I wonder how big of a difference the 8 courses really make in the long run. Sure there are minute tonal differences, but...
Let's say, in a sadistic experiment, someone plays a piece by, say, Francesco behind a screen four times - twice on six-course lutes and twice on eight-coursers in no particular order. Now, who on this list would really feel comfortable identifying which was which if a gun was put to your head? I believe I'd more easily pick up on the subtle tonal differences between makers more than the string setup - and that would have me sweating! Chris --- Anthony Hind <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Ed > I keep my 7c at D, and then stop it down for F. Of > course this means > the7c is no longer open, which no doubt does effect > the way the > string resonates. So there is a compromise, > involved. > > I would agree that in gut, the additional 8c is not > so much of a > problem, for 6c or 7c music. However, how many > beginners keep their > lutes in gut? > > Probably more important than choosing between 8c and > 7c, is finding a > good lute, and then succeeding in stringing it well. > It took me about > two years to find the best stringing for my lute. > Even now, I am still ready to experiment. > > Initially, I found my Gerle a little bass heavy, as > Jacob Heringman > told me I would, saying approximately that as the > Gerle had a deeper > body, it would have a plummy bass, an explosive > sound but with not so > much sustain. That is in contrast to the Venere that > might be > brighter with a more sustained sound and possibly > less rich bass. > > Using Venice twine has helped balance that out a > little better. > Presumably, in the case of the Venere, it might be > too much of a good > thing, but I haven't tried. > Regards > Anthony > > > > Le 27 nov. 07 =E0 01:26, Edward Martin a ecrit : > > > I agree fully with Stewart. Although there is > more music for 7 > > course and 9 course lutes as compared to 8 course > lutes, an 8 > > course is a good compromise. I have that very > instrument, an 8 > > course. > > > > A great majority of the music for which I use that > instrument is > > for 7 course, but it is so very convenient to have > both a low F > > _and_ D, so I do not have to re-tune the 7th > course. I also > > sometimes put octaves on both the 4th and 5th > course, so I can play > > Continental 6 course music. In gut, it sound > absolutely no > > different from other 6 course lutes in gut. > > > > ed > > > > > > > > > > At 11:54 PM 11/26/2007 +0000, Stewart McCoy wrote: > >> Dear All, > >> > >> Unlike many of the contributors to this thread, I > don't have a > >> problem with 8-course lutes. They suit Terzi and > Molinaro, of > >> course, but you can use them to play earlier > music like Capirola, > >> and to some extent later music where nine or ten > courses are > >> required. If you want to buy many instruments, by > all means buy a > >> 6-course for Milano, a 7-course for (some) > Dowland, an 8-course > >> for Terzi, a 9-course for Francisque, a 10-course > for Vallet, and > >> then splash out on an 11-course for Mouton, a > 12-course for > >> Wilson, and a 13-course for Weiss. Why stop > there? Why not spend a > >> few more thousand quid on various sorts of > theorbo and archlute, > >> and throw in a mandora or two? > >> > >> If, instead, you want to compromise, and not fill > your house with > >> lutes, simply buy one 8-course lute, at least to > start with. > >> Having low F and D as open strings is useful for > Dowland, you > >> don't have the complexities of a lute with lots > of strings, and > >> you can happily play anything from the 16th > century. If a note is > >> too low for one's instrument, either play it an > octave higher, or > >> re-tune the lowest course down a tone (e.g. > 8th-course D to C), as > >> Capirola did (from 6th-course G to F). > >> > >> More significant than the number of strings, is > the tuning of the > >> strings, i.e. whether or not to tune the 4th and > 5th courses in > >> octaves. That makes far more difference to the > sound than the > >> number of courses. > >> > >> If I might add to what Ron has written, the > heart-shaped Pesaro > >> manuscript copied in the 15th century, contains > music for a 7- > >> course instrument; the music in Osborn fb7 is for > a 7-course lute, > >> and dates from about 1630. Plus =E7a change, plus > c'est la m=EAme > >> chose. Do we have any evidence of a 16th- or > 17th-century lutenist > >> refusing to play a piece, because his lute had > one or two courses > >> more than necessary? > >> > >> Best wishes, > >> > >> Stewart McCoy. > >> > >> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ron Andrico" > > >> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >> To: "G. Crona" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "Michael > Bocchicchio" > >> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >> Cc: <lute@cs.dartmouth.edu> > >> Sent: Monday, November 26, 2007 10:42 PM > >> Subject: [LUTE] Re: Is 8c really the standard? > >> > >> > >>> > >>> Dear Michael, G=F6ran & all: > >>> > >>> While G=F6ran gives an eloquent summary of our > received notion of > >>> the development multiple courses on lutes > throughout the 16th > >>> century, there is evidence that the matter was > not quite so > >>> clearly defined. No surprise. > >>> > >>> H. Colin Slim, in his excellent article, > 'Musicians on > >>> Parnassus,' (Studies in the Renaissance, Vol. 12 > (1965), pp. > >>> 134-163) describes the poem Monte Parnasso by > Philippo Oriolo da > >>> Bassano. Bassano appears to outdo Rabelais' > Pantagruel in the > >>> art of name-dropping within the poem, which Slim > dates to circa > >>> 1519-1522. > >>> > >>> Cantos XIX, XX and XXI name several theorists, > composers and > >>> instrumentalists, including Spinacino and > Francesco da Milano, > >>> Canto XX describes a contest between two > lutenists playing lutes > >>> with 13 and 17 strings. Presumably, the poet > was counting > >>> individual strings of the courses. Slim notes > that Sebastian > >>> Virdung also mentions lutes with fourteen > strings as early as 1511. > >>> > >>> We seem to have a collective need to create neat > categories and a > >>> progression of events for historical music but > the real story is > >>> always less systematic and more complex. > >>> > >>> Best wishes, > >>> > >>> Ron Andrico > >>> > >>> http://www.mignarda.com > >>> > >>>> Date: Mon, 26 Nov 2007 13:48:43 +0100> To: > >>>> [EMAIL PROTECTED]> CC: > lute@cs.dartmouth.edu> From: > >>>> [EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [LUTE] Re: Is 8c > really the standard?> > >>>> > Hi Michael,> > when I got my first lute in > the === message truncated === ____________________________________________________________________________________ Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your home page. http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
