Viola da gamba Barak Normal and Joachim Tielke

The viola da gamba belongs to the viol family of bowed string instruments of the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The name, da gamba, “for the leg” in Italian, refers to the fact that the instrument is placed between the musician's legs. These two examples, the Joachim Tielke and the Barak Norman, date from the late 18th century and the early 19th century respectively and are extremely valuable because of the renown of the people who made them, the finest in Europe at that time, their excellent condition, and also because they were first violas da gamba to be played by the renowned Jordi Savall.