Stephen Arndt
Sat, 23 Feb 2008 11:19:22 -0800
Ed wrote: "Is this available on the web? I have two sets from the Barbe set by Kemer Thomson: E.Gaultier and Gallot le Vieux, but what you have sounds much bigger." Yes, it is much larger--the complete manuscript. As far as I know, it is not available on the web. Please contact me off-list. "Did you try gut strings on it?" Yes, and the sound improved somewhat but was still metallic, especially when I tried to record. I really think the problem was the instrument, though it was made by a builder whom, if memory serves, you've indicated in past e-mails you admire. "If you played every week in church, I bet you would start to get used to it." Every week--that would be a Lenten penance, at least for the people who had to listen to it. "Try some of Roman's Sautscheck pieces." I have and much enjoy them. When I said that there weren't many easy pieces, I was speaking of historical sources. Rob wrote: "You mentioned books - do you have the baroque lute tutor by Satoh and the one by Miguel Serdoura, 'Collection Le Secret Des Muses'? The latter has lots of exercises and easy pieces. I have the French version which was published by the French Lute Society, but I believe it has been withdrawn and will be published by another publisher both in French and a seperate English language volume. Anthony should be able to update us on that. It is 346 pages long and includes good biographies of the main and lesser-known composers." I have used the one by Satoh but have not seen the one by Serdoura. It sounds really good. Do you know whether the same text is just being reissued or whether it has been revised? If the former, I shall try to locate a used copy. I speak fluent French, so the language is not a problem. Anthony wrote: "Lutists keep telling me the contrary. They say that the left hand is so much easier on Baroque lute. " I know. That seems to be the majority opinion. They also cite the reason that Baroque music uses more open strings. I still have trouble finding the right bass string, not of course when the bass line moves chromatically but, for example, when I have to jump from, say, the fourth course to the eighth or the fifth to the tenth. I suppose that, all in all, the left hand is easier, but for me the right hand is more difficult, and somehow Baroque lute seems much more difficult on the whole than Renaissance. Bernd wrote: "Versuch' mal, die beiden kleinen Noten nicht "anzuhangen", sondern sie mit kraftigem Impuls zu spielen. Dann sieht das Ornament ganz anders aus." Vielen Dank fur die Hinweise. Ich werde es mal versuchen. Es wurde mir aber helfen, wenn ich ein Beispiel anh=F6ren k=F6nnte. Kannst Du mir ein Gutes empfehlen (vielleicht etwas, das Du aufgenommen hast)? -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html