Dear Stewart, I agree with you about the strolling, but don forget that many pictures up to the early 16th century show lutenists playing in a standing position, or sitting but holding the lute high up on the chest. Also, they don't generally seem to use a strat, sorry, typo, I mean strap! Perfectly easy to do if you adopt the hand positions of the time, but not really possible with standard modern technique. Best wishes Martin
Stewart McCoy <[email protected]> wrote: >Musicians in the Middle Ages were strolling minstrels; lutenists play >mediaeval music on a mediaeval instrument, so all lutenists must be >strolling minstrels, who wander around when they play. > >When faced with this sort of thinking, I don't bother giving a potted >history of the lute. Instead I explain that strolling minstrels strolled >from one gig to the next, but when they got there, they actually sat >down to play. I then ask for a chair without arms, a socket to plug in >my amplifier, and free beer for the duration of the gig. It's important >to give an authentic performance. > >Dressing up in daft outfits is a pain, and should be avoided at all >costs. Charging extra for a performance in costume is a useful >deterrent. You can be sure that anyone who wants you to dress up, is not >interested in listening to the music. Always start with Greensleeves. > >Best wishes, > >Stewart McCoy. > >-----Original Message----- >From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On >Behalf Of Ron Andrico >Sent: 06 June 2011 11:44 >To: [email protected]; [email protected] >Subject: [LUTE] Re: streaming lute gig > > Chris: > There is some pictorial evidence of strolling lutenists from the > English masque and French ballet de cour. I'm only venturing a guess > about this but perhaps the cinematic idea of the strolling lutenist > came from the influence of German directors like Fritz Lang in the > early days of Hollywood, incorporating echos of the Wandervogel > aesthetic. > Best wishes, > Ron Andrico > > Date: Sun, 5 Jun 2011 23:23:08 -0400 > > To: [email protected] > > From: [email protected] > > Subject: [LUTE] Re: streaming lute gig > > However, I'm wondering where the idea of the strolling lutenist >comes > > from. I'm not an expert, and I don't play one on TV, but I can't > > recall any original pictorial or written sources indicating anyone > > playing the lute and walking. Is it a 19th century romanticisation? > > A pre-Raphaelite fantasy? Anyone know, or have an opinion? > -- > > >To get on or off this list see list information at >http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html > > >
