Each summer, enthusiasts
gather for a week to celebrate, play, and discuss an instrument that
lost popularity when the violin family rose to fame a few hundred
years ago—the viola da gamba. Judging from the passion and enthusiasm
of the nearly 250 gambists at the 40th annual Viola da Gamba Conclave,
the instrument is thriving. The Viola da Gamba Society of America
boasts over 1,000 members, and attendance at the annual Conclave has
been steadily climbing. The week of playing, studying, and sharing
information is held each year in a different locale. The 2002 Conclave
took place at Franklin Pierce College in Rindge, New Hampshire, a
bucolic campus nestled below Mt. Monadnock, the popular peak that
figured in the spiritual writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry
David Thoreau. Focusing on the works of British composer William Lawes,
born 400 years ago, the event was aptly entitled "Olde Englande in
New England" and featured 28 faculty members, including the fabulous
British gamba ensemble Fretwork. Conclave participants ranged in age
from 17 to 80.
The focus of this
gathering is the viola da gamba, a six-stringed, fretted instrument
held between the knees (thus the name, derived from the Italian word
for leg), and played with an underhanded bow grip. For chamber or
consort music, it basically comes in three sizes: treble, tenor and
bass, all tuned with intervals of fourths between most of the adjacent
strings, with a third between the middle two strings. The bass instrument
is tuned an octave below the treble.
Come Together
The annual conclave
brings together people of all levels and abilities, as well as instruments
of all varieties. It always includes free classes for local adult
beginners to spur interest wherever conclaves are held.
Liam Byrne, 20, entered
Indiana University as a double bass player, but recently switched
to a gamba major. When he came to the conclave this year, Byrne had
played only bass viol, but soon played in many groups on all different
instruments. He found the conclave "really fantastic. You get to hear
all sorts of ideas and styles," he says. "The faculty consists of
seasoned players, and you have access to incredible resources. People
are really generous—you can play anyone's instrument. For one
week of your life people don't get bored when you talk about gamba
for hours on end!"
The viola da gamba
was a favorite instrument in the Renaissance and Baroque periods,
and has enjoyed revivals since the late 19th century. The Viola da
Gamba Society of America was founded in 1963. While its members are
predominantly amateur gambists, they take their instruments quite
seriously.
Conclave coordinator
Kathy Schenley, who began gamba as an adult, puts it this way: "The
gamba is user-friendly for the older beginner," she says. "There is
a wealth of literature that is not technically demanding in terms
of speed. It may be rhythmically challenging, though. But it's lots
of fun. Once you get to an upper intermediate level, you can play
all the different sizes of instrument and learn the music from all
different viewpoints. The music from this period was very democratic,
and was written as participatory music."
Conclave attendees
sometimes participate at unusual times, and in unusual ways. "Ten
years ago (when the group last played at a conclave), Fretwork also
performed Lawes," society treasurer Ken Perlow recalls. "It turned
out that in the jumble of things, one of the players was lacking a
page of music. When she got to the missing page, she stopped playing
and shrugged. Members of the audience, assuming she was lost, started
to hum her part! People in the society really appreciate this music,
and really know it."
Consort Highlight
Fretwork's fabulous
performance of Lawes' intricate consort music, put on in conjunction
with Monadnock Music in Peterborough, New Hampshire, was a highlight
of this year's conclave. It was played in the round, and conclave
members enthusiastically embraced the performance and demanded an
encore. "It's the most brilliant audience we've had anywhere in the
world," says Fretwork member Wendy Gillespie.
Conclave participant
Martha Davidson points out that "250 people in the audience know the
music inside and out."
"They know if we
make mistakes," Gillespie adds, "but they don't call us on it."
The Fretwork members
each coached three groups a day at the conclave, and clearly enjoyed
the experience. "I think it's fantastic to have so many players,"
says Fretwork member Suzanna Pell. "We don't have nearly so many in
England."
Once reason for the
popularity of the event is its status in the music world. "It's a
great opportunity to meet up with old friends," says Fretwork member
Richard Campbell, adding that "some of these (conclave) people have
studied with Fretwork in England and Greece. It's also fascinating
to teach Lawes, to hear the music from the outside."
The conclave week
is packed with chances to play and listen to gamba music, as well
as hear lectures on related subjects. The event opens with a big "bow-in"
in which participants were advised to "bring one instrument to play
and a music stand." For the rest of the week, participants
have three coached classes a day, and most signed up for a fourth
uncoached consort as well. As participant Lou Conover puts it, "I
come because I get to play this music. It's the only chance I get
to play consort music all year, since there's no consort in my neighborhood."
Each afternoon there
are miniconcerts held under a tent (appropriately called "Twin Peaks"),
and evenings include lectures and more consorts. I sat in on an evening
group of 10 gambists sightreading music composed by society members.
Society music director (and powerhouse) Martha Bishop mentions that
"it's sometimes hard to get gambists to play new music, but we're
working on it." Actually, the Society actively pursues new compositions:
Every three years it holds a competition for new works for gambas
and publishes the winning compositions.
The Doctor Is In
Also available at
the conclave are a "viol doctor" to fix ailing viols, a bow rehairer,
a bookstore, and an instrument-maker exhibit. Kathy Schenley says
that the growing popularity of the instruments can be defined by the
ready availability of equipment. Viols used to be constructed only
by a few specialty shops, she explains, but that is changing rapidly.
Maker and conclave participant Charlie Ogle used to make student instruments,
but now prefers to fine-tune and set up ones being produced in the
Czech Republic. He is planning to travel to China with his own viol
designs to help start a viol shop there.
"If your kid comes
home and wants to play the violin, you can rent one," he says, "but
with the viol, it's been a different story. Lessons are probably going
to be two hours away, and if you can find an instrument it will cost
$5,000. You don't get people starting on the viol unless they are
already committed. So I'm working on getting affordable student instruments
[to the public]."
Ogle loves the conclaves.
"Today I handed players different instruments to try during a dress
rehearsal, then listened to Fretwork," he says. "I've got a pile of
instruments that someone might want to take home. It's paradise. What
could be better?"
For more details
about the Viola da Gamba Society of America and early music links,
visit www.vdgsa.org.
