Will wonders never cease? The viola bastarda at the Ferrarese court

Abstract

Abstract Music for the viola bastarda was composed over a period of approximately one hundred years, from the mid 16th to mid 17th century. Initially arising in Italy, it was later transferred to regions north of the Alps in German and Polish regions and across the English Channel. There is interesting variety to the music, with details that prove challenging to modern players and that do not easily align with the previously accepted definition. A particularly large and influential group of composers, performers and patrons coalesced in the second half of the 16th century, centred on the Este court in the Duchy of Ferrara. In exclusive and elite settings, it was sometimes women of high rank who performed this virtuosic music that was composed specially for them, in some cases using particularly large instruments. The nature of this repertory conveyed a true sense of maraviglia and was considered extremely ‘affective’.