Early bowed instruments around 1500 (SCB)

Early bowed instruments around 1500 is a research project of the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis (September 2011 - June 2013).

The project focused on the new string instruments that evolved around 1500, in particular the viola da gamba, to describe the general change in concepts of sound that occurred at that time. In spite of the instrument’s great importance in courtly musical culture, research into the early viola da gamba had stagnated since Ian Woodfield’s pioneering study from 1984. Employing an interdisciplinary approach, the project established the lacunae and dealt with the research topic in four related work areas: music history, iconography, organology, and practical music-making.

Part I focused on Italy, and their central document was Silvestro Ganassi’s Regola Rubertina (Venice, 1542/43).