The viola da gamba | Netherlands Bach Society

The viola da gamba, or informally gamba, is a string instrument that is mostly used in music from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The instrument also appears in some of Bach's music, such as the St John's Passion and the St Matthew Passion. In this short documentary, gamba player Mieneke van der Velden from the Netherlands Bach Society shows the special characteristics of the viola da gamba and what sets the instrument apart from other string instruments such as the cello or double bass.
Recorded for the project All of Bach on 16 November 2021 in Utrecht. If you want to help us complete All of Bach, please subscribe to our channel bit.ly/2vhCeFB and consider donating bit.ly/2uZuMj5.
All of Bach is a project of the Netherlands Bach Society / Nederlandse Bachvereniging, offering high-quality film recordings of the works by Johann Sebastian Bach, performed by the Netherlands Bach Society and its guest musicians. Visit our free online treasury for more videos and background material www.bachvereniging.nl/en/allo.... For concert dates and further information go to www.bachvereniging.nl/nederla....
Mieneke van der Velden, viola da gamba

[@gregmonks]

The thing about da gambas is there's no substitute for getting right up close and personal and playing one. You can't record how it feels to play one. There's so much the listener, not only doesn't hear, but can never hear. The recordings of the late 1950's, right up until the mid-70's, managed to get close- a lot closer than today. Digital recording is missing something.

[@altruisticphilanthropic4647]

I've been a huge fan of NBS for years now, and have greatly appreciated Mieneke van der Velden's musicianship since my first hearing/viewing. These interview videos are always interesting/enlightening, and this one is certainly no exception. My favorite part (beyond her demonstration of particular Gambia-specific techniques) was the twinkle in her eyes as she pointed out some special features of, "This gamba...my instrument". Yes indeed, your instrument is beautiful...as are you, multi-beauteous, Mieneke. // NBS, never cease...ever.

[@stephenjones101]

I've always loved the sound of this instrument, but never knew anything at all about it. I thought it must be similar to a cello. Boy was I wrong. I clicked on this hoping to listen to Bach, but got a lot more. Thanks for posting this.

[@cyrillekaouche-ps7jq]

Seven strings...passion and maestria...and here's a Masterpiece...Timeless...

[@wichbe]

i could listen to this wonderful artist speak and play forever! thank you!

The difference in up/down bowing is really interesting and explains why the chords are structured the way they are.

[@nolyspe]

Amazing video. Wild to think this is a 400 years old instrument!

[@ehrasmu]

I really love this baroque instrument The most. It has a different charm and you can hear every kind of sound in The Same moment. Marvelous! And yes. The movie “All The mornings of The World” was amazing and has a strong effect on my gamba love.

[@manubet100]

Viola da Gamba and Oboe da Caccia my two favourites intruments. Lady you are a one absolute Master!!! Congratulations All of Bach greetings from Preu.

[@violjohn]

Beautiful! I love your playing; such a wonderful warm sound. I’ve played the St John part in a concert and find it almost overwhelming. As you say; a pity Bach wrote relatively little for the viol. Thanks for this clip 🙏

[@mertnecati875]

Sweet presentation. By the way 07:11 C.F.Abel- WKO 207

[@MusicaAngela]

It’s amazing how she can change her technique to play right on the fret to make vibrato or just behind the fret for non-vibrato.

[@caneti3]

6:10 Great answer about how to hold the bow

[@richardvanweyden5060]

Hartelijk dank voor je geweldige presentatie van dit unieke instrument en natuurlijk je persoonlijke manier om het te bespelen of beter gezegd tot leven te brengen voor ons! Viele Grüße 🌹

[@Oaktreealley]

I would love to learn the gamba. Early music instruments and that whole sound, which is gentle yet still with much feeling, just feeds my soul!

[@truekingvictory]

Another amazing detail of the viol was the use of the double frets, which you can see if you look closely at them. This was done so the fret could be moved into configurations such that certain cords could be played perfectly in tune, which cannot be achieved by a perfectly straight fret.

[@johnchessant3012]

Very intrigued by this rarely played instrument. I really love the BWV 1028 sonata for viola da gamba and harpsichord

[@TenorCantusFirmus]

Those three Sonatas are Masterworks.

