The pardessus de viole is the smallest and highest-pitched member of the viol family of instruments with a range similar to that of the violin.
what
the quinton de viole, too!
Like the larger 6 and 7 string bass viols, the pardessus is a solo instrument, but unlike those larger instruments it does not play a role in continuo bands or viol consorts.
Works written for the pardessus de viole, and even the instrument itself, are basically the poster children of les Goûts réunis.
Pardessus were made and played primarily in French speaking countries from approximately 1680 until the French Revolution.
