Introduction
"Sometimes the simplest solution is a revelation. I make early renaissance viols (C. 1540) to play early renaissance music. Players of the viol have come to accept there are uncomfortable compromises to the music if they play Bach, Purcell, Gibbons and Byrd on the same type of viol, and so they have acquired appropriate models. With a properly set-up Renaissance Viol it is possible to extend this approach to the earlier repertoire of Senfl; Verdelot; Ortiz and their contemporaries.
My viols, based on the Francesco Linarol, now in the Kunsthistoriches Museum in Vienna, breathe new life into this exquisite music. They have a plangent and incisive sound, which allows each line of a consort piece to emerge clearly, whilst the overall sonority is warm and resonant. This velvet quality is especially marked when used as a large set with tenor in A, two basses in D and a great bass in A, though they also make clear solo instruments and sound well in mixed consorts. I am pleased to offer this simple solution to players of the viol."
Richard Jones