Benjamin Narvey
Fri, 04 Apr 2008 12:49:12 -0700
Dear Collected Wisdom, I've been reflecting recently on standard string lengths for 11-course lutes, and have been rather stumped at the incredibly little information we have at our disposal for the comprehension of such a vital repertoire. I am aware of iconographic studies done by Robert Lundberg that place the ideal 11c lute at around 67cm (re: proceedings of the Paris Colloquium), and most makers seem only to build such instruments with a vibrating string length of between 65cm-72cm. But how do they come to such conclusions? To my knowledge there are NO surviving 11 course instruments from France (well, there is a ruined Desmoulins that has been theorboed and later "restored", but we can't tell very much from that), and not many from 18th-century Hapsburg lands. Does anyone on this list know anything I don't? How many eleven course lutes are there out there? And what kind of string lengths are they? (Incidentally, what kind of body types do they have?) I am aware of an eleven course lute by Wenger at 76cm - is this the longest 11c in existence? Which is the shortest? There are of course those enormous thirteen course lutes reaching even over 80cm, such as the instrument by Vendelinus Tieffenbruker that was later converted to a 13c Baroque lute by Thomas Edlinger (NMM 10,214); perhaps these lutes could give us an insight as to what 11c lutes would have been like at this late date? But vitally, what information do we have pertaining to France? And do we have enough information at all to be making judgements about any kind of standard about 11c lutes from any period/place in general? Aside from iconography and surviving instruments, I am aware of a set of trios for three 11c lutes of different sizes by Von Radolt, but I have never seen this music. Has anyone out there seen it? And if so, has anyone noticed any information, either in a preface or through an analysis of the parts, regarding what sizes these instruments this music may have been written for? This may give us an inkling....(incidentally, I believe this is the only example I know of a baroque lute trio....) Sorry this has been so digressive. Curious to hear from you. Best wishes, Benjamin -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html