A little bit is known about Thomas Thackray and his life as a musician
in Yorkshire in the second half of the 18th century. He published
lessons and airs for the guittar (English guitar). His "Forty Four Airs'
have simple duets as well as solos. The duet format for English guitar
with a second part for another guittar (often specifying a violin as an
alternative) was very popular. The second part is usually just a
simple, as it were, bass line accompaniment. An accomplished player
could probably play both parts on one instrument but the use of two
separate instruments has its own unique sound.
Here are a couple of simple tunes, a 'minuetto' (Thackray includes both
minuets and minuettos) and 'Temple Newsham'. Temple Newsam still exists
in Leeds:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jU3BIzB51kM
Stuart
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