,,The Stylus Phantasticus is the most free and unrestrained type of playing" said Johann Mattheson in 1739. Around 1700 this style was transfered from the...

,,The Stylus Phantasticus is the most free and unrestrained type of playing" said Johann Mattheson in 1739. Around 1700 this style was transfered from the organ to the chamber music where the viol played an important role. Famous viol virtuosos, like August Kühnel, tried to draw attention to the instrument with their compositions. Dieterich Buxtehude also wrote charming trio sonatas in which a viol was required explicitly as second solo voice. Finally the great Johann Sebastian Bach used the gamba in his St Matthew Passion. Frauke Hess and her colleagues develop the blaze of color of Baroque viol music with their new recording.