Hi,
I'm having my first rehersal this evening with a new local chamber orchestra and have been asigned the Solo Violin I part of the Handel Concerto Grosso Op.6 No.1. I've never played a Handel concerto grosso before although I've heard the Op.6 No.2 performed by a local orchestra and the solo parts sounded quite difficult.

Unfortunately I don't see the music until this evening, so I won't be able to guage its difficulty, and I don't have access to a recording of it. I was also wondering what strings people would use. At the moment I have a set of Dominants on, although I have a sets of Larsen, Evah Pirazzi, Infeld Blue, Infeld Red, D'Addario Helicore, Corelli Alliance Vivace, Pirastro (Gold, Olive, Eudoxa, Obligato, Tonica, Chromcor) in my case and and at home. I was wondering whether it would be best to use a high bridge and use of set of sythetic core strings or perhaps go for a more authentic style and use some gut strings with a lower bridge. I think I'm going to use some dark rosin to get a bit of depth but am not sure whether or not to use a round or oblong stick. I think the oblong stick might be a bit to heavy and could result in me hitting the other strings on a lower bridge.

Any advice or information would be great, then I can start setting it up. Oh, and two last thing - chinrest or no chinrest? - shoulder rest or velvet scarf?


Thanks

You will normally play from the concertino e ripieno part - the solo line (where necessary) written above the ripieno line. As for difficulty, don't know the No. 2 from the Opus 6, have only played No. 4 myself, which wasn't too bad considering how exposed one can be in a baroque ensemble situation. Allegro movements can tend to be taken quite fast - perhaps a little too fast for the era in which they were composed.

As for strings, well, purely a personal thing, but I would choose something like Eudoxa. Plain gut are ok if you can get them to stabilise quickly enough. However, changing strings just before a rehearsal is probably not such a good idea - unless they absolutely need to be changed. Anything synthetic with metal windings will sound a bit metallic for a few days and both gut cored and synthetic will be stretching quite a bit too.

Has this ensemble insisted on an authentic baroque sound from their players? I would imagine most will be playing modern instruments so I wouldn't worry too much until you've been to the rehearsal and seen what others do. The same applies to the use of shoulder rests and chinrests - the majority of amateur ensembles will play with a modern set-up. Go with what feels comfortable too. It generally only tends to be professional ensembles like The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment who impose restrictions on the type of instrument and set-up you play.

Whatever you decide, all the best.

And you're using Dominants? You must be mad! I'm using Pirastro Eudoxa atm, I actually had to put them on about 1 hour before a rehearsal and it was less than ideal. They stretch a lot at first, but they have settled really well and sound great now, although I did have to adjust my bowing slightly to get a good powerful sound out of them after having used Dominants, which react much better than Eudoxas. If you try them, put them on AFTER a rehearsal and keep playing on them for a week! Oh, the E string isn't great, by the way (IMHO) - I use a Goldbrokat which is lovely, I can't fault it - lasting very well indeed (it gets 3-6 hours use daily, been on for 2/3 months, still sounding perfect). The Eudoxa D and G I might change to Oliv (apparently they don't sound very different, are soft on the fingers like Eudoxa, but stay more stable and last longer) but I'm in no hurry. Gut seem to me to be the way to go! I don't think changing your set-up is necessary though, maybe experimenting without a shoulder rest is worth it just for general interest - I find it gives me a lot more freedom but it's a bit restricting for large shifts. I already have a very low action set-up so I don't know how much difference it would make. I can't imagine that losing a shoulder rest and/or chin rest right before playing a solo part is a great idea though.

PS, if you end up with an Oliv G or D, let me know how they go!

Oliv G is a lot more powerful and has a better response, but I didn't particularly like the Oliv D on my violin. Instead went for a Eudoxa Brilliant, which is really responsive and quite powerful too. Instead of red, it has a rose-coloured winding on the peg end of the string. Both the D and G strings are available as Eudoxa Brilliant. Peg winding on the G is honey-coloured.