Dana wrote: |> > |> >> "They must be played with a somewhat fast air [so much for the slow |> >> pavan] |> |> well, perhaps the tempo can be varied enough to get that certain peacock |> and his retinue thru the line as quickly as possible; perhaps at a wedding |> when the priest is visibly impatient for whatever reason. |> You are right about the pavan and its purpose, though I wonder how that relates to the playing of same on a lute.
Practically, your average lute is not a loud instrument, and certainly tends to get lost in the noise of your average dance. Leave aside the stepping and swishing, there is also the on-going clatter, voices, and so on. All in all, it is not the best instrument for playing dances, aside from very intimate ones. My take on it is that the tactus becomes crucial. So when the mid to late 16thC write "pavan" they possibly mean "in the style of a pavan", rather than "grab your partner". The implication is that once the tactus is set, you stay at that tempo. If the piece moves into three then the tactus remains on the one, and we go measure for measure. Seems to work for me. -- Best regards .. mark To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
