William Lawes is hardly a household name for most of us. But for viola da gamba player Margaret Little, Lawes is practically a member of the family. She has been steeped in his music for a decade and continues to find pleasure in performing it.
“It’s very special,” enthuses Little about the music of the 17th century English court composer. “It sounds very exotic to the modern ear. The writing is very intricate. I think his Royall Consorts are his apogee – the best of his chamber music. It’s just so rich and full of colours. You have these very slow movements with a lot of tortured harmonies and beautiful gestures. You also have very dainty, happy-go-lucky dances. It’s just a wonderful, festive mixture.”
Dedicated duo
Little and Susie Napper have been playing as a viol duo under the name Les Voix humaines for over 25 years. They initially got together so their young daughters could play together, then eventually they started playing together, too. And there is a vast repertoire for viol duo to keep them going.
Ten years ago Little and Napper recorded the harp consorts of Lawes. They have just released a new disc, along with some invited guests, called Lawes: The Royall Consorts on the ATMA label.
Listen Listen to Lawes' Royal Consort Sett No. 5 in D major.
Little was drawn to early music at a young age
“I met the viola da gamba when I was 11 years old,” reveals Little.
“I’m really drawn to early music because – at least in chamber music – it’s very intimate. When you play chamber music it’s like having a conversation with other people. Whatever you say depends on what has been said just before. So there’s a lot of interaction.”
Composers back then left almost no indications as to how they wanted their pieces to be performed. “You get to decide when you’re going to take time, when you’re going to play louder,” she says. “You have to make it up. So there is all this exploration to figure out what you’re going to do. And depending who you play with, it’s different.” So there’s lots of room for creativity and communicating.
For the record, the viola da gamba family is completely distinct from the violin family, which includes the cello. The viola da gamba is held between the legs, or the smaller one, such as treble viol, on top of the knees. The instrument has six strings, which are tuned more like a guitar. It is fretted, so it’s possible to play chords. It usually has a carved head rather than scroll. And the bow is held on the underside rather than on top.
What’s interesting about the bass viol is that it does not play just in the lower register. It can play in a very high register, too. “What’s really exciting about two bass viols is we play the tunes, we play accompaniments, we play chords,” Little explains. “We change rolls all the time, even in the middle of a phrase. When I listen to the recordings we’ve made, I can never tell who’s playing what because it’s so intricate and it’s so well composed.”
How do audiences respond to the music of Lawes? “People are in awe, it’s so gorgeous,” Little exclaims. “It’s really alternating between sumptuous and emotionally expressive to festive and light and dancing. So there’s a lot of variety.”
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