Last night I enjoyed hearing the Italian duo Vittorio Ghielmi (bass v da gamba) and Luca Pianca (arch-lute) play a program of baroque music. Vittorio did a lot of playing above the frets on the gamba - later music I guess was thus written? Very virtuosic playing. And the loudest gamba (7 string) I've ever heard - almost like a cello in the mid to upper range! Luca's arch lute was 13 strings, single strung. Single strung being not typical, I would think? The sound was lovely and projected very well and seemed to me like a transitional sound from lute to guitar. (He played two solo works, one by Weiss). What most impressed, was the wonderful rapport between the two players. Wonderful phrasing and dynamics. Highly recommended group!
Ned -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
