13 Titles - Viola da Gamba Society

The delicate chromaticisms and subtle dissonances of this section, coupled with amost beautiful and expressive melody, are typical of Charpentier's style, and theconcluding ritournelle for treble viol (and continuo) further illustrates [53] the composer'scarefully-conceived writing for the instrument: there are melodic leaps to allow forsympathetic resonance, tasteful and idiomatic ornamentation, 31 and, at the cadencepoint, double stops (lying easily under the hand) to strengthen the harmony. Carefulconsideration has also been given to bowing, and Charpentier provides a passage herein which all short notes following longer dotted ones coincide with back-bows. Incommon with the remaining ritournelles, this first one introduces new material as acontrast to, rather than a reiteration of (as in the Lebègue Motets), the preceding vocalphrase.The second ritournelle concludes the third section of the leçon, where the relativesimplicity of the French-style viol writing comes as a refreshing contrast to the highlyelaborate Italian-style vocal writing (preserved throughout the remaining bars of theleçon) perhaps stemming from Charpentier's period of study under Carissimi in Rome:[54] Picture: ‘Lady playing the [treble] viol’ – engraving by Nicolas Bonnart, c.1690.31