> > there and the music was generally very interesting but I hear your > > theorbo only on the solo piece..." (a Kapsberger)...Na... > > There's nothing wrong with an audible theorbo in an ensemble, probably, but > the thing is, pluckers cannot hold their tones like singers, viols, flutes or organs > do. So what should be heard are the impulses of each chord or note that you > play. Profiling the rhythmic structure of an ensemble piece is a major task of the > theorbo, I suppose. And if you're not content with that, there's another way to > become audible. You can break the chords. Not in the way of quick arpeggios, > but in regular rhythm. You can try to go in consonant intervals alongside the > leading part in prominent passages.
Sorry for sending too quickly. Actually, I meant to add a quote before sending: Heinrich Albert (1604-51) warned against playing continuo "like chopping up cabbage", i.e. full chords on each and every bass note (Arien, vol. 1, 1638, preface). He elaborated that players of plucked instruments with their quickly fading tones should repeat notes so as to make the parts discernible (Arien, vol. 2, preface). Mathias To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
