Bettina Hoffmann
Catalogue of Solo and Chamber Music for Viola da Gamba
Thomas, Jean-Baptiste
Premier livre contenant VI sonates à II. violoncelles, violes, ou bassons. Par Mr. Thomas, cy devant Maitre de la Cathédrale de Senlis
Paris, V.ve Boivin, Le Clerc
F-Pn L.16.553
Despite the ambivalent instrumentation in the title, the sonatas are primarily conceived for the cello, so clearly so that some chords cannot be played on the viola da gamba.
None of the musical sources gives Thomas's first name, but the composer must be identical with the Maître de musique de la cathédrale de Senlis Jean-Baptiste Thomas, died on 12 August 1741, reported on “Scellés apposés par des commissaires au Châtelet", p. 3617. Eitner-1900 (vol. IX, p. 299) had suggested a connection with a trombonist Wenzel Thomas, active in Vienna, who, however, cannot be identical with this French composer.
A/I: T 697, ID 990064210
