When I think of 12 course lutes, I think of the ones described by Mace,
with two peg boxes. But the lute Baron is holding looks like a regular
11 course lute with an extra course, right? Seems like there were two
types of 12 course lutes.
Are
On 2014-05-17 20:01, Rob MacKillop wrote:
I used to have one. There is a lot of repertoire for it, though
arguably none of it 'big' repertoire. There is a little bit in the
Wemyss ms, Panmure 4, and there is a large number of German pieces -
Reusner, for example: the printed pieces in his books are for eleven
courses, but the hand-written extras include a twelfth course. Many
German mss (including Weiss) have music which uses just twelve
courses, enough to make me wonder if there was in Germany a 12c
instrument in currency.
As for continuo, the instrument is closer to an 11c, but suitable for
smaller ensembles. If you are serious about continuo playing of
English songs, then perhaps an English theorbo would be better suited.
I often felt one more course would give me the great 13c repertoire,
while one fewer would be more apt for the French repertoire. It's a
bit of an in-betweenie, so to speak. One word of warning, that
extended peghead can be a nightmare when putting new strings on...I
shed a few tears!
Rob
www.robmackillop.net
On 17 May 2014, at 18:08, BENJAMIN NARVEY <[email protected]> wrote:
Dear All,
Does anybody on this list have any experience with 12c lutes? I am
considering getting one if I can get the funds together and I would
be
grateful for any counsel drawn from actual experience. I have never
even laid finger to fret on one of these lutes before, so it is a
bit
of a leap of faith. That said, there is clearly so much music that
could be played in either "vieux ton" or "nouveau ton" on this
lute,
and I think it is the ultimate historical continuo beast for so
much
17c repertoire, in particular English music (Purcell, Lawes, etc.)
Also: string lengths. I know they can be very small (around 55cm)
to
very big (perhaps 76cm or so). Any suggestions? I am kind of torn
between having perhaps a smaller solo instrument and a larger one
that
I could use for accompaniment.
Any thoughts?
Best wishes,
Benjamin
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