Welcome to Viola D'Amore

Updated July 2007!

• Thomas Mann article updated with pictures
• Vivaldi article updated
• New CD and Contents! July 2007
• Hear all the tracks of my "Many Strings Attached" CD

Click Here to download the tracks from my newest album!

_{Click on the picture to visit a site where you can download the tracks!}

I think of this effort as the Ariosti Project, with the following goals:

1. To resurrect the beauty of the sound of Ariosti's Stockholm sonatas on original instruments.
2. To create a modern edition of this repertoire for future generations of players and listeners.
3. To enhance the preservation of a viola d'amore as a living instrument with unique qualities, by bringing together information for players and listeners in a single reference work.
4. To generate a revenue source for the performance, recording and distribution of the Stockholm Sonatas.
5. To establish mutually profitable relationships with organizations interested in promoting the awareness of the Stockholm Sonatas to the public.

I have started with Ariosti, because his is the most extensive solo use of the viola d'amore in any age. My hope is that if his music is made available, the viola d'amore will have a firm base for future generations of music lovers.

This site is to help musicians overcome two of the big stumbling blocks to the wider use of the viola d'amore, finding instruments, and obtaining viola d'amore music together with the knowledge needed to decipher it. You may e-mail questions about the history and repertoire of the d'amore, comments about particular pieces of music for viola d'amore, or  ask to place instrument wanted or for sale signs. You may upload relevant links to the links board by e-mailing us, and lastly, on the events board, you may let the world of the viola d'amore know about performances, broadcasts and other events that are related to the objectives of this site.

If you find the content of this site useful, or you enjoy the music files, please consider making a token donation. This will enable me to continue to expand and refine these pages. Consider it to be a form of virtual viola d'amore busking, if you will, and contribute the sum of  one Canadian dollar, what we call a loonie, to the crazy uphill business of trying to promote the viola d'amore in the world of blockbuster entertainment. Ways of making a contribution you may find on the order page.

Thanks to all of the many visitors who have contributed questions and comments. I have been amazed at the depth of knowledge of the repertoire I have found on the web, and have been encouraged by a number of individuals to make another recording with my company www.bis.se. I am now concluding the Stockholm Sonatas of Ariosti with volume III. Look for it in 2008.