13 Titles - Viola da Gamba Society

Mr. Thomas Balser, A germanMr. Thomas Bates.Mr. John Banister. 9There is no doubt that Baltzar was in good company: all six of them hadeither held Court posts before the Civil War, or, like Baltzar, were destined tofind employment there at the Restoration. All of them, with the exception ofHumphrey Madge, were established composers, and three of them, Bates,Webb and Gibbons, were among those listed by John Playford in 1651 as‘excellent and able Masters’. 10[6] It is worth turning aside from the narrative of Baltzar’s life for a momentto consider what instruments the six played in The Siege of Rhodes, since detailedinformation about instrumental ensembles in the English theatre of the periodis very scarce. Although the instrumental music by Coleman and Hudson forthe opera has not survived, or at least it cannot be precisely identified amongtheir surviving works, it is very likely that it was either in three parts, for twoviolins and continuo, or in four parts, for two violins, viola or tenor viol andcontinuo; these were the two most popular combinations for theatre music andthe lighter types of chamber music. 11 I think that we can assume that Baltzarand Banister, two of the most celebrated violinists of the day, played the twoviolin parts. Humphrey Madge was also a string player, a member of theRestoration Private Music; he may have played either the bass, on bass violinor bass viol, or the tenor, on viola or tenor viol. As a Gentleman of the ChapelRoyal before the Civil War and a noted singing teacher, William Webb wouldprobably have played the theorbo, since singers at this period were nearlyalways lutenists as well who could provide their own accompaniments. ThomasBates was a viol player who received a post in the ‘Lutes, Viols and Voices’section of the royal music at the Restoration; like many viol players then andnow, he probably also played the theorbo. Christopher Gibbons, an organist ofthe Chapel Royal and a court virginal player during the Restoration period,undoubtedly played the keyboard. Thus, if the music was in four parts, the sixmay well have played the following instruments:Thomas Baltzar and John BanisterHumphrey MadgeThomas BatesWilliam WebbChristopher Gibbonsviolinviola or tenor violbass violtheorboharpsichordIf the music was three-part, then the following layout seems the most likely:Thomas Baltzar and John BanisterHumphrey MadgeWilliam Webb and Thomas BatesChristopher Gibbonsviolinbass violin or bass violtheorboharpsichord9 I am grateful to Tim Crawford for letting me use a copy of the 1656 text in his possessionthat includes the extra leaf.10 Percy A. ‘Scholes: The Puritans and Music (Oxford, 1934/R 1969, p. 16611 See, for instance: The Rare Theatrical by Matthew Locke, US-NYp, Drexel MS 3976; Cupid andDeath (1659) by Matthew Locke and Christopher Gibbons, edited by Edward Dent inMusica Britannica, ii London, 2/1965); Curtis Price: Music in the Restoration Theatre (AnnArbor, 1979), pp. 135-243