Dear Caroline: That's good to hear, I think it is important to be focused but not cemented in one spot. When you take the sum total of all we know about the way the Lute was played and the kinds of Lutes that were played, or not played as the case may be, we really know, for sure, very little as a fact. I thought I detected the smile in there but I was not sure.
We don't even know for sure the nature of the strings that were used, and are left having to make a best guess; of course we can take that scenario one step further and condemn anyone else that does not agree with our conclusions. Even when we have what some may consider a detailed description of "this or that" we are still left with the fact that English of the period (in the case of English sources) has changed over the years leaving us with a degree of doubt even in the face of the obvious. In a sense we are kind of left struggling with an icon in the Lute many generations removed in time and understanding in much the same way scholars are left dealing with understanding The Bible translated from obscure sources, dead languages and years of abuse. Vance Wood. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Caroline Usher" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Vance Wood" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "lute list" <lute@cs.dartmouth.edu> Sent: Tuesday, April 05, 2005 11:55 AM Subject: Re: Newbie Question #2 > At 03:22 PM 4/4/2005, Vance Wood wrote: > >Dear Caroline: > > > >In the context this was written------Yes. When it comes to understanding > >the instrument, the music and the player/authors------No. In answered to > >the question we? If that means you wish to exclude yourself from that > >painting with a broad brush I would like to hear your thoughts. > > I was simply commenting on your assumption that you were speaking for all of us. (I assume most people got the reference to the old Bill Cosby routine about the Lone Ranger and Tonto??? There was a smiley in my message.) > > Personally, I don't feel that there is an imbalance in my practice between historical accuracy and being a 21st-century lute player. > Caroline > > Caroline Usher > DCMB Administrative Coordinator > 613-8155, Box 91000 > B343 LSRC > > To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
