[1][2] "The publication of the Pièces de Violle (..) unleashed a veritable polemic or querelle with Jean Rousseau[3] concerning the “true manner of playing the viol”, which had been described by Machy with a wealth of details in the prologue to his work (..)".
This is not technically correct, as the collection Fantaisies pour les violles by Nicolas Metrus had already been published in 1642.
These and other earlier pieces were, however, written as duets for treble and bass viol, while Machy, in his Pièces de violle (1685), preferred polyphonic playing for solo gamba in the tradition of Nicolas Hotman, André Maugars and Jean de Sainte-Colombe.
He preceded these suites with a technical introduction that has high historic value, as it lists the most important ornaments along with the methods of playing those instruments.
You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.This article on a musician who plays a bowed string instrument is a stub.