Dear Andreas, Here is what Mace had to say in 1676: '... if you be to use your Lute in Confort, then you must String it, with such siz'd Strings, so as it may be Plump, and Full Sounded, that it may bear up, and be heard, equal with the other Instruments, or else you do Little to the purpose. Another General Observation must be This, which indeed is the Chiefest; viz. that what siz'd Lute soever, you are to String, you must so suit your Strings, as (in the Tuning you intend to set it at) the Strings may all stand, at a Proportionable, and even Stiffness, otherwise, there will arise Two Great Inconveniences; the one to the Performer, the other to the Auditor. And here Note, that when we say, a Lute is not equally Strung, it is, when some Strings are stiff, and some slack. Nor can any man play so Evenly, or Equally well, upon such a Strung Instrument, as upon one well Strung; especially when he is to Run Division: For it will be, as if a man were to shew Nimble Footsmanship, and were confined to Run over a piece of uneven Ground, with hard, and soft Places mix'd together. Sure, he must need needs Run unequally, in Those places, or slack his Pace, or else stumble and fall. Even so is it with such an unequal Strung Instrument. Then again, it must needs be perceivable by the Auditor; for whensoever such unequal performance is made, the Life and Spirit of the Musick is lost.'
Best, Matthew On Aug 30, 2017, at 9:49, Andreas Schlegel <lute.cor...@sunrise.ch> wrote: >> historic recommendation to tune the top-course (in gut) as high as it will >> go without breaking? > When was it said? In the period of accords nouveaux and later? > What's with the D-major tuning? Tune (or change) 16 strings to hold 3 strings > (with the chanterelle at its breaking point)? > > Best, > Andreas To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
