Martyn, On Mon, 11/3/14, Martyn Hodgson <hodgsonmar...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote: > If you believe the > lute 'works well' and is 'quite audible' for > continuo in ensemble, such as that > required for a Bach harpsichord > concerto, why do you think the theorbo was > ever invented?
I've often wondered how the theorbo ever became a "thing" myself. What an improbably solution it offers for musical issues! And what an awkward, ungainly thing it is to master and use idiomatically! Strange fingerboard tuning... Limited melodic range... inability to double most vocal lines for support, especially when accompanying shaky singers... harmonic register placed in an undistinguished mid-range that is easily covered by others in even small groups... Campanellas are neat, but they take a lot of additional dedicated practice time to master and are virtually useless in ensemble playing other than in the most exposed passages. The basses, of course, sound great! They can be used to incredible effect - IF the bass line is diatonic for the tuning you happen to have during that section of the piece... and fairly slow moving... sans lots of leaps... without requiring a surplus of articulation... or too many ascending scalar passages that will ring... and you've also spent tons of time practicing to securely find your way through the forest of strings. (Know that the director will invariably want the theorbo to be the sole accompaniment instrument for the prima donna's passionate chromatic lament in B-flat minor at the opera's heart-rending denouement. He will announce this only as you're tuning up immediately before the opening show.) Volume is an asset. However, aside from the beauty of the open basses, the overall sound doesn't project especially well and so is more evident to the player than the listeners. It does look cool, however. I speak as someone who has played a lot of theorbo. My very first album was dedicated to solo theorbo music. I still love the instrument and its repertoire. However, considering all the time I've had to put into becoming competent and considering the challenges of the medium versus the acceptability of then-current alternatives (i.e. Renaissance lute), I've often pondered why the ancients ever bothered to embrace this cranky beast as enthusiastically as they did. My guess is it caught on because it looked cool back then, too. ;-) Chris Dr. Christopher Wilke D.M.A. Lutenist, Guitarist and Composer www.christopherwilke.com -------------------------------------------- On Mon, 11/3/14, Martyn Hodgson <hodgsonmar...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote: Subject: [LUTE] Re: Ren lute as sub for theorbo To: "Geoff Gaherty" <ge...@gaherty.ca>, "lute@cs.dartmouth.edu" <lute@cs.dartmouth.edu> Date: Monday, November 3, 2014, 10:47 AM If you believe the lute 'works well' and is 'quite audible' for continuo in ensemble, such as that required for a Bach harpsichord concerto, why do you think the theorbo was ever invented? __________________________________________________________________ From: Geoff Gaherty <ge...@gaherty.ca> To: "lute@cs.dartmouth.edu" <lute@cs.dartmouth.edu> Sent: Monday, 3 November 2014, 13:42 Subject: [LUTE] Re: Ren lute as sub for theorbo On 2014-11-03, 8:18 AM, Christopher Wilke wrote: > Ren lute is absolutely fine. When I played in the Collegium at Eastman, > Paul (O'Dette) occasionally sat in with us continuo players. He always > used his 8 course I played continuo on my 7-course renaissance lute for many years in a baroque ensemble class at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. Although I own an archlute, the 7c was much more portable, easier to play, and sounded just fine. Some chords were awkward because of the tuning, but otherwise it worked well, and was quite audible in our ensemble of 5 or so. Heck, I even played continuo in a Bach harpsichord concerto! Geoff -- Geoff Gaherty Foxmead Observatory Coldwater, Ontario, Canada [1]http://www.gaherty.ca [2]http://starrynightskyevents.blogspot.com/ To get on or off this list see list information at [3]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html -- References 1. http://www.gaherty.ca/ 2. http://starrynightskyevents.blogspot.com/ 3. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html