Solo

For the past thirty years, Paolo Pandolfo has been one of the leading viola da gambists of his generation, researching and promoting the repertoire of his instrument in all directions. In 1989, he was appointed successor to Jordi Savall as professor of viola da gamba at his alma mater, the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis (SCB), a position he holds to the present day. On this new recording in the SCB series on Glossa, Pandolfo presents the complete solo pieces for ‘lyra viol’ included in Alfonso Ferrabosco’s 1609 London publication Lessons for 1. 2. and 3. Viols. The lyra viol is a special type of viola da gamba that includes sympathetic resonant strings under the normal strings, thereby creating a fascinating sonority that often seems produced by more than one instrument.

Thomas Zehetmair, one of the great violinists of our time, re-visits the solo works of Bach, the summit of the violin repertory. Using period instruments, Zehetmair plays the music with vividness and intelligence to produce a recording that is deeply steeped in the music and at the same time original. The album was recorded at Propstei St. Gerold and is issued as a double CD with texts by Peter Gülke and Thomas Zehetmair.