Viola da gamba

As Printed on a Score

Appears as a staff label — Viola da gamba, or simply Gamba — mostly in 17th- and 18th-century scores, where it carries an obbligato solo or doubles the continuo bass. The part may move between bass, tenor and alto clefs; two gambas are numbered I and II.

Also spelled: Viola di gamba, Viole da gamba, Gambe, Gamba

How Composers Use It

A fretted bass viol with six or seven strings, bowed underhand and tuned mostly in fourths with a third in the middle, which makes chords and arpeggios lie well under the hand. Its sound is quieter and more transparent than the cello’s. Bach gave it intimate obbligatos in both Passions (“Es ist vollbracht” in the St John Passion) and paired two gambas in Brandenburg Concerto No. 6. Balance it against a small group, never a full orchestra.

Example

Bach, St Matthew Passion, BWV 244, aria “Komm, süßes Kreuz”: the staff labelled “Viola da gamba” carries the obbligato that accompanies the bass soloist over the continuo.

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