Martina Rosenberger wrote: .. > And the Portuguese perhaps happily welcomed the English Guittar because IT WAS ALREADY FAMILIAR, known from a still existing renaissance cittern tradition.
You're right indeed. The evolution of musical instrumens doesn't usually followe a nice and orderly Darwinistic familiy tree but is rather based on a bunch of mad scientists (luthiers I believe they're called) splicing together genes from numerous "parents" just to see what come out of it. ;-) There definitely was a living Iberian cittern tradition when the Portuguese guitar first appeared and the new instrument fits very well into it. Yet the similarities with the English guittar are so obvious they simply can't be denied. I don't think it's a question whether the Portuguese guitar is a result of local traditions or English influence. Seems to me *both* factors clearly played their parts. Exactly the same happened at the same time with the Norwegian cittern btw and the process is well documented and - since the Norwegian cittern tradition is dead and gone by now - not as onscured by sentimentality and patriotism as the Portuguese story. Frank Nordberg http://www.musicaviva.com http://www.tablatvre.com To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
