Also, keep in mind that Bach's gamba sonatas assumed a 7-string gamba with a low A string (because two of the three sonatas require low B),
Hmm. The only one I'm really familiar with is the G major, and that one certainly doesn't require the newfangled 7th string. Also please note that the gamba obbligato in the St. John Passion (No. 58 in the old numbering), which he wrote a year after leaving Coethen, was for a 6-string instrument, as are the Brandenburg parts in No. 6, while the gamba parts in the St. Matthew Passion do require the 7th string. By 1729 he was not only aware of the modification introduced by St. Colombe and Marais, but had someone with an instrument that would play the parts.
John
-- John & Susie Howell Virginia Tech Department of Music Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.A 24061-0240 Vox (540) 231-8411 Fax (540) 231-5034 (mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]) http://www.music.vt.edu/faculty/howell/howell.html _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
