Thanks for these comments, John. Perhaps I wasn't clear, but there are TWO "viola" parts. Neither of them have any indication or label (and appear in the vocal part-books). The piece itself is marked "A doi [voce] con Ritornelli di Violini & di Viole à beneplacito". One of these "viola" parts is in C3 clef (with changes to C2 and C4), and it's range is D3-D5. The second is in bass clef all along, and its range is E2-D4. So they both cover about two octaves, and are an octave apart. Does that give any clues?
Dennis
The title indicates that the piece may be played on members of either the violin or viola families. Given the ranges, the parts must be for either for alto and bass viols, or for viola and "basse de violon" (see my other posting). Of course, it would be perfectly legitimate to use cello (introduced ca. 1660) instead. Also, the upper part could be played on tenor viol rather than alto.
Finally, musicians of the period would not have hesitated to combine viola on the top part with bass gamba on the lower.
Andrew Stiller Kallisti Music Press http://home.netcom.com/~kallisti/
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