Viol - Treatises

Treatises

Descriptions and illustrations of viols are found in numerous early 16th-century musical treatises, including those authored by:

• Sebastian Virdung: Musica getutsch, 1511
• Hans Judenkunig: Ain schone kunstliche Vunderwaisung, 1523
• Martin Agricola: Musica instrumentalis deutsch, 1528
• Hans Gerle: Musica Teusch (or Teutsch), 1532

Both Agricola's and Gerle's works were published in various editions.

There were then several important treatises concerning or devoted to the viol. The first was by Silvestro Ganassi dal Fontego: Regola Rubertina & Lettione Seconda (1542/3). Diego Ortiz published Trattado de Glosas (Rome, 1553), an important book of music for the viol with both examples of ornamentation and pieces called Recercadas. In England, Christopher Simpson wrote the most important treatise, with the second edition being published in 1667 in parallel text (English and Latin). This has divisions at the back that are very worthwhile repertoire. A little later, in England, Thomas Mace wrote Musick's Monument, which deals more with the lute but has an important section on the viol. After this, the French treatises by Machy (1685), Rousseau (1687), Danoville (1687), and Loulie (1700) show further developments in playing technique.