Could lutes made for outdoor use have been built differently from chamber lutes? Perhaps, if they did once exist, they would have been prone to damage, and may not have survived. They also could have been less ornate and so of less value, and relatively easily discarded.
Here in France, Eric Bellocq organizes an outdoor spectacle (spectacle de rue) in which he accompanies a juggler from "Chant des balles", and almost juggles with his lutes. I have not actually seem them together, but he told me he needed a very well structured lute, with a great deal of projection, and I think these are made for him by Maurice Ottiger in Switzerland http://chantdeballes.com/presseouestfrance13112001.html regards Anthony Le 18 sept. 07 à 21:01, David Rastall a écrit : > On Sep 18, 2007, at 1:34 PM, <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >> Yes, but what about all the descriptions and paintings >> of lutes being played _outside_ ... with ensembles? >> Where these guys essentially just playing "air lute"? > > My point remains: name one piece of solo lute music ever composed > for a concert-hall. Obviously I can't second-guess the intentions > of any composers, but if they came from an age when there weren't any > concert halls it's not difficult to imagine that their music was not > intended to be heard in one. > > Stating the obvious here, but nevertheless: whether or not lute > music actually works in a concert hall depends on the temperament of > the player, the willingness of the audience to adapt to a quiet > instrument and/or the accoustics in the hall. > > As for playing outside, I don't know the answer to that. Mauro > Giuliani was said to have performed his concertos for guitar and > strings outside on occasion. How could anybody possibly have heard > him? I don't know. > >> I have a hunch that they might have played with an >> aggressive approach and tone - much like an >> unamplified flamenco or folk guitarist - that we would >> simply find unacceptable today in a professional >> lutenist. > > I don't think I've ever read any descriptions, or seen any paintings, > of lutenists playing outside to concert audiences. There are plenty > of depictions of 16th, 17th and 18thC musicians playing outdoors for > one another; in fact, I bet we've all done that at one time or > another. My earliest experiences of lute playing were outdoor > events: "lute-hoots" organized by my teacher at that time, and > consisting of many singers, luters etc. We never had any problem > hearing each other. Of course, this was in a place (Topanga Canyon, > CA) where there was very little ambient noise. > >> If so, an insteresting point to consider is >> how much of this "rock 'n' roll" lute technique may >> have carried over into solo works performed in the >> chamber. > > In the 17th or 18th century? I imagine there was a time for raucous > madcap playing, and a time for extremely elegant playing. > > David R > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > -- > > To get on or off this list see list information at > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
