Dear Rob, The best source of information that I know of about the viola da mano is Hiroyuki Minamino's article 'The Spanish plucked viola in Renaissance Italy, 1480-1530' (Early Music, May 2004). It doesn't say a lot about Francesco owing to the scarcity of information, but he covers Isabella d'Este's interest in the viola da mano in some detail. If you can't find a hard copy I understand it's possible to buy downloads from the Early Music website.
Best wishes, Denys -----Original Message----- From: Rob MacKillop [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: 03 June 2008 18:30 To: Lute List Subject: [LUTE] Francesco and the viola da mano I understand the introduction of the vihuela into Spanish Neapolitan provinces helped the spread of the Italian viola da mano, but where does Francesco da Milano come in? Did he have a connection with the south? Or did the instrument spread to the north as well? How popular was the viola da mano? Any other publications for it? And can anyone flesh out the story of one of the d'Este family ordering a 'Spanish viola da mano' but having to settle for an Italian one instead? I can't remember the facts. I might copy this to the vihuela group as there are some people there who are not subscribers here. Rob MacKillop -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
