Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Short for viol da gamba. See viol.
  • noun In anatomy, the metacarpus or metatarsus of some animals, as the ruminants and solidungulates.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A viola da gamba.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Shortened name for the string instrument viola da gamba.
  • noun A rank of organ pipes, so-called for a supposed resemblance of the sound to that of a viola da gamba.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun viol that is the bass member of the viol family with approximately the range of the cello

Etymologies

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Examples

  • The ensembles and the label are each the responsibility of Mr. Savall, a trained cellist, who has turned a youthful curiosity about the viola da gamba — an antique stringed instrument combining aspects of the cello and guitar, alternatively known as the viol — into a pan-musical enterprise.

    Blurring Traditional Boundaries J. S. Marcus 2010

  • After its 200 years of relative silence he has made the viola da gamba sing again.

    In praise of … Jordi Savall | Editorial 2011

  • Clearly, Juilliard is in the early-music business to stay: The $1 million program, which gives full-tuition scholarships to the students, will expand to include lute and gamba players in 2013; Bruce Kovner, Juilliard's board chair and the program's primary funder, recently endowed it in perpetuity.

    Second-Class Repertoire No More Heidi Waleson 2011

  • A Baroque orchestra, he says, would have "20 violins, 10 cellos, 10 violas, but only one viola da gamba."

    Blurring Traditional Boundaries J. S. Marcus 2010

  • Musical forces were pared down; period instruments were mixed with modern -- steel in lieu of cat-gut strings, cellos for violas da gamba, modern woodwinds with the antique harpsichord.

    Rodney Punt: The Brandenburgs Are Their Brand: LACO's Six Concertos of J.S. Bach Rodney Punt 2011

  • Viola da gamba showcased in Pandolfo-Boysen concert at Library of Congress scroll down, by Charles T. Downey.

    Links: Weekend roundup -- Butterfly, Tahiti, Schubert, and more 2011

  • The fragile tone of lead viola da gamba player Mikko Perkola, so delicate as to be non-present at times, undermined some of the interesting pieces that featured two gamba parts.

    Review: Helsinki Baroque Orchestra at Library of Congress Charles T. Downey 2010

  • Clearly, Juilliard is in the early-music business to stay: The $1 million program, which gives full-tuition scholarships to the students, will expand to include lute and gamba players in 2013; Bruce Kovner, Juilliard's board chair and the program's primary funder, recently endowed it in perpetuity.

    Second-Class Repertoire No More Heidi Waleson 2011

  • The other gamba player, Varpu Haavisto, had a stronger melodic presence in Bach's aria "Wie starb die Heldin so vergnügt."

    Review: Helsinki Baroque Orchestra at Library of Congress Charles T. Downey 2010

  • Musical forces were pared down; period instruments were mixed with modern -- steel in lieu of cat-gut strings, cellos for violas da gamba, modern woodwinds with the antique harpsichord.

    Rodney Punt: The Brandenburgs Are Their Brand: LACO's Six Concertos of J.S. Bach Rodney Punt 2011

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