Conrad Höffler (1647-1705), virtuoso on the viol, published his collection ’Primitiae Chelicae’ for viola da gamba and continuo in 1695 in Nuremberg, at a time when viol literature was truly at its height. Germany and the Netherlands became a forge of excellent performers most of whom also composed and published music. To judge from the technical difficulty of these compositions there is no doubt that Höffler was a great virtuoso of the instrument.

 

The dance movements are written with a combination of lyricism, taste for melody and, finally, a polyphonic language that comes close to lute style. The work of Höffler was written for performers of high calibre and required a sophisticated and complete knowledge of the instrument as well as control over the entire range, particularly the highest tessitura, where the viola often converses with the violin.