The Excellency of Hand (English Viola da Gamba Duos) Robert Smith & Paolo Pandolfo

• Christopher Simpson (ca. 1605-1669):
• 1Divisions for Two Viols in G major, VdGS 2806:29
• 2Prelude No. 2 in D minor00:18
• John Jenkins (1592-1678):
• 3Divisions on a Ground in D major, VdGS 2104:20
• Christopher Simpson:
• 4Prelude No. 5 in A minor01:01
• John Jenkins:
• 5Divisions on a Ground in A minor, VdGS 1905:48
• 6Divisions on a Ground in C major, VdGS 1304:57
• Simon Ives (1600-1662):
• 7Ayre for Two Bass Viols No. 102:50
• Christopher Simpson:
• 8Prelude No. 4 in F major00:17
• 9Division for Two Viols in F major, VdGS 2603:08
• John Jenkins:
• 10Air with Divisions in C major, VdGS 1105:05
• 11Divisions on a Ground in A minor, VdGS 2005:19
• Christopher Simpson:
• 12Prelude No. 11 in B-flat major01:25
• John Jenkins:
• 13Divisions on a Ground in A major, VdGS 1804:07
• Christopher Simpson:
• 14Prelude No. 7 in G minor01:01
• John Jenkins:
• 15Divisions on a Ground in G minor, VGdS 2304:03
• Simon Ives:
• 16Ayre for Two Bass Viols No. 202:46
• Robert Smith (1980- ):
• 17Prelude in A minor00:59
• Christopher Simpson:
• 18Division for Two Viols in A minor, VdGS 2503:52
• John Jenkins:
• 19Air with Divisions in C major, VdGS 1205:49
• 20Ayre for Bass Viols and Basso Continuo in D minor, VdGS 3203:21
• Christopher Simpson:
• 21Prelude No. 3 in F major00:36
• 22Division for Two Viols in F major, VdGS 2705:27
• Total Runtime01:12:58

Info for The Excellency of Hand (English Viola da Gamba Duos)

Following on from his critically acclaimed recording of solo English viola da gamba works (Tickle the Minikin), founder member of Fantasticus, Robert Smith, returns with this album of English works for viola da gamba duo.

Smith is joined in this collaboration by the prolific and celebrated gambist Paolo Pandolfo.

Featuring a selection of seventeenth-century repertoire from Christopher Simpson, John Jenkins & Simon Ives, this album is packed with divisions for duo, which are often intensely virtuosic. Also featured are a selection of preludes from Christopher Simpson’s The Division Viol and an additional Prelude in A minor by gambist Robert Smith.

Robert Smith, viola da gamba
Paolo Pandolfo, viola da gamba

Robert Smith
is an English viola da gambist and baroque cellist. In 2012 he won the Bach-Abel Viola da Gamba Competition in Köthen, taking the First Prize, Audience Prize and Special Prize. His performance of a heavy-metal transcription of a Metallica song was especially noted.

Robert’s ensemble, Fantasticus, has received wide critical acclaim for its recent recordings of stylus fantasticus and French Baroque music. In 2013 his playing was described by The Strad as, ‘Intensely expressive, highly dramatic.’

Robert studied Viola de Gamba with Mieneke van der Velden (Amsterdam) and Paolo Pandolfo (Basel). He also studied Baroque cello with Wouter Möller, Jaap ter Linden and Viola da Hoog. He was principal cellist with the European Union Baroque Orchestra in 2005/6.

Robert currently plays with the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Fantasticus, amongst many other groups. In 2010 he won the second prize in the International Baroque Soloist competition in Brunnenthal, Austria. In ensembles he received several prizes in the Bruges Musica Antiqua Competition and the Van Wassenaer Competition (Amsterdam).

Booklet for The Excellency of Hand (English Viola da Gamba Duos)