Frederick the Great and His Musicians: the Viola Da Gamba Music of the Berlin School

After decades of stagnation, the performing arts began to flourish in Berlin under Frederick the Great. A group of musician-composers were recruited who were to form the basis of a brilliant court ensemble, including C.P.E. Bach and the Graun brothers. They wrote music for the viola da gamba, an instrument which was already becoming obsolete elsewhere. They were encouraged by the presence of Ludwig Christian Hesse, one of the last gamba virtuosi, who was described in 1766 as...
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After decades of stagnation, the performing arts began to flourish in Berlin under Frederick the Great. A group of musician-composers were recruited who were to form the basis of a brilliant court ensemble, including C.P.E. Bach and the Graun brothers. They wrote music for the viola da gamba, an instrument which was already becoming obsolete elsewhere. They were encouraged by the presence of Ludwig Christian Hesse, one of the last gamba virtuosi, who was described in 1766 as 'unquestionably the finest gambist in Europe'. This study shows how the unique situation in Berlin produced the last major corpus of music written for the viola da gamba, and how the more virtuosic works were probably the result of close collaboration between Hesse and the Berlin School composers. The reader is also introduced to the more approachable pieces which were written and arranged for amateur viol players, including the king's nephew and ultimate successor, Frederick William II. The book will appeal to professional and amateur viola da gamba players as well as to scholars of eighteenth-century German music.