Don't know about Boulez and Gounod, but Berlioz would sound fantastique only with octaves. There is actually an archlute intab. of Debussy's "fille aux cheveux de lin" that is great fun to read through. Very refreshing and delightful harmonies, especially on the archlute. Some impossible high notes, though.
Seriously, in Weiss I have encountered situations where the part writing is destroyed (to my ears) by the 6th course octave string going above a low lying treble line. And in some cases that 6th course note is a middle voice, making it all the more difficult to play only the fundamental and not the octave. When I need the sound of a 6th course octave, I can often refinger the note on the 7th course. Dan On Nov 20, 2011, at 4:59 PM, howard posner wrote: > Daniel Winheld wrote, rather virtuosically: > >> Howard, you of all people should know that ignorance of the law is no >> excuse! But I did exaggerate. 6th course unison on a Baroque lute is only an >> equipment violation. Officer Ed Martin of the LSAPD pulled me over a few >> years and issued me a fix-it ticket. I have never gotten a speeding ticket >> except on the Renaissance lute, where I've been known to put the pedal to >> the medal occasionally. Don't even mention PUI violations! >> >> It's obvious that Jakob was deliberately skirting the letter of the law & >> subverting the mores of polite society by having a glamorous & famous female >> "Octave Incubater" in his employ, a dubious practice most often connected to >> the decadent European elite. >> >> Or he is just an incredibly dedicated & resourceful musician. What do I know? > > More than me. I don't even recall which music Jakob thought required a > unison 6th course and which required the octaves. I think the program was > all French, which would explain my ignorance/lack of memory. Maybe he used > the unisons for Berlioz, Gounod and Debussy. But doesn't Boulez need octaves? > -- > > To get on or off this list see list information at > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
