Rob wrote:
I've just been thinking about Bach's bass lines (not the lute/violin/cello
suites) and the impossibility of playing them as written on either a
baroque
lute (either swan or bass rider), an Italian theorbo or a German Continuo
theorbo - only the Gallichon seems capable, and even then a large c.90
plus
gallichon in A would suffice.
Apart from the fact that it is fun to speculate one these matters, and good
for us continuo pluckers to find practical answers, perhaps the question is
a moot one. Bach did not write his continuo basses for a member of the lute
family. So I think it's up to us to adjust ourselves, or our lutes, to Bach
whenever we play his music. My usual Bach continuo lute is an archlute in
g'. Seven strings on the fingerboard, 8 = E, 9 = E-flat. It works for me.
David
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David van Ooijen
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.davidvanooijen.nl
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