Can't afford a lautenwerk :) No room either....had one for a while and it was really in the way. Also tuning was very strange. You really have to tune from the middle out in both directions because it goes out of tune before you reach the end.
I think a a baroque lute, D mi theorbo, gallichon (or whatever) and an archlute with eight on the table cover a lot of Bach, not all of it, but a lot of pieces. I really like 8 courses fretted for both continuo and just a small selction of solo pieces. Rather than purchase a quarrel or archlutes, I've opted for the multiple tunings/restringing. There's just a few pieces I really prefer on the archlute, and since Bach is to my mind almost all arrangements, it is also a bit different than a lute composer. Some might say that Bach is not arrangements, but the arrangement view is certainly tenable. I have to say that as far as continuo and recording goes, the pairing of the lute with the keyboard, e.g., a low wind pressure style german organ with split stops and two separate eights, is as important, or more important, than the precise disposition of the lute. And since the organ sound is more fundamental, I tend to choose instruments that blend with the tuning and sound of that instrument.Most of what I do is double continuo. Of course we all know Bach was a piano salesman, but we have to use that info wisely. dt At 05:43 AM 12/26/2007, you wrote: >At 03:28 PM 12/23/2007, David Tayler wrote: >>When getting an archlute, get one that can be either double or single >>strung, and have different divisions, e.g. 6+8, 7+7 >>8+6, etc. 8+6 is great for Bach (low F and F sharp; C and C sharp). >>6+8 great for earlier repertory. >>More holes; less poles. > >After so much concern given to matching the exact instrument and >configuration favored by a composer (namely Piccinini), I'm a little >surprised by the recommendation of any lute-like thingy, especially >an archlute, for playing Bach. > >Best, >Eugene To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
