Hi, after Stewart's recent mail on Matelart's fantasia terza, I had a thorough look again, (after a very long time), at his fifteen solo fantasias, and liked them very much. They contain mistakes, but are "intermediate", idiomatic and fun to play. What struck me at once, was the similarity in style and tonal language to the music of Molinaro whose book is exactly 4 decades later. I haven't until now found such a striking similarity between two lute composers before. Those two must certainly have been brothers in spirit and that is intriguing. Even his uncle (and teacher) Gostena's music does not seem as similar to Molinaro's, as Matelart's does. Could it be, because they both were not only lute-composers, but also vocal polyphonists? There doesn't seem to be that many of them around. At least I can't recall others right away, except Gostena, Padoano(?), Galilei and it's said Narvaez. (Willaert didn't compose I think, only intabulate.) I imagine, most polyphonists could handle a lute though, although not choosing to compose for it (but perhaps with it), and many did, apparently, like Hayne, Josquin, etc.
Best, G. To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
