The Viols and Their Cousins: An Historical Note

There exists at present so lively an interest in performing the solo and consort music composed for viols on the instruments for which it was intended that present-day viol makers find it difficult, and the more celebrated ones impossible, to meet the demand for these instruments.' Viols of good quality are now being made in England, Germany and other European countries, and also in the United States and, more recently, in Japan. Many of our colleges and universities now offer instruction in viol playing and some even possess sets of viols to be loaned to students for this purpose. Professional ensembles specializing in historically authentic performances of early music include viols as a matter of course. Such groups are now proliferating so rapidly that there is considerable competition among them to secure concert dates. A very large number of recordings of solo and ensemble works for viols are available. The Viola da Gamba Society of America, with members in at least 38 states (induding Hawaii) and also in Canada, England and other countries, is now near the end of its first decade of existence. In view of all this interest and activity it seemed to this writer appropriate and timely that the present publication should provide ASTA-many of whose members are viol players-with some factual information about the viols, their music, and viol playing in general. The present article, however, will be limited to providing information concerning the origins and nature of European bowed instruments used in performing Western music. First of all, the historical record calls for review inasmuch as many widely used histories of music either do not deal with the subject at all or present misinformation corrected in reliable works on organology as far back as Hajdecki's classic study of 1892. During the latter part of the 15th century the style of popyphonic partwriting underwent substantial changes, the most important of which was the increased exploitation of imitative counterpoint. Where, in medieval music, each part of the polyphony was