna Boślak-Górniok harpsichord, artistic direction

Programme
Tomaso Albinoni
Sonata VI a cinque in G minor, Op. 2 No. 11 [8′].
Georg Philipp Telemann
Overture in D major for viol da gamba, strings and basso continuo TWV 55:D6 [30′]
... pause [20′].
Francesco Geminiani / Johann Georg Pisendel
Sonata à quattro in C minor based on Concerto grosso, Op. 2 No. 2 [8′].
Johann Gottlieb Graun
Concerto in D major for viol da gamba, strings and basso continuo GraunWV A:XIII:4 [30′]

According to 18th-century accounts, the French violinist Jean-Baptiste Volumier, as concertmaster, brought the Dresden court orchestra to the level of one of the best ensembles in Europe. After Volumier's death in 1728, the position of concertmaster was taken over by the virtuoso of the instrument, Johann Georg Pisendel. Before obtaining this position, however, Pisendel developed his violin skills in Venice, among other places, where he not only studied with Antonio Vivaldi, but also befriended his master. The friendship resulted in mutual dedications of works, as well as Pisendel's transcription of Vivaldi's compositions. He also transcribed works by other composers, such as Francesco Geminiani, whose Concerto grosso Op. 2 No. 2 he arranged as a Sonata à quattro. The violinist's talent was also appreciated by other composers (including Tomaso Albinoni), who addressed dedications to Pisendel in their works. He also passed on his outstanding skills as a teacher, and one of his most famous pupils was Johann Gottlieb Graun, the author of virtuoso concertos for viola da gamba. They were also influenced by great virtuosos - they were composed with the outstanding gambist Ludwig Christian Hess in mind. In turn, the latter probably learned to play the gamba from his own father, Ernst Christian, who had previously studied in Paris under Marin Marais and Antoine Forqueray himself.

Simply put... the Philharmonic! Project 4:

If one were to assign a specific instrument to each country of particular importance on the musical scene of Baroque Europe, the viola da gamba would certainly fall to France. Such an attempt to find national connections to instruments was also made by the 18th-century gambist, Hubert Le Blanc, who opened his treatise on the instrument with the statement:

The Divine Intelligence, among its many gifts, endowed mortals with Harmony. The violin fell to the Italians, the flute to the Germans, the harpsichord to the English, and the basse de viole to the French.

Although the roots of the French school of gambium playing can be traced back to England (the first chord compositions were written there and the English are credited with spreading the instrument to the continent), it was on the Seine where some of the instrument's greatest virtuosos worked and where its construction was perfected. Foreign musicians also trained in France, such as the German gambist Ernst Christian Hesse. The lute can be regarded as an instrument related to the viol da gamba. Pieces for this instrument were taken as models for his compositions for the gamba by, among others, Antoine Forqueray, a musician contemporary of Marin Marais. In their day, the eminent lute player, theorist and guitarist Robert de Visée, who was also a gamba player, worked in the band of King Louis XIV at Versailles, as Jean Rousseau mentions in one of his letters.

The similarity between gamba and lute may also have been noticed by Johann Sebastian Bach. This is evidenced by the aria Komm süsses Kreuz from the St Matthew Passion BWV 244, in which the composer envisaged a solo part for the viola da gamba. In the original version, however, the solo instrument there was the lute.