> Hello doc rossi, hello Rob, hello David and all others, > > Here is Martina Rosenberger from Germany. > I'm a sort of logistical centre of the folks who play Waldzither. For this > year I organize the 2nd Waldzither Symposium in Suhl, Thuringia, Germany. > I met Rob at the cittern Symposium at Michaelstein, Germany, three years > ago, and he "infected" me absolutely with the idea of fingertechniques > suitable for the Waldzither. > Meanwhile I did research about the 20th century Waldzither and I have > contacts to nearly all people involved with the instrument nowadays in > Germany. > I think, I could do one to three pieces of genuine Waldzither music from the > 1930ies for the "sampler production-CD". But it takes time, because I have a > sprained right hand at the moment (too much snow for weeks ..I simply > slipped and fell.). > > By the way: the "Th�ringische Waldzither" (thuringian cittern) has a > tradition until now in open tuning C like the English Guittar without an E > Bass-string, but also in G as a Bass-Instrument (I have and play one, look > at the photograph) and in g as a melody instrument (smaller and higher than > the C model). > From practice I can say, that it is absolutely sensible to have the "family" > because often the C tuning is not low enough for singing with it. > The lower sound is great and I'm getting quite addicted. > The small one is for quick melody-playing. The "Krienser Halszither" > (Switzerland) is tuned in the same way in g and they play very quick dances > and songs on it in Switzerland. It has a "violin or small guitar"- shaped > body AND a soundpost. It's the only cittern in german speaking countries > nowadays with a soundpost. > I think, it is logical - because the small instruments are more suitable > with a plektrum and quick playing - that they have a soundpost to shorten > the "after- sound" (sorry, don't know the special word in English) and have > short, clear notes. > The string tension is too high for finger techniques, so it must be the > plektrum. The C-Modell is sometimes used for strumming and the large G > .....you can let go and use it like a Bassguitar. > These two can be played with a plektrum AND with fingers, given the right > string length. 52 to 55 cm is ideal for finger technique, given the modern > steel strings with high tension. > The photograph shows me with the thuringian G-Waldzither. In the foreground > you see my C-Waldzither, herited from my father, built in Markneukirchen, > Saxony in the 1930ies. > I know, that the Waldzither is kind of folk instrument, but it is the > surviving relative to the English, sorry Rob, Scottish Guittar, and the > questions are still the same. > > with greetings from Germany > > Martina > Martina, some questions if you have time to answer them:
Does the Waldzither have its own unique music and repertoire or do you play folk music that best fits the tuning? Does the Waldzither play along with other folk instruments? Is it more like the Irish bouzouki (or mandola) or more like the Portuguese guitarra? You say the C- Model is sometimes used for strumming. Strumming is quite rare in 18th Century music and chords aren't that easy to do in these tunings? Do you know anything about those strange German instruments that were around the same time as the 'guittar' in Britain - e.g. the ones made by Klemm in the middle of the 18th C (Four top courses doubled and lots of bass strings)? ----------------------------------------- Email sent from www.ntlworld.com virus-checked using McAfee(R) Software visit www.ntlworld.com/security for more information To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
