Dear David,
In fact, not actually 'up in the air as to what kind of harp was used':
- two leading authorities in the field, John Cunningham and Peter
Holman (amongst others), identify the wire strung instrument as that
expected for the Lawes harp consorts.
Pasted below is a 2013 review for the Lute Society of a recording of
these works which mentions some relevant aspects of the stringing.
regards
Martyn
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------
William Lawes: The Passion of Musicke (Harp Consorts and lyra viol
solos)
Sophie Gent (violin), Giovanna Pessi (Italian triple harp), Eduardo
Eguez (theorbo), Philippe Pierlot (bass viol and lyra viol). Flora 1206
Some 30 Lawes âHarp Consorts' for "the Harpe, Base Violl, Violin, and
theorbo" have survived. This recording contains four of them: all
nicely performed by the ensemble with good phrasing, considered tempi
and a general regard to the style required by this early
seventeenth century music. However, there is a problem with the
performance which cannot pass unremarked: the choice of harp - here a
gut strung Italian triple harp. But available evidence and current
scholarship (starting with Peter Holman âNew Light on William Lawesâs
Harp Consortsâ, Early Music, May 1987) strongly indicates that the
instrument expected by Lawes at the time was wire strung - the Irish
harp. Paradoxically, the CD booklet notes by John Cunningham, a leading
authority on Lawesâs consort works (author of The Consort Music of
William Lawes, 1602-1645. Boydell Press 2010), also sets out the
overwhelming evidence for the use of the wire strung harp in these
consorts. All this is not merely some dry academic issue but has a very
real bearing on the way the music sounds. In particular, both the harp
and the theorbo used in this recording are single strung in gut (or
synthetic gut) and can frequently sound rather too similar with little
tonal separation between them. Employing more appropriately strung
instruments (including the theorbo with double fingered courses) would
give a more defined sound to each than is realised on this recording.
So, despite generally nice and pleasant performances, I cannot really
recommend it as an authoritative recording of these Harp Consorts.
However, I can certainly and enthusiastically recommend the real
highlight of the recording: the Lawes lyra viol solos - the 12 of them
recorded here are magnificently played by Philippe Pierlot. He brings a
wonderful declamatory style and considerable musicality to their
interpretation which is exemplary in every respect - these pieces alone
are worth the price of the entire CD. Almost 40 lyra viol solos by
Lawes have survived and a good selection of these appear on the CD. The
works are particularly well suited to Lawes's idiosyncratic
compositional technique with its angular melodies and sudden dramatic
phrasing. Of interest to lute players is that Lawes also played their
instrument and it has been speculated that the lyra viol solos may
perhaps preserve arrangements of some lost lute works - but against
this suggestion is that the writing is generally wonderfully idiomatic
for the lyra viol. Nevertheless, Lawes frequently reworked
compositions, often for different instruments, so the intriguing
possibility still remains.
Thankfully, and unlike many recent CD booklets, the trend for
ridiculously extended biographical puffs for the four performers are
here reduced to the few essentials (oddly the booklet photo shows five
people) and the notes are both scholarly and very readable and well set
the background to the development of the harp consort and lyra viol
forms in the context of early seventeenth century Carolingian England.
Martyn Hodgson 2013
On Tuesday, 21 July 2020, 08:48:54 BST, David Brown
<arpali...@gmail.com> wrote:
Yes, I forgot to mention the Lawes consorts for harp. It has been a bit
up in the air as to what kind of harp was used, a wire stung harp or a
gut strung arpa doppia.
Cormacke McDermott was the Irish harpist at court, followed by Charles
Evans playing a triple harp....
David B. Brown
Luthier
3811 Ellerslie Ave.
Baltimore, MD 21218
410-366-4865
-----Original Message-----
From: [1]lute-...@new-old-mail.cs.dartmouth.edu
[mailto:[2]lute-...@new-old-mail.cs.dartmouth.edu] On Behalf Of Monica
Hall
Sent: Tuesday, July 21, 2020 3:04 AM
To: [3]theoj89...@aol.com; [4]theoj89...@new-old-mail.cs.dartmouth.edu;
[5]tristanvonneum...@gmx.de; [6]lute@cs.dartmouth.edu
Subject: [LUTE] Re: Weird instrument depiction in painting
Not so curious really. Dowland spent time at the Court of Christian IV
and there are eleven consorts by William Lawes for harp, bass, viola de
gamba, violin and theorbo. As I understand it the harpist at the court
of Charles II played an Irish harp but I can't remember his name.
Regards
Monica
> On 21 July 2020 at 03:00 [7]theoj89...@new-old-mail.cs.dartmouth.edu
wrote:
>
>
> Tristan:
> This is a beautiful depiction of a brass strung Irish or Scottish
harp
> - or 'Clarsach'. The picture clearly shows the bowing of the
> forepillar under the tremendous tension of the brass strings.
These
> clarsachs were traditionally played with long fingernails with a
> complex technique and the tradition died out by the early 1800's.
There
> are only a few surviving clarsachs that approach this size. Most
of
> them self-destructed and/or were burned for warmth in those cold
and
> wet lands. The website
> www.wirestrungharp.com
> has a great deal of information about these harps. Their history
is
> fascinating, and this painting is one of the best contemporary
> depictions of one. How and why one of these ended up in Christian
IV's
> court is curious. I would love to hear what that ensemble sounded
like.
> Cheers,
> ted Jordan
> Ohio, US
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Tristan von Neumann <[8]tristanvonneum...@gmx.de>
> To: [9]lute@cs.dartmouth.edu <[10]lute@cs.dartmouth.edu>
> Sent: Mon, Jul 20, 2020 2:01 pm
> Subject: [LUTE] Weird instrument depiction in painting
> I just stumbled upon this painting by Reinhold Timm.
> It supposedly shows the musicians of Christian IV.
> What's the instrument on the left?
> It looks like a Harp seen from a very weird angle...
> The painting is very interesting in general, it looks almost like
some
> 1920s Neorealism.
>
[1][11]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Christian_IV
%27s
> _musicians_by_Reinhold_Timm.jpg
> To get on or off this list see list information at
> [2][12]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
>
> --
>
> References
>
> 1.
[13]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Christian_IV%27
s_musicians_by_Reinhold_Timm.jpg
> 2. [14]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
>
--
References
1. mailto:lute-...@new-old-mail.cs.dartmouth.edu
2. mailto:lute-...@new-old-mail.cs.dartmouth.edu
3. mailto:theoj89...@aol.com
4. mailto:theoj89...@new-old-mail.cs.dartmouth.edu
5. mailto:tristanvonneum...@gmx.de
6. mailto:lute@cs.dartmouth.edu
7. mailto:theoj89...@new-old-mail.cs.dartmouth.edu
8. mailto:tristanvonneum...@gmx.de
9. mailto:lute@cs.dartmouth.edu
10. mailto:lute@cs.dartmouth.edu
11. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Christian_IV's
12. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
13.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Christian_IV's_musicians_by_Reinhold_Timm.jpg
14. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
