Hi Andy, I glad someone is downloading the scores! Good luck with it all. If I can help more, I will. Never heard of the Thompsons.
>>>Any info on how they would have been used in ensembles or with >>>singers?<<< In Scotland, at least, the top part usually doubled the voice part, but one Scottish publisher, William Wilson, provides evidence of a different practice. From his title page: 'A New Selection of the Most Admired Songs for the Guittar ... A Proper Accompaniment is Arranged on a plan so distinct as must make the songs more agreeable to the Performer than the method that Has been used of playing the same notes that the Voice Sung. N.B. The Voice part can be performed on the German Flute, Clarinet, or Violin. Edinburgh: Printed for the Publisher in Aberdeen; And Sold by all the Music Shops and Booksellers in Britain' As I have said elsewhere: This collection consists of 26 songs with a 'proper' accompaniment part for the guittar. We might well ask what Wilson meant by 'proper'? Wilson was keen to 'develop' the guittar as an accompanying instrument and his guittar parts do show a tremendous variety of techniques (Alberti bass, scale runs, arpeggios) and textures, certainly as compared to 'the method that Has been used'. However, he clearly felt that such styles of accompaniment were out of place in the native Scots airs where simplicity was a necessity rather than an option. Under the influence of such foreigners as Geminiani and Beethoven, Scots composers eventually abandoned the simplistic approach in favour of a more 'sophisticated' harmonic language and form. Wilson's edition is evidence of an early transitional period: one that highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of the guittar, at least in terms of the harmonic restriction of the tuning in one sense, and its support for tonal (Scots) melodies in another. Bremner left Edinburgh for London, and Wilson moved in to replace him. He ran a very successful shop which also sold guittars. The quotation above from the front page also reveals how these editions could be used for ensemble practice. >>> Any music tips?<<< Can you be mopre specific? Rob www.musicintime.co.uk To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
