Dear David (van Oiijen),
I've only just got around to reading your article and it is excellent!
I'm copying this to David Hill as well, as he and I have sat through
many a Bob Spencer masterclass and I really think Bob was one of the few
people who took both the historical evidence and the necessity of
communication seriously. Elizabethan English is difficult, and even
English singers fail to distinguish between "condemn" and "contemn", or
totally misconstrue the meaning of "Can she excuse my wrongs" as "Can
she forgive the wrongs I have done to her" instead of "How dare she try
to excuse the wrongs she has done to me by pretending her motives were
virtuous?" (virtues' cloak). Some of the most famous songs are the ones
which give the most trouble - Come heavy sleep, Fine knacks for ladies,
etc. There is still a long way to go before we regularly hear
performances of these songs where the meaning is understood by the
singer, let alone successfully communicated to the audience. So Bob's
work must continue, though alas he is no longer here to do it himself.
Best to all,
Martin
LGS-Europe wrote:
Stewart was kind of enough to find no less than nine spelling mistakes
and made the remark that not all lute songs are for one to four
voices. Point taken; a few have a fifth part. Dowland's 'Welcome Black
Night' comes to mind.
David
****************************
David van Ooijen
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.davidvanooijen.nl
****************************
Prompted by the question that arose on this list some time ago, I
have collected and organised some of the papers and thoughts I have
on the subject. Just for myself, it's nice to clear up in one's own
mind, but perhaps of help to the original poster and others, too.
here's where you can read it:
http://home.planet.nl/~d.v.ooijen/david/writings/lutesong_f.html
Still needs extensive spell-checking ... |-(
David
To get on or off this list see list information at
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