Dear List: In a previous post, David van Ooijen provided the passage in Italian, which I paste below. He also provided us with a link to the following
Sono ancor armoniosi tutti gli instrumenti da tasti, perche hanno le consonanzie molto perfette e con facilit=E0 vi si possono far molte cose che empiono l'animo di musicale dolcezza. (Second Book, XIII) The troublesome word is "tasti," which both Mathias and Bernd have already pointed out means either =B3keys=B2 or =B3frets=B2 in Italian. This double duty is also found in other languages...take for example the word "tecla" in Spanish. Although there is a tendency for us to want to believe that Castiglione meant the lute, we must also consider the importance of other instruments with =B3tasti,=B2 most notably, viols and keyboards. The idea that proliferation of the harpsichord does not occur until after 1580 is compelling. Yet, as others have pointed out, several other types of keyboards existed in the 16th century that were popular, though probably not as popular as the lute or even viol. Nevertheless, Castiglione isn=B9t addressing life among the =B3popular,=B2 rather his text is aimed at those aspiring to court life. Mass proliferation would not matter as long as these instruments were available to those at court or on the fringes of court society, which they undoubtedly were. Perhaps the keyboard should not be ruled out on the basis of proliferation, although I would lean toward the fretted instruments of lutes and viols. Thank you all for you enlightened help. Jorge PS: The citation for =B3All keyed instruments also are pleasing to the ear, because they produce very perfect consonances=B2 is the old Opdycke translation. Castiglione, Baldesar. The Book of the Courtier By Baldasar Castiglione (1528) . Translated by Leonard Eckstein Opdycke. New York: Scribner, 1903. 89. -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
