Bettina Hoffmann
Catalogue of Solo and Chamber Music for Viola da Gamba
Finger, Gottfried (Godfrey)
6 sonatas for bass viol and basso continuo, in D major, D major, A major, D minor, B flat major, A minor (RI 145, 146, 141, 148, 144, 143)
manuscript
GB-Ob Mus.Sch. D.228, ff. 99-105 (incomplete, bc missing)
GB-Ob Mus.Sch. D.249, n. 23, ff. 134-137 and n. 28, ff. 153-156 (sonata quarta and sonata quinta)
Dovehouse (n° 2 e 4); Fentone Music (n° 3 e 6), Fretwork
Of this group of sonatas, only the fourth, in ms. D.249, is explicitly attributed to Finger; the others, though anonymous, are stylistically very close to Finger's language.
The part of the basso continuo is missing from ms. D.228; therefore only the fourth and fifth sonatas have come down to us in their entirety, thanks to ms. D.249.
The fifth sonata is written for viola da gamba in scordatura.
Arthur W. Marshall, The Viola da Gamba Music of Godfrey Finger, «Chelys» 1 (1969), pp. 16-26
Robert Rawson, From Olomouc to London: the Early Music of Gottfried Finger (c.1655-1730), 2 vols., dissertation, Royal Holloway, University of London, 2002
