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

• Christopher Simpson (ca. 1605-1669):
• 1 Divisions for Two Viols in G major, VdGS 28 06:29
• 2 Prelude No. 2 in D minor 00:18
• John Jenkins (1592-1678):
• 3 Divisions on a Ground in D major, VdGS 21 04:20
• Christopher Simpson:
• 4 Prelude No. 5 in A minor 01:01
• John Jenkins:
• 5 Divisions on a Ground in A minor, VdGS 19 05:48
• 6 Divisions on a Ground in C major, VdGS 13 04:57
• Simon Ives (1600-1662):
• 7 Ayre for Two Bass Viols No. 1 02:50
• Christopher Simpson:
• 8 Prelude No. 4 in F major 00:17
• 9 Division for Two Viols in F major, VdGS 26 03:08
• John Jenkins:
• 10 Air with Divisions in C major, VdGS 11 05:05
• 11 Divisions on a Ground in A minor, VdGS 20 05:19
• Christopher Simpson:
• 12 Prelude No. 11 in B-flat major 01:25
• John Jenkins:
• 13 Divisions on a Ground in A major, VdGS 18 04:07
• Christopher Simpson:
• 14 Prelude No. 7 in G minor 01:01
• John Jenkins:
• 15 Divisions on a Ground in G minor, VGdS 23 04:03
• Simon Ives:
• 16 Ayre for Two Bass Viols No. 2 02:46
• Robert Smith (1980- ):
• 17 Prelude in A minor 00:59
• Christopher Simpson:
• 18 Division for Two Viols in A minor, VdGS 25 03:52
• John Jenkins:
• 19 Air with Divisions in C major, VdGS 12 05:49
• 20 Ayre for Bass Viols and Basso Continuo in D minor, VdGS 32 03:21
• Christopher Simpson:
• 21 Prelude No. 3 in F major 00:36
• 22 Division for Two Viols in F major, VdGS 27 05:27
• Total Runtime 01:12:58

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)