I'd also like to put in a few words of appreciation for John
Robinson's tremendous output. Rather than looking at the Amazing
Amount I'd like to focus on one small representative side.
In the most recent LSA Quarterly there is a collection of pieces by
Antonio Rota found in manuscript sources. I had bought the Minkoff
facsimile years ago and had my favorites but this article (simply: as
others further disseminated his music) adds a complementary
understanding of his importance in contemporary circles. Ok, so I'm
just one person getting a better grip on what others would consider an
'also-ran' composer. But it's the larger collection of many, many
players such as this that make up the world of lute playing in
comparison to the cream of the crop we often demand. For my money it's
the global significance of many players that is defining to many
listeners both then and now.
From what I've seen many times in the UK and US LS publications Mr.
Robinson has been regularly doing this --and more-- for scores of
composers (of large footprints and small) for many years. Dowland
books/CDs/performances/theses are seemingly a dime-a-dozen these days
but it's this long, slow slog of work that starts to illustrate the
music that was played all those times when Dowland (or deRippe,
Francesco, etc) couldn't be booked for the performance, ie: what most
people heard. It has taken years to get this far and we're all the
richer for it.
Thanks, John!
Sean Smith
On Nov 12, 2009, at 11:20 PM, Peter Martin wrote:
John's achievement is even more staggering when you see it all
listed
in one place:
[1]http://www.lutesoc.co.uk/pages/john-robinson
and then realise that he also has a day job as a professor of
immunology
[2]http://www.ncl.ac.uk/biomedicine/research/groups/profile/j.h.robinso
n
Respect.
P
2009/11/12 Stuart Walsh <[3][email protected]>
Talking of 'Lute News', every issue has a supplement of pieces
edited by John H. Robinson. The latest is "Twenty Continental
Preludes and Exercises....from CUL MS 3056." He must have edited
hundreds and hundreds of pieces over the years.
Anyway, in 2000 Lute News no56, "Lute Music Ascribed or
Dedicated to
John Whitfield, Greene and Southwell", the second piece has this
very strange title:
"Mr Strange Gregory hitts J. Whitfield".
And it's a nice little piece (a galliard?) - and it's not too
difficult. A lot of the music in these supplements is tough going.
In the scholarly notes, it is explained that this isn't really the
title. It's not by (or for?) J. Whitfield. The title just is:
"Mr Strange Gregery hitts"
(Or "Mr Strange Gregery hills"). So (?) this might mean a man
called
Gregory Strange from a place abbreviated as hitts or hills?
Anyway again, the first strain (of three) has only seven 'bars'.
Is
this likely in English lute music of this period? I just wonder if
after bar 5 there could be a bar missing?
I do try all the pieces in these supplements and I'm amazed at
John
H. Robinson's achievement.
Stuart
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References
1. http://www.lutesoc.co.uk/pages/john-robinson
2. http://www.ncl.ac.uk/biomedicine/research/groups/profile/j.h.robinson
3. mailto:[email protected]
4. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/%7Ewbc/lute-admin/index.html
