Dear Jerzy
I am really just trying to make a synthesis of what other
people have explained to me. I have been very lucky in being able to
discuss over the net with Mimmo Peruffo , and to have a small inkling
of his historic research methods into historic strings. Charles
Besnainou, the French CNRS string researcher also kindly opened his
laboratory to me.
I have also found many lute makers very open to discussion, among
them, Martin Shepherd, Malcolm Prior, Wolfgang Emmerich, Carlos
Gonzales. I have to thank them for their willingness to answer my
stumbling questions. I think lutenists, lute makers and string makers
would benefit from much more close dialogue.
However, I have done absolutely no personal research, other than my
own string tweaks. I merely make my own personal interpretation of
other people's findings. I would think that a lute handbook would
call for a little more than that, but thanks for the idea;
For the second point you make, my tendancy is to see how different
schools, and indeed musicians have contributed in terms of their
great musical sensitivity (Hoppy, for example), or in taking a
historic hypothesis to its logical conclusion (Satoh and the low
tension string hypothesis).
The former possibly looking for a sort of universal musicality,
almost beyond the lute, the latter perhaps exploring textures very
much constrained by a particular lute and string type.
Although, I agree, historical authenticity is not to be judged just
in one area: string type, or RH position, and not in another: the
grammar of rhetoric, for example.
And of course authenticity does not guarantee musicality.
I have to say that I have very much enjoyed Satoh's compositions for
voice and lute, and I wonder whether his approach might not be
grounded in a Japanese tradition of approach to music and art.
Living in France, I am very aware that varying traditions can have a
strong influence on the way we approach music and theatre. French
theatre and even cinema, for example tends to be universalist, to the
extent that local accents and social situations are frequently
completely disregarded, while in the English (central European
influenced) cinema these can be almost the main subject of the film
(yes, I am sure there are many counter examples).
Well, I am off subject, but perhaps living in between two cultures
makes me less willing to close the doors to any serious approach to
baroque music.
Anthony
Le 8 févr. 09 à 20:37, Jerzy Zak a écrit :
Anthony,
On 2009-02-08, at 19:16, Anthony Hind wrote:
Indeed, there are signs that there were disagreements, between
lutenists of past times.
About the practice of using Bologna lutes...
Some lutenists like Mace and Jacques Gautier, who seem to...
The description by Mace of J. Gautier showing...
We see that the king, and one of Jacques Gaultier's students
bought these lutes, not Gaultier, himself, who...
While in Burwell, in contrast, we see a scathing attack on
Gautier's 12c lute.
This makes me think that even then, there could be controversy
between "ancients and moderns"...
Fantastic!!! I'd love to have all this in a book format. I think
you are certainly able and qualified to do it. Anthony, please,
write a handbook for lutenists. As for now, I'm struggling today
for a bit of time to practice, as beside of having a good master
and a talent, by all means one need a motivation for a hard work.
Another truism (to annoy Roman ;-)).
Am I wrong or not but all appogiaturas I hear are sharp
''backwords'', not to say about other ''nuances''...
I am afraid I have not quite understood this last remark, so I can
not tell you whether you are mistaken or not.
This was seemingly out of this topic, but you've included the
exemple here so I couldn't resist a reaction. But I should rather
extract it and put into the ''French trill''.
To put it simple, evidently Satoh, a master for more then one
generation of lute players, since some time in avant-guard of
research on stringing, an icon of a ''new'' right hand approach to
baroque technique, playes the basic French appogiatura (notated
with a coma after a letter) in such a unorthodox way??? And I know,
his students do the same.
You may take it as a critic, as I wolud do 5 or 25 years ago. But
it is a wider thing. You can find questionable elements in playing
of several people, including ''stars'', but in such cases it is
never discused -- to delicate? Or perhaps it desn't matter, like
single strung instruments, hybrids, toy-theorboes, prevailing
renesans tuning on archlutes in most baroque continuo performances.
etc, etc.
I think the EM movement once was a stroke of genius, but from the
start it had a concealed virus (or more then one) -- an immanent
conflict between historical evidence and common musical sens. Now
it is to obvious and hundreds of HIP cases testify to this, every
day. Let's be honest...
But I'd love to have your book on phisics of lute!
And I value your knowledge, immensaly.
Regards
Anthony
Jurek
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