The term "viola bastarda" refers to both an instrument and a style of playing that is one of the crowning achievements of musical mannerism. The Italian repertory for the solo viola da gamba in the 16th and early 17th centuries was largely music played "alla bastarda," an art of performance in which a polyphonic composition is transformed into a single melodic line derived from the original parts and spanning their ranges.

Jason Paras has traced the development of the "viola bastarda" and has assembled and transcribed 46 peices in this genre. The music in his collection is a rich...