Dear Roman,
It does seem that this quotation is taken from the book by J.L.Romanillos
and M.H.Winspear "The Vihuela de Mano and the Spanish Guitar", The Sanguino
Press, Guijosa 2002, p.95
>From my own understanding of things "big�ela de bordones" in this context
could mean a six - seven course (6x2, 7x2) "guitar-like" instrument with the
two or three lower pitched courses strung either in unisons or in octaves.
A rather later source "Arte de tocar la guitarra espanola ..." by D.
Fernando Ferandiere, Madrid 1799 recommends to put a bourdon and an octave
on the E-string, two bourdons on the A-string and two bourdons on the
D-string.
Why "guitar-like"? Because, however unlikely, they could be of a different
shape than that of the guitar, not to mention, with the fluted type of the
back like on the vihuela E.0748 'Chambure' (I'm only joking!). The Appendix
23 ("Deed of capital assets that Maros Antonio Gonzalez took into his
marriage with Dona Phelipa Gonzaliz" of 1766) on p.511 of the above
mentioned book lists "Two pear-shaped vihuelas at forty reales each, ..."
(Dos biguelas de perilla cada una en quarenta reales ...)
I suppose one of the surviving pear-shaped 6-string guitars made by Jose
Pernas, Granada, 1854 (illustrated in "The Spanish Guitar", The Metropolitan
museum of art, 1992, p.149) may well have been modelled on one of those
still existing big�elas.
>From the information that is currently available, it follows that in the
later years of the 17th century the names vihuela and guitar could have been
used interchangeably. So, what we really don't know is how those "big�elas
de bordones" were tuned - as vihuelas or as guitars. Most probably, as
guitars ... Maybe somebody knows. I don't.
Regards,
Alexander Batov
www.vihuelademano.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Roman Turovsky" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "LUTE-LIST" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Thursday, October 07, 2004 5:07 PM
Subject: vihuela
> What could this mean?
> "Dalp Miranda, Theodosio. (b.c.1665) Theodosio Dalp Miranda was born in
> Valencia. He was about twenty-three years old, of medium height, thickset
> and with limp dark brown hair. He had been working as an apprentice and a
> journeyman in Madrid and the provinces making musical instruments (de edad
> de veinte y tres a�os poco mas o menos que es un hombre de mediana
estatura
> y de cuerpo reicho pelo casta�o oscuro laso y nos hizo relazion diziendo
que
> abia ejerzido en esta corte y en otros ciudades el arte de violero de
muchos
> a�os). He was examined for his mastership in 1688 by Marcos Jim�nez,
> Francisco de Campos and Pedro de Aguilar on a vihuela with bourdons, a
> double-course harp and a viol (big�ela de bordones, un arpa de dos ordenes
y
> una big�ela de arco). "
> RT
>
>
>
>
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