JAVS Fall 2007

fRIEND; FAREVVELL, MY ''MODERN'' HELLO MY ''OLD'' PAL

By Christine Rutledge

For years I have been more-than-interested in Baroque performance praccice, especially Bach. Let's just say my interest borders on fanaticism! (Ask my srudents and anyone who knows me.) This kind of enthusiasm coming from a violist might seem a bit odd, especially to the well-seasoned Baroque crowd -- because I do not play violin, Baroque or otherwise. "Why," they might ask, "would you want to perform on an instru ment for which virtually no solo repertoire exists?" Perhaps because it is my innate nature as violjst to champion the underdog, this challenge spurs me on with even more ferocity. Unforrunatdy violists in the Baroque era suffered from ruscrimination, tOO. In Quanrz's 18th-cenrury treatise On Playing th~ F/uu, this is pretty obvious: The viola is commonly regarded as of lircle importance in the musical establishment. The reason may well be that it is often played by persons who are cither still beginners in the ensemble or have no parcicular gifts with which tO ruscinguish themselves On the violin, or that the instrument yields all roo few advantages ro its players, so that able people are not easily persuaded to take it up. I majmain, however, that if the entire accompaniment is to be without defect, the violist must be just as able as the second violinjsr. Ouch! But there had to be at least a fair number ofvio lists who were strong players and even soloists. Any vio list who has played J. S. Bach's Brandmburg Concmo No. 6 or any of the viola parrs in his cantatas and other works knows thar these parts are nor for the faint of heart. And if you do some rugging you will find a number ofworks by lesser-known Baroque composers (especially German) that are chock-full of Famascic and challenging parts. It was also very common during the Baroque era (as well as other eras) to transcribe works

Paul Hart Baroqu~ viola.

for other instruments, either by the composer or the performer. J. S. Bach rud so many rimes (for instance transcribing the fifth cello suite for the lute). I have a hunch that violisrs of the time played many cello, vio lin, and even flute and oboe parts, but simply read them in their original versions. (Musicians of that time were much more facile in thjs area.). Or they changed the parts for their personal use only, and these tran scripcions were never published or saved.

Last year, my curiosity about viola reperroire and vio lists in the Baroque era came to a peak. After reaching

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