In which the viola d'amore reaches third position and stays awhile
In this theme from the final movement of F Götz's Duetto in G for two violas d'amore, the first viola d'amore part is played entirely in the third position.
Try it. I think you will find that Götz and his colleagues Fuchs and Kuznik developed a way of playing on the viola d'amore that leaves the music of Stamitz, Hoffmeister, and the other classical composers we vda players are familiar with, far behind.
I have been working hard on this repertoire for over a year. Shortly I am going to begin to record this.
But I am not ready.
Maybe nobody is ever really ready for a recording.
However, there is one aspect of this repertoire that really is hard. It is the long passages in, mostly, natural harmonics.
Here is an example from the same theme and variation set:
There are many difficulties in this mostly unknown repertorie, like the need to stop three strings with single finger, like a guitar bar.
But I am having the most difficulty with the harmonics.
One thing the long passages in Flagolets says to me, is that by this time in music players of the violin and viola d'amore were holding the instrument firmly with their chins. You get no help from your hands when you are doing natural harmonics, and you really need the instrument stable.
Another thing is did they have more flexible strings? Getting these harmonics to speak is hard!
Any bright ideas for harmonics please tell me!
Aug. 27 2015, Toronto