Bach: Sonatas for Viola da Gamba and Harpsichord

Featuring

Paolo Pandolfo
Markus Hunninger
Harry van der Kamp
François Joubert-Caillet
Michael Chance
Johann Sebastian Bach

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Composition History

The Sonata in G major (BWV 1027) also exists in an earlier version for two flutes and thoroughbass (BWV 1039), suggesting Bach's flexibility in instrumentation.

Compositional Technique

Bach's three Sonatas for viola da gamba and obbligato harpsichord are notable for their integrative concept, where the harpsichord's right hand plays the second upper voice and the left hand plays the bass, creating a dense polyphonic texture.

Historical Context

The viola da gamba, after 1700, was primarily used in sacred music with programmatic intent, symbolizing transience and sorrow, similar to its depiction in Baroque still-life paintings.

Interpretation

The performers, Paolo Pandolfo (viola da gamba) and Markus Hünninger (harpsichord), allowed themselves interpretative liberties, such as interchanging voices and repeating the Adagio from the Second Sonata, to enhance musical enjoyment and adhere to 18th-century performance practice.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Johann Sebastian Bach, a virtuoso harpsichordist and organist, was particularly interested in elevating the keyboard instrument from its traditional role as a mere accompanying instrument.

Critical Reception

Johann Adolph Scheibe, a contemporary critic, included the viola da gamba in 1773 among the "pleasant instruments which are going out of fashion," highlighting its declining popularity.

Interpretation

Paolo Pandolfo, the viola da gamba performer, has spent thirty years associating with Bach's Sonatas to free himself from a "quarrelsome attitude" between the instruments.