Peter Sheppard Skærved plays The Met’s Grancino viola d’amore

Peter Sheppard Skærved performs “G minor Suite, Movement 2” from the Klagenfurt Manuscript (1685) by an anonymous composer on a Viola d'Amore made by Giovanni Grancino, 1701 (2008.1). Four instruments of this type survive, all made by Grancino during the same period. Their purpose is unclear, although the elaborately festooned form suggests that they might have been intended for use in theatrical productions. The repertoire chosen, and the various tunings of the six strings is intended to offer a window into the colouristic and timbral possibilities of this extraordinary instrument. The works chosen for this instrument stretch from the 1670s up to 1738.
The Klagenfurt Manuscript is one of the most significant collections of 17th century works for solo string instruments. Little is known about its author, who may have been a nun in a convent in what is now Slovenia. The G minor Suite is one of the most touching moments in the collection, exploiting the deeply emotional nature of this key, which Mark-Antoine Charpentier (1643 - 1704) in his 1682 Règles de Composition, described as “serious and magnificent”.
(Peter Sheppard Skærved, 2023)
For more information about The Met’s Grancino viola d’amore by please visit: bit.ly/3rbpRv3.
This video was the result of a collaboration between Peter Sheppard Skærved , The Royal Academy of Music, and The Department of Musical Instruments at The Met.
A production of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Video edited by Christopher Shurtleff
Sound Recording and Post-Production Audio by Bobby Berry
Organized by the Department of Musical Instruments
Jayson Kerr Dobney, Frederick P. Rose Curator-in-Charge
Bradley Strauchen-Scherer, Curator
Manu Frederickx, Conservator
Tim Caster, Principal Departmental Technician
Pamela Summey, Programs Coordinator
Nicole Sussmane, Associate Administrator