> On Nov 17, 2019, at 8:47 AM, [email protected] wrote: > > I was offered a Tiorbino, and I'm wondering what one can do with it (except > of playing Bellerofonte-Castaldi): Are there any proofs that it was used for > playing solo instead of a big theorbo or for playing continuo?
Probably no “proofs,” but maybe you’re asking the wrong question. The question I would ask is, “If I owned a tiorbino in 1642, what would I do with it?" Or for present purposes it might be better asked, “If the tiorbino wasn’t used for playing solo theorbo music and wasn’t used for continuo, why would anyone pay good money for one?” Even Bellerofonte Castaldi would have thought it pointless to have an instrument that was useful only for a few duets. I have no idea how many tiorbinos existed in the 17th century, but the idea that someone would have one and not use it for continuo or solo music makes no sense. Anyone who owned a tiorbino would have played solo music and continuo on it, because the alternative was keeping it in a closet 362 days out of the year. It’s not clear to me what you mean by “I was offered a tiorbino,” but if someone wants to give it to you and you decide you don’t want it, give that person my email address and say I’d be happy to take it. To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
