Muses ou musiciennes ?

A real social phenomenon in the 18th century and an ornament of the salons in the same way as the hurdy-gurdy, the pardessus de viole was reserved for ladies, who were refused the practice of the violin, on the pretext that the dress was inappropriate! The pardessus de viole is the last avatar of the viol family. Conceived at the end of the 17th century, it flourished especially during the reign of Louis XV and quickly became the "ladies' violin". The instrument was played by the nobility as well as by the bourgeoisie and allowed a larger number of people to have access to music. It also allowed women to enter the very closed circle of professional musicians and some of them, like the famous Mme de Lévi, even performed as soloists at the Concert Spirituel. The pardessus, which reigned for a hundred years in the French salons, both in Paris and in the provinces, was swept away by the changes of the French Revolution, as were many other families of instruments. Works by Joseph Bodin de Boismortier, Louis de Caix d'Hervelois, François Couperin, ... Florence Bolton, viola da gamba Benjamin Perrot, baroque guitar & theorbo