The first part of Playford's Harmonia Sacra was published in 1688. That's twelve years after Mace's Musick's Monument which is considered today as old-fashioned in its claim for the 12c double-headed lute as a standard lute. Nevertheless, the 12c double-headed lute still was played in England around 1710 (see http://www.accordsnouveaux.ch/de/Abhandlung/Quellen/Quellen.html => 33-J-Tn 42, TOKYO, Nanki ongaku bunko (J-Tn), Ms. N-4/42, ca 1706-1721).
So one may safely say that the 12c double-headed lute possibly was within the scope of thorough-bass instruments that Playford had in mind. On the other hand, theorbo lute may just as well have signified the English theorbo with its 1st course down one octave (but not the theorbo which Mace describes). Sad enough, only a handful of 12c lutes in their pristine states have survived at all. So, we will never know where exactly the 12c lute was played, and if Mary Burwell's statement was justified that French masters in general had given up that instrument. After all, it is very well suited for song accompaniment. Mathias > -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht----- > Von: lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu [mailto:lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu] Im > Auftrag von dc > Gesendet: Sonntag, 6. November 2011 08:52 > An: lute-cs.dartmouth.edu > Betreff: [LUTE] theorbo-lute > > The title page of Playford's Harmonia Sacra states that the thorough-bass is "for > the Theorbo-Lute, Bass-Viol, Harpsichord or Organ". > > Is this "theorbo-lute" an instrument such as described in Britannica: "A similar, > smaller instrument, the theorbo-lute, or French lute, was a modification of the > regular double-strung lute, to which were added one to three off-the- > fingerboard courses of bass strings. There were two pegboxes, one angled > backward. Smaller and more agile than the theorbo, the theorbo-lute was the > favourite of the 17th-century school of French lutenists." > > Or what we would now call an archlute? Or a theorbo? > > If this was a French instrument, what was its name in French? > > Thanks, > > Dennis > > > > To get on or off this list see list information at > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
