Viola da Gamba, Unaccompanied

James Williamson

Program

 Fantasia No. 7, g minor  Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–1767)

Andante

Vivace

Allegro

Sonata 5 from “L’ Echo du Danube,” op. 9 Jan Schenck (1660–1712)

Adagio

Gavotta

Adagio

Aria

Fantasia No. 10, e major Georg Philipp Telemann

Dolce – Allegro

Siciliana

Scherzando

Prelude Carl Friederich Abel (1723–1787)

Adagio

(Minuet)

(Allegro)

Montreal based viola da gambist James Williamson will offer the Munching with Mozart audience an unaccompanied recital of music from eighteenth century Germany. This will be an opportunity to hear beautiful baroque music played on an instrument that is somewhat out of the ordinary. The viola da gamba is a relative of both the guitar and the cello which was extremely popular in Europe during the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. It has seven strings and frets like the guitar but is played with a bow. The repertoire written for it takes advantage of its ability to both sustain melodies and play lots of chords. This recital will feature several of the recently rediscovered fantasias for solo viola da gamba by Georg Philipp Telemann. To put these pieces into context, there will also be pieces by lesser-known composers of the era who were virtuosi of the viola da gamba: Jan Schenk and Carl Friederich Abel.

James Williamson, viola da gamba, has appeared with a number of early music groups in Montreal and Ottawa including the Arion Baroque Orchestra, Companie Baroque du Montreal, and les Plaisirs du Clavecin. Formerly based in Boston, MA, some highlights of his time there included performing with the Boston Camerata, and being a regular member of the professional viol consort Long & Away. James is an avid continuo and solo player on both bass viol and baroque cello, and has presented a number of recitals focussing on the unaccompanied repertoire.  In addition to his activity as a string player, James is a professional chorister who has performed with groups such as Studio Musique Ancienne de Montreal, Ensemble Origo, and the Choir of the Church of the Advent, and is currently a section leader at Christ Church Cathedral in Montreal. Outside of performance, he is an active member of the Viola da Gamba Society of America, where he led the "Consort Cooperative" program for two years and has taught at workshops for the Viola da Gamba Society of New England and Amherst Early Music. He holds a Master of Music in early music performance from the Longy School of Music in Cambridge Massachusetts where his mentors included Phoebe Carrai and Jane Hershey.

Thanks go to Penny Hanna for the loan of the Peter Hütmansberger viol after Bertrand that will be heard on this concert.