[@humblegeorge]

Brilliant Lady and a wonderful musician .

[@avielp]

Everything about this is inspiring. I love how she speaks whatever language this is, I like how modest and professional she is, I like the instrument.. Oh I also appreciate the production! Kudos mister video editor!

[@SilvioNobre]

So beautiful and necessary Bach!

[@thadcockrill5608]

I love watching her perform. First saw her in that wonderful trio sonata video. These videos are just brilliant. Thank you.

[@timmy9796]

new nbs upload ! on a tuesday ! an entire 10 minute video !

[@annedwyer797]

Thank you for this great informational video (and the subtitles). I fell in love with the gamba after hearing Jordi Savall and seeing "Tous les Matins du Monde" thirty yrs ago. The gamba looks more physically demanding than the cello (the fingering, plus there's no end pin, so you really have to grip it with yr knees). That makes me appreciate it even more.

[@truekingvictory]

Actually, placed properly, the viol can sit between the knees without gripping, and the underhand bow grip feels much more ergonomic than the overhand grip. There certainly are physical challenges for smaller individuals playing the base viol, such as reaching to play the low strings, where one has to actually push the viol forwards with the left hand to shorten the reach between the bow and the low strings. When I still played the viol, I got around this by mostly playing the treble viol 😁

[@victoreijkhout6146]

What's challenging about the gamba (at least to me) is that you have 7 strings in the amount of curvature where a cello has 4. If your bow angle is slightly off you hit an extra string. Ms van der Velden was not kidding that those big jumps in that Bach area are hard.

[@grafvonsylt]

Very Good Video, about this wonderful Instrument!

[@margheritagalasso947]

Grande, grandissima M.me van der Velden 🌹and a great inspiration for us players

[@a-8007]

Lovely! Thank you for featuring this instrument

[@DavidJones-oh6vg]

Thank you for this enlightening video. Could listen to Mieneke for ever! Fascinating. NBS is the best!

[@walbassman]

Thank you Mieneke. I learned a lot. Loved your playing in the St John Passion.

[@alejandrohp99]

Mieneke, outstanding as always!

[@truekingvictory]

Thank you for the wonderful video! You brought back warm memories of my viol lessons in college. We were blessed by a masterclass from none other than Jordi Savall. Watching and listening to such a grandmaster is something no one would ever forget.

[@Luciana-xd4cy]

What a beautiful instrument!!!

[@lenanielsen5903]

Thank you Mieneke for a very intresting video about your instrument that has an absolutely wonderful sound🍃love it

[@OrganicGuitarExplorer]

Very interesting! Thank you for sharing this amazing rich sounding rare instrument which you play wonderfully.

[@RobMacKillop1]

Wonderful playing and presentation, Mieneke! Great to see a performer physically involved in articulating the music. I look forward to hearing more of your playing.

[@grrre87]

I loved this. Thank you.

[@kfl611]

I like the commentary along with the examples of the music. This was very informative, thank you for posting.

[@patriciobarrera1330]

Gracias. Una leccion sobre mi instrumento favorito

[@peilinli-cellist]

i have been a huge fan of Netherland Bach Society. i like your bach peices.It is very joyful.

[@JeSerra]

So beautiful !

[@fiddlestix3025]

Great presentation there by Mieneke van dear Velden. I enjoyed that so very much. The many questions I always had are explained so well here, and it all makes perfect sense to me. What a beautiful sounding instrument, -and so interesting to understand it’s place in the evolution of music and string playing… Gorgeous playing and phrasing by Mieneke! She deserves this exquisite instrument; I love how she makes it breathe and sing~! 🙏

[@lessismore4470]

illuminating and beautiful

[@robertlisternicholls]

I was brought here after reading the book The Violinist of Auschwitz where this wonderful instrument is mentioned. I had not heard of it before. It has a beautiful sound.

[@barroco05]

Beautiful instrument and sound.

[@PORIO171]

Great video as always learned a lot about this intrument after seeing it pop up in so many of the videos

[@NigelXW]

What a lovely instrument and player

[@rasmusn.e.m1064]

Fascinating details in this one!

