A Gambist’s Travels

The viol is a wonderfully quiet instrument. With its colourful, introverted tones, it can trace emotions like a highly sensitive mood barometer. It enjoyed its heyday at the court of the French king Louis XIV, but was also appreciated and loved throughout Europe as an indispensable instrument of the Renaissance and Baroque.

With Hille Perl, the period instrument ensemble Los Otros follows in the footsteps of the German viol virtuoso Ernst Christian Hesse. From 1693 Hesse was in the service of the Landgrave of Hessen-Darmstadt, who encouraged him to travel extensively. Hesse studied with fellow Parisian virtuosos Marin Marais and Antoine Forqueray, met Handel and Vivaldi, and played their violin works on his own instrument. In doing so, he transformed brilliant violin virtuosity into sparkling, crystalline delicacy, with sounds as if made of stardust.