[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > Thanks, this is very interesting. Is this information from a biography of Bellman?
From an encyclopedia actually: Cappelens Musikkleksikon. > I'd be interested to follow this up too. A correction: According to Cappelens Musikkleksikon, Bellman's second instrument (referred to as a "cister") was built by M. P. Kraft. The article doesn't mention the origin of Bellman's early instrument, but refers to it as a "citrinchen" something that seems to imply a German rather than French origin. The picture seems to show a rather regular c. 1700 Hamburger Cithrinchen although it has 11 rather than 10 strings. In addition to the well known portrait, there's also a sketch dating to 1792 showing Bellman playing a very large theorbo-like instrument. I'm not sure if this is the Kraft cittern or not. If it is, it probably implies a significant change in Bellman's playing style when he got the new cittern. Stylistic changes in his later works may support this assumptions. (Picture sent offlist to Stuart, if anybody else is interested in it, please contact me) > What is the French connection? It's perhaps more correct to speak of a *continental* connection than a specific French connection. It's easy to make the error of viewing Scandinavian culture as separate from Eruopean mainstream. Fact is that thorughout the 17th, 18th and 19th Century Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish culture was very much influenced by what happened further south. When it comes to Bellman this is especially clear when it comes to the tunes he chose for his songs. About half of them has been identified, and the majority of them seems to originate in French op�ra comique. > > Yes, I'd like to see a picture of them. (Picture sent offlist - again tell me if anybody else wants to have it) Seems my memory isn't as good as it should be (it is almost 20 years since I really studied Bellman after all). The picture only inlcudes one of his instruments. However, if the 1792 sketch is of the Kraft, I guess we have a reasonably good picture of each anyway. > I know almost nothing about bell citterns - but think of them a small, thin-bodied instruments (played with a plectrum?) but the one Bellman has looks big and fat-bodied. Good point, but it may simply be a perpsective error by the painter. In the photograph the instrument doesn't appear to be much thicker than a regular cithrinchen. > Maybe you could say more about bell citterns? (Including the tuning - I sort of remember, c,e,g,b) Not much. Others on this list may know a lot about them though. The tuning you gave can't be correct. The Hamburg Citrinchen had five, not four courses. Here's a really nice Tielke btw: http://www.studia-instrumentorum.de/MUSEUM/ZISTER/0639.htm Pity it was lost during the war. :-( Bellman's instrument seems to be very similar to this, although with a far less fancy design. > > Interesting too! So Bellman and his instrument are more or less independent of the sittra/cister/sister fad in Sweden Not exactly. My guess is that Bellman was a predecessor to the fad. In fact, his popularity may well have been the main factor to start and fuel it. The conncetion between Bellman and M. P. Kraft (credited by Sparr as the inventor of the Swedish theorbo-cittern) is interesting here. Kraft was only a child when Bellman's career started so it's obvious Bellman preceeded the Swedish cittern fad. However, when Bellman later in his life needed a new instrument, he went to Kraft. If memory serves me well, he gave the builder some very specific and slightly unusual specifications for what he wanted. This is mere speculation, but maybe that's when the Swedish cittern was born. Are Vidar Boye Hansen wrote: > But I can! I have not read this, but I am very interested! So please > Frank, tell us more! I've translated the article Stuart mentioned as well as I could. And I've told all I know about citterns in Scandinavia. Not much. I have to admit this is very much a new topic for me too. I knew Bellman played the cittern of course, but had no idea others did too. > > I can add that there are some music in manuscript for the norwegian > sister. *That* is something you have to tell us more about, Are! > When Bellmann fled from his creditors in Stockholm, he lived for > a while in the little town Fredrikshald (now Halden) in the southeast > corner of Norway - my hometown. Cool! My grandmother was from Halden. :-) > Maybe he bought a sister from Amund > Hansen, who lived in Fredrikshald and was considered to be the greatest > norwegian sister maker. I'm afraid that's not very likely. Bellman went to Halden in 1763 (to escape his creditors). I think that's a bit before Hansen began building instruments (his oldest known cister is dated 1795). Frank Nordberg http://www.musicaviva.com http://www.online-guitarist.com http://www.gitar-siden.com http://www.tablatvre.com http://www.mandolin-player.com http://www.blues-harmonica.com http://www.irish-banjo.com http://www.blues-banjo.com http://www.folk-banjo.com http://www.roarogfrank.com To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
