(Fr.).
A ‘descant’ instrument, that is, one with a high range, a 4th or 5th above the treble size (called ‘Dessus’ in French).
The ‘pardessus de viole’, a descant Viol, was initially shaped like a small treble viol and had six strings, tuned g–c'–e'–a'–d''–g''. It emerged about 1690: the earliest surviving instrument, by Michel Collichon, dates from about that time and the estate inventory of Jean Rousseau (1644–99) lists a pardessus. It was first mentioned in print in Joseph Sauveur's Principes d'acoustique et de musique (Paris, 1701/R) and the first music verifiably composed for it was Thomas Marc's Suitte de pièces de dessus et de pardessus de viole et trois sonates avec les basses continües (Paris, 1724). By the 1720s the dessus was disappearing, and by the 1730s ‘dessus’ and ‘pardessus’ were often used interchangeably. Among the composers who published music for this instrument were Barrière, Boismortier and Dollé.
A five-string pardessus, tuned g–d'–a'–d''–g'', emerged in the 1730s. Although the early models of this instrument retained features of the treble viol body, some later ones resembled violins and were called ‘quintons’ (see Quinton). Composers who wrote for the five-string pardessus include Blainville, Dollé, Lendormy and Vibert. The VI sonates pour deux pardessus de violes op.1 by Barthélemy de Caix (Paris and Lyons, 1748) are among the most difficult and interesting works for the instrument. In addition, a ‘Mr de Villeneuve’ made idiomatic transcriptions of a large portion of the works of Marin Marais. Louis de Caix d'Hervelois and others wrote many works of a melodic nature intended for either the five- or six-string pardessus, and the instrument was listed as an alternative on over 100 publications. The method by Michel Corrette (1748) is the only one to survive.
The pardessus was played by cultivated amateurs and is often considered a lady's instrument. However, many gentlemen played it, especially in the provinces where instruction on the violin may have been limited. The most notable virtuoso was Mlle Lévi, who played concertos at the Concert Spirituel in 1745. After about 1760 the instrument began to decline, and it had largely disappeared by 1790.
M. Corrette: Méthode pour apprendre facilement à jouer du par-dessus de viole à 5 et à 6 cordes (Paris, 1738/R; Eng. trans., 1990)
A. Rose: ‘The Solo Repertoire for Dessus and Pardessus de Violes’, Chelys, ix (1980), 14–22
R. Green: ‘Charles Dollé's First Work for Pardessus de Viole’, JVdGSA, xviii (1981), 67–75
R. Green: ‘The Pardessus de Viole and its Literature’, EMc, x (1982), 300–07
H. Miloradovitch: ‘Eighteenth-Century Transcriptions for Viols of Music by Corelli & Marais in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris: Sonatas and “Pièces de Viole”’, Chelys, xii (1983), 47–73
R. Green: ‘The Treble Viol in 17th-Century France and the Origins of the Pardessus de Viole’, JVdGSA, xxiii (1986), 64–71
C. Dubuquoy-Portois: ‘Le Pardessus de viole au XVIIIe siècle: un nouvel instrument de divertissement’, Instrumentistes et luthiers parisiens: XVIIIe–XIXe siècles, ed. F. Gétreau (Paris, 1988), 134–48
S. Milliot: ‘Du nouveau sur Jean Rousseau, maître de musique et de viole (1644–1699)’, RMFC, xxvii (1991–2), 35–42
R. Green: ‘Recent Research and Conclusions Concerning the “Pardessus de Viole” in Eighteenth-Century France’, A Viol Miscellany, ed. J. Boer and G. van Oorschot (Utrecht, 1994), 103–14
ROBERT A. GREEN