I have this book as well. It has a well written pamphlet by Jiri Tichota. I have not spent much time with this book, but will some day...............
Ed Martin At 03:54 PM 6/2/04 -0400, Arthur Ness (boston) wrote: >Dear Danierl, > >Stewart has already given a thorough answer to your question. Here is >something I wrote before receving his message. > >What you have is the facsimile edition of the lute book copied by Mikul�s >Smala z Lebensdorf (Nickolaus Schmall of Lebensdorf), scribe for Jaroslav >Borita, Baron of Martinic (1589-1649), a participant in the "Defenstration >of Prague." (Protestants invaded the Prague Castle in 1618 and threw >Jaroslave and two companions out the Chancellery window. All three >surivived the fall. Catholics claimed it was a divine miracle. The >Protestants claimed they fell on a pile of horse dung.) > >This is really a carefully and professionally copied lute book and the >ciphers are quite legible, once you become accustomed to the shapes of the >letters. There is a lute fingerboard depicted on folio 37v which shows the >tablature ciphers, and their shapes in relation to the frets and courses. > >The book was compiled for Baron Borita and the pieces are of moderate >difficllty, and consist of many popular dances and songs of the time. > >Originally the facsimile edition came in a boxed set with a prefatory >pamphlet in Czech, English, French, German and Russian by Jiri Tichota, the >noted Czech lute scholar. If you are missing the preface, let me know and >i'll bring my copy to Cleveland and you can Xerox it. > >ajn Edward Martin 2817 East 2nd Street Duluth, Minnesota 55812 e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] voice: (218) 728-1202
