Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleus (c. 1824-1887) put a Tourte-style bow (with a rather elegant bow hold) in the hand of this musician, and he placed the instrument in a position that was far more modest than the way the viola da gamba is actually played. How the instrument remains aloft is a mystery to me, but I still love this sculpture.
Here is a nice collection of paintings and drawings of people playing violas da gamba with the appropriate bow.
A few years ago I heard a viol player explain why the instrumet requires an underhanded bow and bow hold. The violin was not considered an instrument for ladies to play because the lifting of the arm (and perhaps exposing the armpit) was considered obscene. It seems that the viola da gamba was considered an instrument appropriate for ladies to play because the powers that were created a bow that made it possible to move the forearm without lifting the upper arm.
Speaking of violas da gamba, there was also a Gainsborough painting of Carl Friedrich Abel (1728-1787) at the Huntington Library.
And here's one of Abel's wonderful solo pieces for viola da gamba:
1 comment:
"A few years ago I heard a viol player explain why the instrument requires an underhanded bow and bow hold."
I thought we held it that way because it was the most comfortable, relaxed position to bow an instrument between your legs. And because you can finesse your bow stroke. The goal isn't to get the loudest volume to reach someone in the back of the audience.
"The violin was not considered an instrument for ladies to play because the lifting of the arm."
I wouldn't consider it an instrument for anyone but a special kind of masochist: the position is unnatural, leading to all kinds of stress problems in your finger and bow arm, not to mention having it up next to your ear drum. With the viol, if you get muscle strains or stress tension, you're doing it wrong (ok, excepting bastarda or late French virtuoso playing). When you can sit there completely relaxed, playing, you've mastered the action.
The woman sculpted here obviously has a long way to go :)
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