> > Page presents and analyses some dubious evidence for an Arabic
> > instrument that prefigured the European version.
I'm am firmly convinced that the pre-figuring instrument is "Al Oud"
which is almost the same sound as "lute". which is almost the same
basic design for the back. ( Better HGs have a wider, flatter back, -it
evolved. - the back, - not the front.) OK the front evolved too, but
it evolved from a simple monastic Drone producer to The Ultimate
Outdoor Dance Machine in 800 years; but seems to have had no
pre-figuration with Arabic music. This isn't really opinion, just
prejudice.
I'm glad you are pursuing the research, though. Not having the
resources for my own study, I often wonder. I think getting ones hands
on the work of Odo of Cluny might prove beneficial, but I wouldn't
trust Google Language Tools or Babelfish with it, unless I were a
harmless drudge that needed the laugh....(oh!). I am remembering that
(I thought) I needed some Latin translated once and went down to the
Diocese and tried to find a priest. Failed on both counts. I am still
alive, so I probably didn't need the Latin as bad as I thought.....(
some say I still need to find a priest).
