Sonatas for Viola da Gamba and Harpsichord

The core repertoire of low string instruments would not be the same without Johann Sebastian Bach’s three gamba sonatas, which hark back to other works by him that were originally scored for different performing forces. They all share a strict three-part texture (gamba and two-voice keyboard). Today the sonatas are mostly played on the cello, which can assimilate the gamba’s original music unchanged.