[@mariavanhoof7961]

Bedankt Mieneke voor deze leerzame uitleg over dit mooie instrument, wat ik voor het eerst heb leren kennen door Jordi Savall, ik woon in Spanje. De NBS heb ik pas ontdekt gedurende de eerste Corona- confinatie in voorjaar 2020, toen alle muziek stil kwam te liggen. Per toeval ontdekte ik toen KZbin en daarop de NBS en dát heeft me door de confinatie heen gesleept. GROTE DANK voor jullie Bach-muziek-onderwijs ♥️

[@MichaelBxl]

Incroyable vidéo ! Merci

[@amor9501]

Beautiful miusic!!!!

[@clauvs3965]

What a wonderful video!

[@Artist_Aejoo]

너무 아름답고, 최고입니다♡

[@andy_14]

Felicitaciones a la NBS por este trabajo extraordinario de mantener vivos instrumentos tan antiguos.

[@victoreijkhout6146]

Fantastic explanation. Thanks!

[@thinkbaroque]

Gorgeous instrument. You play it beautifully.

[@404rimless9]

V-e-r-y interesting! Thank you! I‘m from Germany, but understood her, without the subtiles! Liked and Subscribed!

[@MiScusi69]

Love it!

[@HammAlexander]

Wauw!!!! Prachtig wat een instrument!

[@005422iyy]

So beutiful and informative! Thank you so much :)

[@ChemicalOrbit]

Very very nice, I didn't expect that sound at all. I has the good things from a violin and a cello.

[@elderlourenco-biomusica3644]

Muito boa suas colocações. Gostei 👏

[@cstiska]

I love this instrument

[@prcs420]

wat mooi!! zij speelt heel goed, en dit instrument is ook geweldig 😊 fantastische video

[@jessemantyh796]

Fantastic video, fantastic instrument and this musician is dripping with cool!! If I can be one half as cool as she is when I'm her age I will consider myself very blessed indeed

[@6012reasol]

beautiful instrument

[@THRASHMETALFUNRIFFS]

Super awesome, very interesting!

[@pianinster]

こんな楽器があったんだなぁ。なんとも言えない哀愁に満ちた素晴らしい音を奏でる…

[@joriankell1983]

What a cool instrument

[@nicolaasstam1611]

Erg interessant, dank!!

[@fitzwilliamontour]

Dank u wel.

[@andy_14]

Hermoso instrumento.

[@andy_14]

Saludos desde Sudamérica.

[@litoboy5]

GREAT

[@SonicPhonic]

What a great video. Meinekie really knows what she's talking about and is very honest and detailed-a true virtuoso. I was wondering why I couldn't understand her German, I was reading the notes, but then I realized she's not talking German. Is she speaking Dutch?

[@bach]

Yes, she speaks Dutch indeed

[@andy_14]

¡Qué cultura!

[@erinpeterson9801]

I had no idea this existed

[@lesgibson969]

omg awesome

[@Ipsifendis]

the bowing is underhand because many of the west's bowed instruments were adapted versions of eastern bowed instruments, such two-stringed instruments as the morin khuur (which the mongols took far afield during their campaigns of conquest) and the chinese erhu, both of which are bowed underhand. these instruments are bowed underhand because the bow is strung so that the hair goes between the two strings, making it inseparable from the strings. to bow the top string one pushes "upbow" and the top string is played by the "inside" of the hair. to play the bottom string you pull "downbow", which plays the bottom string with the "outside" of the hair. the underhand bowing method was possible since they were all played while sitting (hence gamben/gamba) and all possessed two strings. one could use gravity while seated to one's advantage with the push-pull method of playing the strings. BUT fast-forward to the early 1600s when italian instrument makers developed a four-stringed, hand/neck-held (braccia/bratschen) instrument which we all know as the violin. this moved the action to the neck level, from which position the push-pull method of bowing became impossible, because to pull the bow upward to engage the inside of the hair to play the top string introduced the awkwardness of pulling the entire instrument out of its playing position; furthermore, being hand/neck held, one could use gravity in a different way when bowing "french" bowhand that one could not use with the gambas. this is why all hand-held instruments of the violin family use overhand bowing while the lower instruments use the "old world" method of bowing, which is underhand. a bass and a cello could, for example, still use this underhand bowing if they had two strings and a fixed bow strung between them, but for purposes of geometry this can not work with any more than two strings. the west wished to expand upon the range of sound of the stringed instruments and expanded the number of strings from two, but because of this increase, the bow had to be free of the strings. if you try to bow a violin or viola with the underhand grip, you will find that much more of your right arm gets in the way as it moves closer to the instrument, as well as giving you virtually no finger control and dexterity, as the bow is held with a claw hand. with bass instruments - whose original role was not virtuosic - their lesser dexterity with the underhand grip wasn't an issue. with smaller, hand/neck held instruments whose role was virtuosic, bow control was much more important, and overhand bowing offers superior bow control versus underhand especially in the hand/neck held instruments.

