On 20/02/2017 21:39, Rainer wrote:
Here you go - or read :)
http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1112&context=ppr
Rainer
Thanks, I'd forgotten about that article. I shall enjoy re-reading it.
Vallet's fingerings really are very informative. His use of a star sign
for barrés is not systematic (sometimes he indicates the index finger
individually on several strings of the same fret). It is very
interesting to study an example of where he does use it. In the courante
which follows the one you were discussing (number 55 in the CNRS edition
or page 67 in the facsimile), if you look at bars 21 and 22 (I've
uploaded a scan of the passage so that anyone who is interested can
follow), the star is marked on the first beat of bar 21 whereas the
first note played using it is on the third beat (the C note, for which
Vallet has also indicated the use of the first finger). This is surely
because it is much easier to play the notes on the second beat if the
barré is already in place as the latter lowers the action of all the
strings in these upper reaches. It is far more difficult to get a smooth
transition between the first and the second beat without the barré, even
on a lute with a low action.
This is just one example of many which can teach us so much about how
they played (and help us make educated guesses regarding the
characteristics of the lutes they played) and leads me to consider
period fingerings to be such an interesting topic. The same can be said
of early keyboard fingerings, which vary enormously from one country to
another and obviously from one period to another.
Best,
Matthew
https://www.dropbox.com/s/00zhpm69j9kvlfv/Vallet%20courante%2055%20%28extract%29.jpg?dl=0
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