A questionâmostly likely for luters north of the borderâ Do we have any documentary evidence (letters, wills, inventories, etc.) of lutes or theorboes in New France (Canada and Western US) in 16th-17th -18thcenturies? Are there any surviving instruments from the period in Canadian museums or collections?
A number of years ago, historian colleague showed me a reference to a theorbo in the French Caribbean in a (I think) late 17th-c text. Iâve misplaced the reference and am trying to dig it up again. (If anyone out there knows this source, Iâd appreciate your jogging my memory.) There are, of course, references to the guitar in 16th-c Spanish and French colonies but I donât recall ever seeing lutes listed in any of those documents. Regionally, a local historian shared with me a reference to a guitar in the early 19th-c will/inventory of a French settler in Ste. Genevieve MO. I donât think there is any description of the instrument, so no telling if it was a French baroque guitar, a European transitional guitar or a New World instrument. Thanks in advance for any pertinent ideas or suggestions. See ya, jeff -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