[@igarok6520]

Please, make video about Viola d'amore!

[@dreamer_4937]

Gosh that was incredible. Thank you for your amazing knowledge! Are all those points of technique like the French vibrato understood by all gamba players as a default?

[@vaughangarrick]

It is my favourite instrument and I never learned to play it

[@brunosampaio2399]

Wow, beautiful! And without fine tunings on the bridge side it must be very difficult to tune, specially with gut strings!

[@SebastiaanHolStadsgids]

Méér Viola's da Gamba in Nederland! 😊

[@theshapeexists]

I'm a classically trained guitar player and I would kill to be able to learn this instrument. How is it tuned traditionally i wonder? I've seen pictures but this is the first time I've heard it played solo. Stunning instrument.

[@junkfoodisgood69]

Seven strings, kinda like Korn. This thing and woman are metal af.

[@tinekerodel4494]

Interessant, vooral dat er gitaar acoorden mee te spelen zijn.

[@marysinclair2468]

It's a shame that this beautiful and versatile instrument fell out of favor.

[@681278]

I was utterly transfixed.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

If you wanted to use a Viola da Gamba in an Orchestra, you would have to put Steel Strings on it, Metal Frets, etc.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

That's why I use Aquila F-Reds

[@potatofryGaming]

great video! Does anyone know what the piece she started playing at 7:11 is called?

[@amtalbot3776]

It sounds like Carl Friedrich Abel's arpeggio in D minor.

[@genewood9062]

The matching gamba in a museum. Is it played regularly? Is that necessary to retain its musical qualities?

[@gothfather8741]

Hi, I am new to tbe Viola Da Gamba and I have a few questions, if you don't mind. Can you please confirm why the gamba has only 7 frets? Is it possible to play without frets? How many semitone (notes) does the neck have for each string ? Thanks!

[@bach]

Hi, in answer to your questions: - We tie the frets to the fingerboard/ neck - it would not be possible to tie more frets as the neck has a curve and ends around the place of the 7th fret. - Without frets it will sound less resonant and some chords will be impossible - after the 7 semitones with frets we can continue playing till the end of the fingerboard if necessary - (usually only on the top string(s)) Depending on how the gamba is built, +~up to 2 octaves total

[@gothfather8741]

​​@@bachthanks for your answers! That is around 24 frets on the guitar fretboard. Very versatile instrument.

[@zamplify]

Haydn wrote a lot of music for the viola de gamba because his patron played it.

[@Rylee_G]

Cello/viol/ukulele/beatbox gang

[@Thetruepianoman]

Does anyone know the piece at 0:45? Many thanks and kisses in advance

[@enteranamehere3242]

It's the linked aria at the end of the video kzbin.info/www/bejne/d4erXomCprSMfac

[@loveseat-honey]

What songs are included in this video?

[@bach]

Komm, süsses Kreuz from St Matthew Passion: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d4erXomCprSMfac, the Second viola da gamba sonata, BWV 1028: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jofXnKuqrLyla68 and a piece without title bij Carl Friedrich Abel

[@melcrose]

We lost a lot moving to cello.

[@knownothing5518]

This one is for the viola gang.

[@ai-d2121]

Wat zou eventueel een werkende-niet-darmensnaar zijn? Vraag ik me af als niet-muzikant? Nylon? Als in klassieke gitaar?

[@Kupfergard]

Does anyone knows what pice she is playing at 7:12 ?

[@Kupfergard]

Never mind I found it; it is "Carl Friedrich Abel's arpeggio in D minor" for anyone else wondering :)