Hi David, Yes - It's interesting to consider the 'Molenaer'-type double-header as an alternative to the curly headed one with stepped nuts. From the Rauwolf and those paintings where the strings can be counted, the straight extension type seem to be 11-course instruments. My own new one is only 10 courses, so it is conjectural (and anyway it looks cool, which is the whole point *;) winking ). Looking at the iconography, there's a much greater variety of pegbox configurations than we tend to see in these times when 'standardisation' seems to be the thing. It makes me wonder if alterations of lutes to bring them up to date were sometimes done locally, by people who weren't top-notch luthiers, and so we get this wonderful variety in the iconography.
Kind regards, Bill From: David Van Edwards <[email protected]> To: William Samson <[email protected]> Cc: "[email protected]" <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, 28 July 2013, 12:26 Subject: [LUTE] Re: Portrait of William Lawes holding a lute Dear Bill, Thanks very much for alerting us to that. No, I don't know the picture at all and I notice that the first question in the comments section is asking where it is. No answer as yet, maybe he will respond later. There is also the conjecture which Lynda Sayce put forward that his "theorbo", which was destroyed after being kept until the 19th century in an Oxford college, was in fact, like Pepys,' a 12 course double header, of either sort. And this picture *could* be consistent with either of those. So possibly you're again up with the zeitgeist in building your extended neck double-header! On that design, it is noticeable that there are many more of them in French iconography than of the English/Netherlandish curly pegbox sort and that they do die out pretty quickly. So maybe Mary Burwell tutor is referring to that sort when it talks of the French taking them up and then dropping them. True it refers to Gaultier having invented the form and we have the engraving of Gaultier holding the curly sort but it is at least conceivable that he actually "invented" the straight form while still in France and then later in England taking up or "inventing" the curly form with its stepped basses. Certainly the Burwell tutor's disparagement of "them long basses" fits rather more with the straight form, several of which are shown with really quite long basses. As indeed has the Rauwolf survivor in Copenhagen. Best wishes, David At 09:19 +0100 28/7/13, William Samson wrote: > Hi, > > In today's Telegraph (I hope those of you from outside the UK will be > able to access this link!) there's an article about Lawes and his music > and it's accompanied by a portrait of him that I've never seen before > now. > > [1][1]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/classical-music-guide/10 199 > 855/Ivan-Hewetts-Classic-50-No-31-William-Lawes-Fantazy-from-Consort-Se > tt-a-6-in-F.html > > I would guess it's a 10-course instrument, but it's impossible to tell > from the image. > > Bill > > -- > >References > > 1. >[2]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/classical-music-guide/1019 9855/Ivan-Hewetts-Classic-50-No-31-William-Lawes-Fantazy-from-Consort-S ett-a-6-in-F.html > > >To get on or off this list see list information at >[3]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html -- The Smokehouse, 6 Whitwell Road, Norwich, NR1 4HB England. Telephone: + 44 (0)1603 629899 Website: [4]http://www.vanedwards.co.uk/ -- References 1. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/classical-music-guide/10199 2. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/classical-music-guide/10199855/Ivan-Hewetts-Classic-50-No-31-William-Lawes-Fantazy-from-Consort-Sett-a-6-in-F.html 3. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html 4. http://www.vanedwards.co.uk/
