The six-stringed pardessus de viole is the most accessible to gambists. Its tuning is almost the same as a viola da gamba. The instrument is tuned an octave above a tenor viola da gamba but with an "e" string instead of an "f". The tuning is then: G, c' (middle c), e', a', d", g".

While this type of pardessus is the most accessible for gambists it has the smallest repertoire. You can play many things on it but most of the music is written for a five-stringed instrument.

All information we have about the pardessus de viole shows that they used diatonic fingering on the instrument (commonly called "violin-fingering" among gambists). This is not the same fingering as the bass viola da gamba, which is chromatic fingering. The small size of the pardessus de viole makes chromatic fingering very difficult and impractical.

For a complete list of works please see my articles in the Journal of the Viola da Gamba Society of America from 2000 and 2001.

The main composers are: Jean Barrière, Joseph Bodin de Boismortier, Pierre Hugard, N.G. Lendormy, Charles-Henri de Blainville, Villeneuve (arrangements of Marin Marais' pieces for viola da gamba), Barthélèmy de Caix, Louis de Caix d'Hervelois and Forqueray. Many of these works can be found in facsimile editions by Fuzeau, Minkoff and Performers Facsimiles.

This is a problem that they had in the 18th century as well and was one of the reasons the instrument was eventually abandoned. My first and strongest suggestion is to never tune your instrument higher than A=415hz (A half step lower than modern pitch). Even try A=392hz (a whole step lower than modern pitch). If you find that your top "g" string is constantly breaking try changing the gauge or what I do is always tune it down a half step when I've put it away.

This is a very difficult question to answer. The best guide that any string player can follow is to use what feels right for you and what produces the best sound. There are very, very few original pardessus bows left and even these are not certain to be specifically made for the pardessus. The best example we have is slightly longer than a treble viola da gamba bow and with a narrower frog. I believe that most players at the time would have tried violin bows and it is doubtful whether archetiers would have been making bows specifically for the pardessus. Some of the guidelines to follow (for a bow for any instrument) are:

• Does the bow produce a good sound (no scratching or whistling)?
• Does your hand get tired from using the bow?
• Does the bow articulate well while playing fast?
• Does the bow get an equal sound out of all the strings?
• If you change strings quickly (particularly large leaps) does the bow stay stable or does it jump uncontrollably?
• Is the workmanship of the bow precise?
  
  • Does the screw turn evenly?
  • Is the channel in the stick cleanly cut?
  • Is the eyelet in good condition?
  • Is grain of the stick straight?
  • Is the bow warped? Note - Some bow makers may slightly curve their bows to one side deliberately.

There are actually a fair number of original pardessus de viole that regularly come up for sale. Unfortunately they tend to be an "impulse buy" of gambists who would like to have an original instrument but then never use them or try to convert them to treble viola da gambas and find them unsatisfactory on the lower strings. Catalogues of existing collections of instruments show that there are many more pardessus than other types of viola da gambas which survive from the 18^th century.

I have tried many different pardessus by modern luthiers and found that they are often a "once off" type of construction. Try to find a maker who has made a pardessus before and who has studied the original instruments. I would suggest copies of either a five-stringed Guersan model or the six-stringed Bertrand model. These models have been well documented and produce a nice sound.

Don't expect a pardessus de viole to sound like a treble viola da gamba. The sound is brighter and more powerful. The sound of the five-stringed instrument and the quinton is almost the same as a baroque violin.