Henk Pakker
Sat, 13 Oct 2007 02:05:40 -0700
A cc was used so this answer was probably not posted... ----- Original Message ----- From: Jorge Torres To: Henk Pakker Cc: baroque-lute@cs.dartmouth.edu Sent: Saturday, October 13, 2007 2:56 AM Subject: Re: [BAROQUE-LUTE] performing aspects Dear Henk: Virtually everything that the German baroque lutenists did can be traced to the French, and vibrato is no exception. Miolement is the term that was used by Robert de Visee to designate his symbol for vibrato. In Mersenne the author (Basset) calls vibrato verre casse and says that it was used infrequently. Mace calls it the Sting and also states that it was "not modish" these days (p.109). After Mace it is not referred to in the literature for the French lute. It is Visee who is the next to mention it in the context of plucked string practice in France. In the preface to his Livre de guitarre he lists the ornament and notates it with a bold asterisk but does not discuss its execution. (See Livre de guitarre, facsimile of 1682 Paris edition, Geneva, 1973). This asterisk is the same symbol used for miolement in Saiz I. For a discussion of the close relationship between Visee and Saiz I see Wallace Rave, "Remarks on Gallot Sources: How They Differ." Journal of the Lute! Society of America, vols. XX-XXI, 1987-1988 p. 87-105. If one compares the places in Saiz I that use the asterisk and compare it in parallel place in Barbe one finds a slanted double cross used to designate what was an asterisk in Saiz I. The inference seems to be that miolement was indicated in Barbe by the slanted double cross. It is unfortunate that there are no 17th century French lute authors that discuss the ornament at all. Nevertheless, vibrato seems to have enjoyed some popularity with the viol school that was evolving at around the time of Barbe and Saiz I. For a comparitive discussion of the use of vibrato in the gambists' repertoire se Frederick Neumann, Ornamentation in Baroque and Post Baroque Music, (Princeton, 1978), p. 511-513. In his 1685 publication Demachy says that the ornament for vibrato he calls tremblement sans appuyer is sometimes called miaullement. It is possible that despite the statements made by Mersenne and Mace (vibrato going out of fashion), that vibrato was enjoying a revival in French instrumental practice at the end of the seventeenth century and the start of the eighteenth century. Cheers, Jorge On Oct 12, 2007, at 3:59 PM, Henk Pakker wrote: I am wandering about the use of vibrato - as well as (Segovian) pushing strings away - on baroque lute in e.g. the Weiss period. Sure Weiss indicated explicit at certain passages the use of vibrato, but how much more was it in use? When playing Weiss' music more often you get the 'inner feeling' to 'vibrate' at certain spots, etc. In "Performance on Lute, Guitar and Vihuela" (ISBN 0-521-45528-6) I can't find any directions/explanations on this matter. Impressions on this aspect are very welcome. Henk Pakker -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html Jorge Torres Associate Professor of Music 237 Williams Center Lafayette College Easton, PA 18042 (610)330-5365 [EMAIL PROTECTED] ::::::::::::::::::::::::: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.488 / Virus Database: 269.14.8/1064 - Release Date: 11-10-2007 15:09 --