Setting aside the iconography, which it would be impossible to dismiss as being inaccurate in any case in all instances, as a practical matter it difficult to imagine an historical context in which theorbos were singe and double strung and archlutes invariably double strung. Since it is impossible to tell the tuning from the instrument, it is more likely that there was crossover in tuning and playing techniques. Similarly, it is impossible to rule out that players then single strung their double strung instruments from time to time, just as we do now. Also, an examination of the original instruments rules out a definitive stringing pattern--there are wide variations in the stringing, making the single-double concept a false dichotomy. Lastly, it is not just renaissance and early baroque lutes that are occasionally single strung. As more and more information becomes easily cross referenced on the Internet, we see more of the diversity and less of the modern, artificial categories. Lutes, mandoras, guitars, archlutes and theorbos all show evidence of single stringing. BUT, these were the exceptions, not the rule.
What we first need is an online and complete inventory of every single original theorbo, chitarrone, archlute etc. No progress can be made until this is done. The holes need to be measured as well. On a more basic level, modern theorbos are almost invariably single strung, yet the majority of original instruments are double strung. We just give the theorbos a pass. There is a basic musicological problem with the way these instruments are defined, and that problem actually affects modern performance practice. That is an issue worth revisiting. In musicology, twenty years is a long time. Articles are expected to be revised and updated pretty much without exception. The Spencer et alia http://www.vanedwards.co.uk/spencer/html/ Is seriously brilliant, but also seriously flawed in its hybrid methodology. It never set out a comprehensive, uniform principle for defining the instruments. I would argue, and I think it is a serious point, that by slightly oversimplifying the number of categories and simultaneously creating new ones, that we have obscured the variety and detail of the original instruments. Indeed, all research in the Chitarrone was stopped in its tracks. I am now playing a Chitarrone reconstruction-- no long neck, a bass lute tuned up a fourth in reentrant tuning, and find it very fine indeed for the first decade of the seventeenth century. And the idea for this instrument is buried in the Spencer article, Kudos! But it is time to revise our perception of these instruments--brilliant in its day, the old model simply does not work anymore. dt At 08:34 AM 7/10/2009, you wrote: >Of course, it is not "simplified" view of a famous player=85 >I won't go further on, however I'm temped ;-) >J >_________ > >But I can easily imagine Falckenhagen playing Weiss on his instrument. >By the way, is somewhere in image of that Straube's lute which =20 >Geinsborough(?spelling) bought from him in London? >J >________ > >On 2009-07-10, at 16:54, Roman Turovsky wrote: > >>The englaving is unusually precise. Look for the strange slots cut =20 >>in the walls of the pegbox. especially the bass side. >>It sure looks like an angelique to me. >>RT >> >>----- Original Message ----- From: "Jerzy Zak" <[email protected]> >>To: "Karl-L. Eggert" <[email protected]> >>Cc: "lute-cs.dartmouth.edu List" <[email protected]> >>Sent: Friday, July 10, 2009 10:46 AM >>Subject: [LUTE] Re: [english 100%] Re: Erzlaute >> >> >>Dear Karl, >>I'm looking invariable puzzled at the engraving for more then 20 years >>and I counted the pegs too. I recently converted (tempted by videos of >>some great modern players!) one of my swan neck lutes to single >>strings as well. I still have all the pegs on place, just single >>strings. It is possible. >> >>Thanks for the observation, >>Jurek >>________ >> >> >>On 2009-07-10, at 16:27, Karl-L. Eggert wrote: >> >>>J, >>>if you count the pegs on Adamo=B4s Lute there will be some more than = >=20 >>>13 or 14. >>> >>>Karl >>> >>>----- Original Message ----- From: "Jerzy Zak" <[email protected]> >>>To: "lute-cs.dartmouth.edu" <[email protected]> >>>Sent: Friday, July 10, 2009 2:01 PM >>>Subject: [english 100%] [LUTE] Re: Erzlaute >>> >>> >>>>On 2009-07-10, at 12:11, David Tayler wrote: >>>> >>>>>The problem here is that single stringing is historical, >>>>.. >>>> >>>>Yeee... >>>>There are men who loves "chaos", they need it to breath, to =20 >>>>florish, in the best possible terms. >>>>Others cannot live without order, alwaye seeking knowledge and =20 >>>>establishing harmony, whatever is the evidence. >>>>Some are doing this and saying the other ;-) >>>> >>>>The past is unpredictable, to say anachronistically, and largely =20= > >>>>in our hands. Look at this: >>>>http://tinyurl.com/muyoco >>>>Single strings or double courses? Of course, we know the man, =20 >>>>his opus, obviously a swan neck lute, French tuning, bla bla =20 >>>>bla, etc., etc. But stop automatic thinking, click again. =20 >>>>Wishful thinking, a florish of knowledge or chaos of evidence? =20 >>>>Is it a trick or a very simple matter of fact? >>>> >>>>Single stringing is historical ;-))) >>>> >>>>J >>>>______ >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>>To get on or off this list see list information at >>>>http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html >> >> >> >> > >
