Charles Dollé is an extremely shadowy figure in the French viol-playing sphere, who belongs to the generation after Marais. He is listed in one source as a 'Maître de Viole' but he appears not to have held a court appointment. Otherwise the only information we have on him are his six publications: the first four of which were published in 1737, op. 5 in 1749 and op. 6 in 1754. Dollé's Pieces de viole for bass viol and continuo recorded here are his op. 2; op 1 is a set of trio sonatas and the remaining four collections are all for the highly popular mid-eighteenth-century instrument: the pardessus de viole - which was fashionable with society ladies to perform the latest Italian violin music. (The violin, held on one shoulder, was considered distorting and thus inappropriate for ladies to play; in contrast the pardessus de viole sat elegantly on their laps.)