Bettina Hoffmann
Catalogue of Solo and Chamber Music for Viola da Gamba
Hotteterre, Jacques (-Martin) Le Romain
Première suitte de pièces à deux dessus, sans basse continue, pour les flûtes-traversières, flûtes à bec, violes &c. [...] œuvre quatriesme
Paris, auteur, Foucaut; Paris, auteur, Boivin
B-Bc, D-Mbs, F-G, F-Pn, NL-DHnmi
Minkoff; SPES
By the term violes - included among the dessus - Hotteterre here certainly means the dessus de viole . On the title page of the work is engraved an Avertissements that further specifies the instrumental intentions : On pourra jouer les secondes parties sur la Viole, en les prenant sur les cordes hautes . Here it must be understood instead as a basse de viole (otherwise, the recommendation to play on the high strings would be meaningless.) These suites, like probably those of op. VI, can therefore be performed both with two treble viols and with flute and bass viol.
