Also note the 'lute stop' or 'theorbo stop' on the harpsichord which was a row of jacks plucking closer to the bridge than the main and gives a more brittle and brilliant sound.
As you suggest the 'baroque' lute technique described by contemporary sources needs much more consideration (and as discussed earlier probably entails significantly lower string tensions than modern practice). tho' perhaps not to most modern taste as yet MH --- On Tue, 19/1/10, [email protected] <[email protected]> wrote: From: [email protected] <[email protected]> Subject: [LUTE] Re: Thumb rest stroke To: [email protected], [email protected], "Ron Andrico" <[email protected]> Date: Tuesday, 19 January, 2010, 19:27 Ron, Good points. I'm working on exactly this point. The main issue with true thumb-out is getting a decent and - far more importantly - _consistent_ sound out of the treble strings. There clearly was a marked aural difference between the too positions that the baroquenists admired. How else to explain the Stammbuch of Stobaeus when he contrasts the "pure, sharp, bright" tone of thumb-out versus the "rotten and muffled" sound of old thumb-under. I think most modern baroque lutenists attempt to re-create the thumb-under sound. They therefore have an anachronistic conception of tone. I can't say that I agree with the "rotten and muffled" part, but for me, there is nothing saying that a brighter sound can't be expressive. In my experiments, I've found that it is quite possible to have a wide range of timbral, tonal and dynamic shadings. The lute just responds differently with the fingers in this position. Still a work in progress. The secondary issue is that the true baroque lute technique is very, very close to modern classical guitar technique. I think this strikes too close to home for many lutenists for whom thumb-under is part of the (modern) "identity" of what it means to be a "real" lute player, as distinct from wannabe classical guitarists who thrash around on a pear-shaped instrument at ren. fests, etc. Chris --- On Tue, 1/19/10, Ron Andrico <[1][email protected]> wrote: > From: Ron Andrico <[2][email protected]> > Subject: [LUTE] Re: Thumb rest stroke > To: [3][email protected], [4][email protected], [5][email protected] > Date: Tuesday, January 19, 2010, 11:09 AM > Chris & All: > The rest stroke for the thumb seems a > logical means to both produce a > strong bass and teach the thumb to keep > track of diapasons, although > there is no specific referral to this > technique by name in any written > historical source I've seen. The > term 'rest stroke' seems to be a > classical guitar convention useful in > adapting to lute technique. The > thing I find extremely puzzling in the > 'awful lot of paintings' you > mention is that, for late 16th and almost > all 17th century examples, > there is a nearly uniform depiction of a > thumb-out technique, which is > also described clearly in written > sources. With one exception, nearly > all our notable baroque lutenists of > today use a thumb-under > technique. This even applies to a > lutenist I've seen in a recent video > who is described as never having played > renaissance lute. What gives? > Why don't baroque lutenists today use > what is an unquestionably obvious > historical technique? I admit to > not having paid much attention to > this issue in the past. > Sincerely puzzled, > Ron Andrico > www.mignarda.com > > Date: Tue, 19 Jan 2010 05:10:57 > -0800 > > To: [6][email protected]; > [7][email protected] > > From: [8][email protected] > > Subject: [LUTE] Re: Thumb rest > stroke > > > > I've seen Paul O'Dette use repeated > rest strokes in the bass, > sometimes for fairly fast lines that I > would take with p-i alternating > (free) strokes. On the other hand, I've > seen Robert Barto occasionally > use rest strokes in the treble. > > > > There are an awful lot of paintings > (especially, but not exclusively, > baroque) in which the players are clearly > using a rest stroke with the > fingers a la classical guitar. In most of > these the player is obviously > tuning; in some, its not so clear. I know > of no printed instructions, > however. > > > > Chris > > > > > > > > > > > > > > To get on or off this list see list > information at > > [9]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html > > __________________________________________________________________ > > Hotmail: Free, trusted and rich email > service. [1]Get it now. -- > > References > > 1. [10]http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/196390708/direct/01/ > > To get on or off this list see list information at [11]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html -- References 1. http://uk.mc263.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected] 2. http://uk.mc263.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected] 3. http://uk.mc263.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected] 4. http://uk.mc263.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected] 5. http://uk.mc263.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected] 6. http://uk.mc263.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected] 7. http://uk.mc263.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected] 8. http://uk.mc263.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected] 9. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html 10. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/196390708/direct/01/ 11. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
