Hey Stuart,
I had my 7-course guittar built after reading Bland's book years ago.
There is a 7-course Preston in Paris. I use Ritter's tuning for some pieced
as well - it does make a few fingerings a little more logical. Don't forget
that Oswald suggests tuning in G as well, suggesting that there were larger
instruments about. To me, all of these alternatives to the 6-course
C-tuned cittern suggest that there was experiment going on and exchange
with the continent. Look at Merchi, who sometimes published the same music
arranged for baroque guitar and for cittern in Paris and London.
................
And, curiously, English guitar music of Merchi's, published in London,
turns up in cistre music published in Paris. For example, the opening
Allegro of Sonata 1 from Merchi's Dodici Suonate for two C-tuned
(English) guitars or guitar and violin (published in London) , is the
opening Allegro from Sonata 1 for cistre (in A) with simple violin
accompaniment in Pollet's publication (in Paris)'Six Sonnates' (by the
best authors). The Rondo of Sonata IV by Merchi for solo guitar (also in
Dodici Suonate) is an Allegretto in tthe same Sonata.
Pollet's cistre arrangements of Merchi's music are much fuller and may
sound a bit stodgy perhaps.
..............
By the way, I've played through all of Marella's cittern music - there
are
some real gems in both collections in the BL.
Doc
.........................
So what's that odd-looking piece called Pantomime like!? Also, playing
Lesson 33, in C, must be quite brain-crunching, played on an A-tuned
instrument (as you are so familiar with the C tuning). And I wonder why
the A major tuning never caught on in Britain?
And, I've got a note somewhere that Marella lived in Dublin at some
point. And the Dublin guittars are all a bit larger than the usual
C-tuned guittars. Could some of them have been in A and have played
Marella's music?
Stuart
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