I think we can agree on that, but probably not my Bank manager, who
really turns out to be my good lady wife ...
I am having trouble persuading her that a 10c might be an absolute
necessity, without which life would become utter gloom and doom.
And as you say, a compromise is always that, when Jacob came to Caen,
bringing along only one lute for the Sienna music, he brought his 6c
(and even then he brought the 60 cm, when he had told me that 64 cm
was really a minimum for expressiveness, so he still made a
compromise); but I doubt if he gave the 7c any consideration at all.
All the best
Anthony
Le 3 avr. 08 à 17:10, Jean-Marie Poirier a écrit :
No problem, Anthony. I did not feel "fussed" at all about this 8c
business. I quite understand what you mean, but my conclusion will
nevertheless be that a compromise will remain a compromise, i.e.
something imperfect and by nature unsatisfying... So, after that,
it's only a matter of how much you accept to give up, but what
remains will necessarily be... a compromise ! (La Palisse was
French, wasn't he? So was Descartes and Coluche <g>).
Only one way out : the basic outfit should be something like one 6
c., one 7c., one 8c., one 10 c., one 11c. and more if you, and your
banker, feel like it ! ;-)
All the best,
Jean-Marie
======= 03-04-2008 15:30:42 =======
Jean-Marie and Ed,
No derogatory remarks have come from me on the 8c. Again, I would
just like to say that if someone is hoping to play Francesco and
Dowland on the same lute, then 7c is surely the better choice, with
the 7c in D, that covers much 8c music with the possibility of
stopping the bass course. There are less additional sympathetic
resonances to colour the sound. It is also historically plausible,
while an 8c for Francesco probably is not; but perhaps I am wrong
there. It has been so frequently of late. On the other hand, if a
lutist wants to cover from Dowland to transitional, the 10c is a
better compromise (as shown by JaKob's Rauwolf). The 8c does not
really allow that, does it?
I was taking account of what Rob said he was hoping to do.
Also I will admit that I have usually heard 8c lute with wirewounds,
and the problem of sympathetic resonances are even worse. I think you
and Ed have your lutes gut strung, so the problem would be much less.
I suppose for someone just specializing in later Elizabethan music
and its close European equivalents, an 8c strung entirely in gut
could be a good solution.
This is what Jacob Heringman uses on his Jane Pickeringe's Lute book,
on his 8 course Martin Haycock after Venere. see for example:
Track 04-Almaine by francis Cuttinge (1:35)
http://magnatune.com/artists/albums/heringman-pickering/04.m3u
Now compare this with the 7c Gerle by the same maker, both are strung
in gut, and with same lutist of course:
http://magnatune.com/artists/albums/heringman-siena/07.m3u
Do you think the 8c sound would function well with the Fantasia? It
is a question of taste, no doubt, but the maker himself, Martin
Haycock (while preferring a 6c lute)
advised the 7c for this multipurpose, and he also said that he was
less happy with 8c lutes in general, exactly for the reason mentioned
above.
Indeed he told me that the two ideal lutes he would like to own
himself, would be the 11c and the 6c, both which he considered had
acheived the ideal balance of poise
and sound before having become over complexified. So no derogatory
remarks implied, but some justification, only slightly musicological.
Best regards
Anthony
PS Ed my mails rebounce, so you will receive this through the list
Le 3 avr. 08 à 13:02, Jean-Marie Poirier a écrit :
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://poirierjm.free.fr
03-04-2008
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