SWEET 17 is a unique ensemble, and you can take that quite literally. It is the world's first and only ensemble of two rare and delicious instruments : the Viola d'Amore and the Viennese Violone. Both instruments share their D-major tuning, which together with the resonance strings of the Viola d'Amore makes for a very resonant, harmonious sound texture.
HARUKO TANABE and KORNEEL LE COMPTE, both accomplished musicians in the historical and the modern music worlds, discovered this sweet-sounding coupling of instruments that had to wait until the 21st century to find each other.
It was worth waiting for.
The Viola d'Amore Haruko uses has 13 strings, 7 of which are played with the bow and 6 resonance strings. The instrument is tuned A-D-A-D-F#-A-D and sports a sculptured woman's head with a blindfold, symbolising that "Love is blind".
The Viennese Violone has four or five strings tuned to (D)-A-D-F#-A, seven frets and gut strings. During the Viennese classical period it was highly regarded as a solo and chamber music instrument, and composers such as Mozart and Haydn wrote solo works for it.
Although both instruments existed during the same period, they never got together. A quirk of history that has now been corrected by SWEET 17.


Ariosti 1

Duo Sweet 17 from Belgum

Haruko Tanabe : Viola d'Amore

Korneel Le Compte : Viennese Violone

Ariosti 2

Duo sweet 17 from Belgium playing Ariosti

Haruko Tanabe : Viola d'Amore

Korneel Le Compte : Viennese Violone

Ariosti 3

Duo Sweet 17 from Belgium playing Ariosti

Haruko TANABE : Viola d'Amore

Korneel Le Compte : Viennese Violone

Ariosti 4

Duo Sweet 17 from Belgium playing Ariosti

Haruko Tanabe : Viola d'Amore

Korneel Le Compte : Viennese Violone

Ariosti 6

Duo Sweet 17

Haruko Tanabe : Viola d'Amore

Korneel Le Comte : Viennese Violone

Ariosti 8

Duo Sweet 17 playing Ariosti

Haruko Tanabe : Viola d'Amore

Korneel Le Compte: Viennese Violone

Ariosti 9

Welcome to SWEET 17 ! 
Haruko Tanabe, Viola d'Amore, and Korneel Le Compte, Viennese Violone form a unique duo. As the only ensemble of its kind in the world, they have coupled these two exceptional and rare instruments which share very similar tunings. The open chord tuning produces a silvery, very resonant and harmonic sound colour with lots of overtones. The fact that the Viola d'Amore has six "sympathetic" strings underneath the fingerboard that resonate with the bowed strings, adds to the etherial and addictive sound of the ensemble.
The Viennese Violone, a type of double bass used during the Viennese classical period as a solo and chamber music instrument, has four or five gut strings and seven frets. These last few years it is celebrating its revival as a virtuosic instrument in ancient music. Indeed, most pieces written for it can only be played decently with the original Viennese Tuning in thirds and fourths.
The coupling of these two magnificent instruments is totally unique in music history. Although both existed side by side for a number of years, nobody seems to have thought of using them together.

Until now...

Enjoy SWEET 17 and enter a new and wonderful sonic experience !


SWEET 17　の世界にようこそ!

私たちはビオラダモーレとウイーン式チューニングビオローネによる、世界唯一のデュオです。

ビオラダモーレ　(奏者　田辺晴子　ベルギー王立歌劇団バイオリニスト)　愛のビオラ　は、その名のごとく甘い響きを持つ、１７、１８世紀に活躍した楽器です。
その複雑な構造　７弦と共鳴弦６本　そして優雅なゆえの小さい音量のため、現在はほとんど使用されなく
なってしまいました。主にニ長調で調弦をして演奏をします。
愛は盲目、といわれるため、楽器の先に目隠しをしてある女性の彫刻を施すのが慣例になっています。

ビオローネ　(奏者コルネル　ル　コント　ベルギー王立歌劇団コントラバシスト) 　という楽器は、現在のコントラバスの祖先にあたるものです。
わたしたちのデュオでは、ウイーン式チューニングにして使用しています。これはモーツアルト、ハイドンなどの
ウイーン古典派がコントラバスソロのために使っていたチューニングです。こちらも二長調です。

二長調に調弦された２台の楽器の奏でる世界に魅せられた私たちは、皆様にもこの素晴らしい響きをお届けしたいと思い、
デュオを結成しました。

どうぞお楽しみください!!!




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