Yes, would also love to hear some of these Piazzolla works on lute. Congratulations on the new 8 course Larson instrument (would be interested to know which of his models you got). -Ned On Mar 29, 2011, at 12:11 PM, Daniel Winheld wrote:
> Excellent discussion- as to modern classical guitar "vs" renaissance > lute; some exchanges work, some don't. I've been testing these waters > very intensely since getting a new 8 course from Dan Larson. > Unbelievably resonant instrument, depth of response beyond anything > I've ever owned or played previously. The Villa-Lobos Etude #1 is a > great arpeggio study for thumb-index alternation, either thumb out or > in; but I would never play it on the lute in concert. A surprising > number of Villa-Lobos' other guitar works do sound good on this > particular lute (differences in individual instruments can affect > what works/doesn't work almost as much as different species of > instrument) -and of course, as Martin notes, you run right off the > rails technically with many pieces. But it's good training to dance > one's way right up to the sound hole playing the works that test & > extend the lute's limits, but don't quite exceed it. > > All technical stumbling blocks resolved, it seems to still be a > "cultural" thing; the European lute family is and no doubt will > always be- for the most part- a back-from-the-dead, loving retrieval > of our nearly lost instrumental musical heritage, redolent of > particular times and places, not mention musical-social associations. > In our minds, at least. One violates- or just pushes- these important > values/associations very carefully. Again, for my own amusement, I > have found that five of the dozen or so guitar arrangements of Astor > Piazzolla sound brilliant on the lute; actually even better in some > ways. (Lute sound- even with all gut stringing- cuts like an arrow > vs. guitar sound- smashes through like a bullet. Perfect for Tango) > -but I may never perform them in concert. A relevant and important > point; none of these works by Piazzolla were actually written for > guitar- they have been played on everything from solo bandoneon, > guitar, or piano, to quintets and full orchestrations. Music of a > certain universal plasticity (like so much of Bach's suites & > partitas) is fair game for many different modes of presentation. > > But what "should" be the lute's cultural range- technical/sonic range > being easily quantifiable- is a delicate, thorny aspect of this > discussion. > > Dan > > > > >> Hi All, >> >> A few thoughts off the top of my head (not as far up as it was): >> >> I would say to a composer - listen carefully to the sound of a >> proper lute strung with gut strings. You will hear the difference >> between that and the modern guitar. >> >> Also, bear in mind that although pushing boundaries can be >> interesting, the lute is historically quite limited in range - in >> terms of the fingerboard, there are only eight tied frets, after >> that you're up in the gods. Unless you're writing for baroque lute >> of course, in which case you've got a couple of extra frets. >> >> Think about octaves. They were usually ignored by the intabulators >> of old, but they were there - so when composing, you really have to >> think about what kind of octave doubling (however subtle) is >> acceptable. >> >> Temperament is another issue. The old guys mave have used some >> approximation to equal temperament, but that doesn't necessarily >> equate to total freedom in terms of modulation, or the way the open >> strings of the instrument resonate. Some notes are more equal than >> others. >> >> Special effects (harmonics, tapping the soundboard, etc) are not, as >> far as we know, part of historical lute technique. It is therefore >> a matter of taste whether to extend the "normal" technique of the >> instrument in various ways, but there is always a danger of making >> it sound like something it isn't. >> >> Historically most lutenists were obsessed by trying to reproduce >> vocal polyphony. Perhaps the organ has more in common with the lute >> than the guitar.... >> >> Best wishes, >> >> Martin >> > > -- > > > > To get on or off this list see list information at > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
