Dear Bill, The following comes from one of the websites related to these instruments. I have not checked the sources myself. Notice that by drawing the lute stop (ie a row of jacks closer to the bridge) the writer says the instruments sounds more lute like - perhaps even more evidence for us to play our lutes very close to the bridge to give a more edgy sound?
" Over a period of some three centuries there are plenty of references to gut-stringed instruments that resemble the harpsichord and imitate the delicate soft timbre of the lute (including its lower-sounding variants, the theorbo and chitarrone or archlute) or the harp, but little concrete information. Not a single such instrument has survived, nor is any contemporary depiction known apart from a rough engraving of the early 16th century. Fewer than ten lute-harpsichord makers are known, and there are reasonably detailed descriptions of instruments made by only two or three of them. Nonetheless, the instrument is mentioned fairly frequently in music books of the early 17th to the mid-18th century. Much of the available information relates to three 18th century German instrument makers: Johann Christoph Fleischer of Hamburg, Johann Nicolaus Bach and the organ builder Zacharias Hildebrandt. Fleishcer built two types of instrument. The smaller had two 8-foot gut-stringed stops with a compass of about three octaves; in the lower two octaves these could be coupled with a 4-foot stop, by analogy with the pairs of octave-tuned bass strings (courses) on the lute. Below the soundboard of the instrument an oval resonator in the shape of a shell, resembling the body of a lute was attached. Fleischer called his larger instrument the "Theorbenflugel" (theorbo-harpsichord). Its two gut-stringed stops together made up a double-tuned, 16-foot stop, with the pairs in the lower octave-and-a-half tuned an octave apart, and in the upper range in unison. In addition there was a 4-foot metal-stringed stop, and the combination of the 4-foot and the 16-foot stops produced a "delicate and bell-like" tone. This larger instrument was in the shape of a regular concert harpsichord. Johann Nicolaus Bach (a second cousin of Johann Sebastian) was a composer, organist and instrument maker in Jena. He too built several types of lute-harpsichord. The basic type closely resembled a small wing-shaped, one-manual harpsichord of the usual kind. It only had a single (gut-stringed) stop, but this sounded a pair of strings tuned an octave apart in the lower third of the compass and in unison in the middle third, to approximate as far as possible the impression given by a lute. The instrument had no metal strings at all. According to contemporary accounts, even this simplest of versions made a sound that could deceive a professional lutenist, a fact considered almost miraculous at the time. But a basic shortcoming was the absence of dynamic expression, and to remedy matters J. N. Bach also made instruments with two and three manuals, whose keys sounded the same strings but with different quills and at different points of the string, so providing two or three grades of dynamic and timbre. J. N. Bach also built theorbo-harpsichords with a compass extending down an extra octave. J.S. Bach's connection with and interest in the Lautenwerk was considerable. He clearly liked the combination of softness with strength which these instruments are capable of producing, and he is known to have drawn up his own specifications for such an instrument to be built for him by Hildebrandt. In an annotation to Adlung's Musica mechanica organoedi, Johann Friedrich Agricola described a Lautenwerk that belonged to Bach: The editor of these notes remembers having seen and heard a "Lautenclavicymbel" in Leipzig in about 1740, designed by Mr. Johann Sebastian Bach and made by Mr. Zacharias Hildebrand, which was smaller in size than a normal harpsichord but in all other respects similar. It had two choirs of gut strings, and a so-called little octave of brass strings. It is true that in its normal setting (that is, when only one stop was drawn) it sounded more like a theorbo than a lute. But if one drew the lute-stop (such as is found on a harpsichord) together with the cornet stop [?the 4' brass stop undamped], one could almost deceive professional lutenists." The inventory of Bach's possessions at the time of his death reveals that he owned two such instruments, as well as three harpsichords, one lute and a spinet. " regards Martyn --- On Wed, 19/10/11, Martyn Hodgson <[email protected]> wrote: From: Martyn Hodgson <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [LUTE] Re: BWV 998 To: "dc" <[email protected]>, "lute-cs.dartmouth.edu" <[email protected]>, "William Samson" <[email protected]> Date: Wednesday, 19 October, 2011, 11:02 Dear Bill, Amazingly, such instruments actually seemed to have existed; there seems to be evidence that JS Bach owned one (or even two). Modern reconstructions have been made and, indeed, I bought a CD a few years ago of a recital of the luth o cembal works played by Elizabeth Farr on such an instrument. It's a Naxos recording so should be available still. I recall is was reasonably well reviewed and certainly the relevant pieces seem more idiomatic on the keyboard than on a Dm lute.... Farr says that the instrument she uses is based on a detailed description by Adlung in 1768 and also on Bach's own specification for at least one of his own instruments. regards Martyn --- On Wed, 19/10/11, William Samson <[email protected]> wrote: From: William Samson <[email protected]> Subject: [LUTE] Re: BWV 998 To: "dc" <[email protected]>, "lute-cs.dartmouth.edu" <[email protected]> Date: Wednesday, 19 October, 2011, 10:09 I have heard that 'luth o cembal' was perhaps a keyboard instrument that sounded like a lute - I've even heard it suggested that it was a harpsichord strung in gut, but I very much doubt the feasibility of such an instrument - It would be a nightmare to keep in tune, as we lutenists know only too well. Sorry I don't have any sources for this information - just speculative hearsay I'm afraid. Maybe somebody has some more concrete information? Bill From: dc <[1][email protected]> To: lute-cs.dartmouth.edu <[2][email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, 19 October 2011, 9:27 Subject: [LUTE] BWV 998 I apologize if this subject has already been discussed here, but I'm wondering if Bach's Prelude (marked "Prelude pour la Luth o Cembal), Fugue & Allegro BWV 998 is playable as written (i.e. in E flat major, with all the low bass notes) on a type of lute Bach might have known. If so, what would the tuning (and the range) of such an instrument have been? If not, how do scholars interpret or explain "pour la Luth" on the manuscript? Thanks, Dennis To get on or off this list see list information at [1][3]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html -- References 1. [4]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html -- References 1. http://us.mc817.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected] 2. http://us.mc817.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected] 3. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html 4. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
