Uploaded January 2023 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
My sincere thanks to those who have supported my efforts to learn the bass viola da gamba. The “divisions” or variations upon the following melodies were recorded in my fourth and fifth months with that instrument.
00:00 All in a Garden Green
02:53 Aye Me or The Symphony
05:30 Chestnut or Dove’s Vagary
07:36 Daphne or The Shepherdess
11:09 Drive the Cold Winter Away
13:28 Newcastle
15:57 St. Martin’s
18:27 Step Stately
20:49 Parson(s) upon Dorothy or The Shepherd’s Daughter
22:41 Ginnie Pug or Strawberries and Cream
24:56 The New New Exchange or The New Royal Exchange
27:24 A Firk Called St. Michell’s Mount
Note: in the case of songs with two titles, I assume but do not know with any certainty that the same melody was used for two different sets of lyrics. I have chosen the illustrative paintings as I was able to, given the obscurity of some of the song titles (for example, who was the Dove of “Dove’s Vagary” or the Parson of “Parson(s) upon Dorothy”?).
More information on some of these melodies can be found at the Traditional Tune Archive: tunearch.org/wiki/TTA.
If you play bass viola da gamba (or any other instrument written in bass clef) and would like to try these arrangements, the scores are available for free on my website: verseandsong.com/song/viola-da-gamba/.
My sincere thanks to those who have supported my efforts to learn the bass viola da gamba. The “divisions” or variations upon the following melodies were recorded in my fourth and fifth months with that instrument.
00:00 All in a Garden Green
02:53 Aye Me or The Symphony
05:30 Chestnut or Dove’s Vagary
07:36 Daphne or The Shepherdess
11:09 Drive the Cold Winter Away
13:28 Newcastle
15:57 St. Martin’s
18:27 Step Stately
20:49 Parson(s) upon Dorothy or The Shepherd’s Daughter
22:41 Ginnie Pug or Strawberries and Cream
24:56 The New New Exchange or The New Royal Exchange
27:24 A Firk Called St. Michell’s Mount
Note: in the case of songs with two titles, I assume but do not know with any certainty that the same melody was used for two different sets of lyrics. I have chosen the illustrative paintings as I was able to, given the obscurity of some of the song titles (for example, who was the Dove of “Dove’s Vagary” or the Parson of “Parson(s) upon Dorothy”?).
More information on some of these melodies can be found at the Traditional Tune Archive: tunearch.org/wiki/TTA.
If you play bass viola da gamba (or any other instrument written in bass clef) and would like to try these arrangements, the scores are available for free on my website: verseandsong.com/song/viola-da-gamba/.
