Bach: Sonatas for Viola da Gamba and Cembalo Obbligato. Vittorio Ghielmi, Lorenzo Ghielmi. Ars Musici. $16.99. "Felix Austria": Works for Viola da Gamba Consort. Klaus Mertens, Simone Eckert ...

A special breed, viola da gamba players rarely meet their own kind. But once a year, they come together for an annual jam session they call a conclave.

The viola da gamba, also known as a viol, was born towards the end of the 15th century in Spain, says Sarah Mead, an associate professor of music at Brandeis University. Hide caption ...

Bach: Sonatas for Viola da Gamba and Cembalo Obbligato. Vittorio Ghielmi, Lorenzo Ghielmi. Ars Musici. $16.99. "Felix Austria": Works for Viola da Gamba Consort. Klaus Mertens, Simone Eckert ...

Viola da gamba players are a special breed — a tiny subset in the already small world of early classical music. They rarely meet their own kind, but once a year they come together for a week in July ...