Although Joachim Tielke is often referred to as the “Stradivarius of the viola da gamba” and enjoyed an international reputation, the question has been raised, whether he was a real violin maker at all or merely a dealer, selling the wares worldwide from innumerable Hanseatic instrument suppliers. Nevertheless, the “Tielke” violas da gamba were praised for their “strong and brilliant sound” even towards the end of the 18th C. and were instruments of choice for solo playing. Bach’s employer, Prince Leopold von Anthalt-Coethen, played on a Tielke, which is preserved in his estate. Tielke had a penchant for richly decorated instruments: nothing was spared in the accoutrements, often employing ivory and ebony garlands and flowers, tortoise shell, carved heads: a clear sign that these instruments were destined for the affluent aristocratic and patrician clientele. Our example bears the carved head of a woman, in the style of the galleon figures of Hanseatic ships, crowning the pegbox, decorated with vegetal and flower motifs.

The back shows the place where an appliqué with stylised ivy was once to be found, which has unfortunately been removed (see the Tielke Viola da gamba of 1683).

By coincidence a fresco of what appears to be this particular viola da gamba is to be found in the Dreifaltigkeitskirche (Trinity Church) near Salzburg (see below). The most unusual shape of the c-holes, the double purfling, the carved head and the ornate fingerboard, most strikingly, even the pearl necklace around the base of the head, all point to Tielke as the author of the viol which once stood model for the fresco. And all these details are to be found on this viola da gamba of 1697!

Fresco in Trinity Chruch (Dreifaltigkeitskirche) in Salzburg: J. M. Rottmayr (1700)
(painted just after the arrival of the viola da gamba from Hamburg in Salzburg)

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