ABSTRACT
The viola da gamba music of the Berlin School comprises not only those works which were written specifically for the instrument, but also those which were appropriated to it by players and copyists. The use of the violin as an alternative instrument is facilitated by the characteristically Berlin habit of writing viola da gamba parts in the treble G clef, to be played an octave lower than written. Gamba parts are normally identified by the term 'viola di gamba', in a few cases 'viola da gamba', and occasionally 'gamba'. In the music of the Berlin School, there is much evidence that the term 'violetta' normally means the viola da braccio. The viola occurs as a substitute instrument for the viola da gamba in ten pieces: eight sonatas, of which four are by J. G. Graun and four are quartets by Janitsch, and a concerto by each of the Graun brothers.
