Dear Ed,
A tempting thought, but I don't think Dalza uses the fermata as a
sign for a breve. In the pieces called Tastar de corde Dalza has
several chords with a fermata, for example the piece starting like
this:
|\ |\ |\ |\ |\ |\ |\
| |\ |\ | |\ |\ |\
^ ^ | |\ |\ ^ | |\ |\ |
. . |. | | . | | | |
-0--|----|-----------|-3--|-------------|-
----|-0--|-3---2--0--|----|-------------|-
----|----|--------.--|----|-0-----------|-
----|----|-----------|----|-3-----------|-
-0--|-2--|-----------|-0--|-------3--2--|-
-0--|-0--|-0---------|-3--|-2--0-----.--|-
.
(A mono-spaced font is essential for this to look right.)
Each bar consistently lasts a semibreve, so the fermata sign cannot
mean a breve. If Dalza wanted a bar's worth for each chord, he would
have used the sign for a semibreve for each chord, i.e.
|
|
|
|
In his introduction Dalza shows all the available note values
represented by flags, including fancy flags for triple time. He
gives the following five basic signs:
| |\ |\ |\ |\
| | |\ |\ |\
| | | |\ |\
| | | | |\
He would presumably have included the fermata sign along with these
signs, if he had thought of it as a breve. The fact that he leaves
it out in the introduction would suggest that he didn't consider it
to be a sign with a fixed note value like the other rhythm signs. I
think he means that the player should wait a suitably long time on
each chord with a fermata.
I'm afraid I don't fully understand what he says about these signs,
and would appreciate help from an Italian speaker. This is the
passage, with my attempt at a translation:
Questi sonno li segni
[Here are the signs.]
| |\ |\ |\ |\
| | |\ |\ |\
| | | |\ |\
| | | | |\
El primo significa la mesura a che devi tegnir:
[The first means the pulse (beat) which you must keep:]
laqual bisogna pigliarla si larga che in quel tempo tu posse dare le
botte del numero diminuto:
[this needs to be held long enough for you to be able to strike
shorter notes within that time.]
per che lo secondo segno vale per la mita del primo.
[because the second sign is worth half the first.]
El terzo per la mita del secondo.
[The third (sign is worth) half the second.]
El quarto per la mita del terzo.
[The fourth (sign is worth) half the third.]
El quinto per la mita del quarto.
[The fifth (sign is worth) half the fourth.]
Dalza then goes onto describe the rhythm signs for triple time. I
can't see any reference to the fermata sign.
I'm afraid I don't know about the origin of the fermata sign, and
would appreciate help in that direction too.
Best wishes,
Stewart.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ed Durbrow" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "lute list" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Wednesday, June 09, 2004 4:51 PM
Subject: Re: Tablature rhythm signs
> >Where the singer's
> >staff notation part ends with a long, the lutenist's tablature
has a
> >pause sign instead. I've not looked very far, but my guess is
that
> >longs were generally confined to final bars, where the exact
length
> >of the note was not very important.
>
>
> That is most interesting Stewart. It got me to thinking, I wonder
if
> those signs that look like fermatas in Dalza are really just a way
to
> notate a breve. That's more or less the way I've always played
them.
> I don't think I've ever come across a longa in tab.
> cheers,
> --
> Ed Durbrow
> Saitama, Japan
> http://www9.plala.or.jp/edurbrow/
>
>
