Dear G. It just might, but I'd rather stay with the categorical statements rather than just entertaining a possibility. Here are a few titbits: A character from a play desires to play the vihuela; his servant remarks that "no podras señor tañer/ porque le falta la prima / y estan las bozes gastadas" (Comedia Himenea in Bartolomé de Torres Naharro's, Propalladia, Naples, 1517). This vihuela is not lacking two primas ... A riddle by Pedro del Pozo about the vihuela (Cancionero, ms. 1547) fastens on the gut strings, and likens them to eleven dead: (Pasando por una huerta / vi una casa muy escura, / de muy estraña hechura / un laço hecho a la puerta. / Onze muertos ende estauan / un bivo que les herÃa ... ). Eleven strings for twelve pegs? An allegoy about temperance: "Queriendo venir de encima / el tañedor sin segundo, / no hallo aun que se estima / en la vihela del mundo / templada mas que la prima" (Jorge de Montemayor, Las obras, Antwerp, 1554). The reference to the "player without second" would be pointless with two primas ... A poet complains about his grief but nevertheless acknowledges tha he finsd consolation in weeping, "Como aquel que con cautela / afloxa para otro dia / la prima de la vihuela" (Antonio de Villegas, Inventario, Medina del Campo,, 1565). Just one string to loosen ... An allegory about faith and sin; if faith is broken: "ni mas ni menos como en la vihuela, rompida la prima, auque las demas cuerdas queden en su punto, la musica queda manca" (Esteban de Salazar, Veynte discursos sobre el Credo, Granada, 1577). Nothing here about two broken strings ... "En vna vihuela, instrumento de musica, aunque ay muchas cuerdas, todas estan apareadas de dos en dos, vna no mas esta sola sin igual, que es la prima, que esta sin compañia" (Phillipe Diez, Marial de la sacratisima virgen, Salamanca, 1595). No further comment needed here. In an allegory about how our body should be as welll tuned as vihuela: "A de estar nuestro subjeto tan concertado para tener buena salud, como como una vihuela bien templada para que suene bien al oydo y no haga disonancia, porque si las segundas, o la prima hazen dissonancia sonara mal y no se podra oyr" (Juan de las Ruelas, Hermosura corporal de la Madre de Dios, Sevilla, 1621). Seconds: plural; prima: singular. "Prima es la cuerda primera y mas delgada de los instrumentos como la vihuela y la guitarra" (Sebastián de Covarrubias, Tesoro de la lengua castellana o española, Madrid, 1611). Note that it states "the first", in singular. "Los musicos mas diestros, doblan las cuerdas en los instrumentos muchas vezes, pero la prima jamas ha de ser mas que vna" (Cristóbal de Fonseca, Primera parte de la vida de Cristo, Madrid, 1622). Never more than one prima ... Another religious allegory: "Ni el tañedor quando templa la vihuela dexara boluiendo la clauija, de subir la cuerda, y estirarla, y estirarla, hata que vea, segun el arte, que esta proporcionada con la prima (por la cual se templan las otras)" (Miguel Angel Almenara, Pensamientos literales y morales sobre los evangelios ..., Valencia, 1623). Interesting to learn that it is from the single prima that the rest of the strings are tuned. Antonio Ferrer calls Virgin Mary "la prima en la vihuela del universo" (Arte de conocer y agradar a Jesus, Orihuela, 1631). It would be rather heretic to consider the possibility of two virgins ... There are plenty more references and, since there seems to be a general agreement among the writers of the time, who am I to contradict them? Best wishes, Antonio __________________________________________________________________
From: G. C. <kalei...@gmail.com> To: Antonio Corona <abcor...@yahoo.com> Sent: Monday, 22 January 2018, 4:23 Subject: Re: [LUTE] Re: Double first courses (chanterelles) Hola Antonio, wouldn't the fact that there are 12 pegs indicate the possibility of DSC, even though it's perhaps not mentioned in the litterature? Why would they go through the trouble to put an extra peg in just for decoration? It wouldn't have been put there for the purpose of a 7th single bourdon, would it? Saludos G. On Mon, Jan 22, 2018 at 11:08 AM, Antonio Corona <[1]abcor...@yahoo.com> wrote: Dear G. I'd love to know about the evidence about different usages for the vihuela. Best wishes Antonio -- References 1. mailto:abcor...@yahoo.com To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html