A builder in Germany has just contacted me about a commission they have received to build a 12-course cittern based on an existing instrument. There are four courses on the fingerboard; the rest are free. He is looking for more information on tuning. He's found two possibilities: [high to low] e' d' g b e a d g c f Bb es [I assume es = Eb] and g' e' c' g f e d c B A G F C [13 courses, but who's counting].
As you can see, the former uses the Italian 4-course tuning on the finger board with circle of fifths tuning on the free basses; the latter uses an open chord with diatonic basses, similar to tunings used in 18th-century France, Germany, etc. Apparently both were still found in 20th-century Saxony. Does anyone have any thoughts I could pass on? Thanks, Doc Doc Rossi Element Music Le Grand Domaine Boulevard des Dames 26 13002 Marseille France www.cetrapublishing.com www.magnatune.com/artists/docrossi.html [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] tel: (+33) (0)4 91 52 90 45 cell: (+33) (0)6 80 01 58 47 To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
