Apart from a couple of publications for a guittar in A (Marella) and one
or two for a guittar in G, the repertoire for the English guitar/guittar
is in C. And the tutors and instructions all agree on the tuning of the
instrument to a C major chord: c-e-g-c-e-g. Some surviving instruments
even have the tuning stamped on them.
So it's a surprise when D. Ritter, in his 'Lessons for the Guittar'
(c.1770) has a footnote on the title page: "the Guittar may be played in
an easier and more complete manner when the second string in the Bass is
tuned to d" (c-d-g-c-e-g). And he gives a little exercise to explain how
to finger the fifth course to get the e and the f..
Here's a simple Allemande:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrcCrNYY9zo
Now this could be just one person's idiosyncratic perspective but Joseph
Carpentier, writing in France at this same time, gives this same tuning
(for the guitharre angloise) in several places.
And there is something a little bit unusual about Ritter's music for the
instrument. It is all very simple and unambitious but it treats the
guittar differently from most others.Most composers/arrangers (even
Straube, Marella, Geminiani) treat the guittar as a melodic instrument
which can do some double stopping and chords. Ritter treats the
instrument like a lute or guitar: at least a basic melodic line with
simple bass accompaniment.
Most guittar composers/arrangers seem to have avoided this approach. If
a bass line was needed they would write duets. And maybe there is
something a bit clunky about Ritter's approach. And, stranger still, his
pieces could easily be played in the usual tuning. In fact the Allemande
here would be more easily played in the usual tuning.
There are some other pieces which treat the guittar more in the manner
of Ritter, such as the solos at the end of Straube's collection. But
it's very difficult to see any virtue in adopting Ritter (or
Carpentier's) tuning.
Stuart
To get on or off this list see list information at
http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
