Domenico Gabrielli (1651/1659–1690)

Abstract The cello originated during the Baroque era. The youngest member of the violin family, it went through many variations in size and string tuning before instrument builders and string manufacturers reached a consensus. The earliest solo cello repertoire comes from seventeenth-century Bologna with the pioneering Ricercare of Domenico Gabrielli. After that, the cello rose in popularity across Europe. It superseded the viola da gamba in popularity in France, where Jean-Baptiste Barrière composed his four books of sonatas. In Germany, Johann Sebastian Bach’s Six Suites created a cello repertoire as complex and distinguished as that of the violin. In Italy, traditions of virtuosity in Baroque cello playing culminated in the sonatas and concertos of Antonio Vivaldi.