[LUTE] Re: Great performance
Incredibly beautiful! Thanks to you, Tristan--for locating this--(superb performers!) On Sun, Sep 13, 2020 at 6:44 PM Tristan von Neumann <[1]tristanvonneum...@gmx.de> wrote: I just found this version of a song that is probably familiar to all lutists. [2]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqMKE6HLOrc I don't know about you, but I think that's extremely beautiful. To get on or off this list see list information at [3]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html -- References 1. mailto:tristanvonneum...@gmx.de 2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqMKE6HLOrc 3. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[LUTE] Re: future of the lute
That's not speaking of Thomas Dunford, an incredible lutenist whose got several recordings out. But what I've witnessed since the 1960's is incredible: we do not need to worry about the lute & theorbo anymore--many very fine players throughout the world, including Hopkinson Smith who teaches at Basel. I do NOT write comments about the lute--this is rare for me--but as someone who watched from the 1960's (& played) there's not much to worry about (except perhaps the happenings of such terrible things as COVID-19!) I agree with the naming of Lukas Henning--who deserves all the support --- & many many others. It is simply incredible where the lute has arrived today -- Timothy Swain On Wed, Aug 26, 2020 at 10:45 PM Jurgen Frenz <[1]eye-and-ear-cont...@protonmail.com> wrote: It is my impression that there are quite a few outstanding young players who will continue the tradition of great lute playing. Names that immediately come to mind are Lukas Henning and Bor Zuljan. We should ask the teachers at the Schola in Basels what they think of young players. - Further, when you look at the "new members" section in the latest Lute News magazine by the British Lute Society there are quite a few Japanese sounding names - that indicates to my opinion a growing interest in lute music outside of Europe which is very encouraging. Another thing is that amateurs who spend a lot of time and effort in transcribing lute music from manuscripts and hard-to-find prints into a modern typeset and put it for free online - Sarge Gerbode is doing outstanding work in this respect (and if you doubt his competency he also puts the faksimiles online so that everybody can individually verify). Those 3 ingredients (well trained young players, growing interest outside of Europe and a large stock of available music without cost) are an indication that we don't have to be concerned for the future of lute playing. My opinion, that is. âââââââ Original Message âââââââ On Thursday, August 27, 2020 5:53 AM, howard posner <[2]howardpos...@ca.rr.com> wrote: > > On Aug 26, 2020, at 6:38 PM, Richard Brook [3]richa...@mail.cs.dartmouth.edu wrote: > > > I note Henry VIII (source: Hilary Mantel) executed a lute player for sleeping (so Henry claimed) with Anne Boleyn. > > That would be Mark Smeaton; hence Theodore's foreboding about a Smeaton-themed movie. But it has more or less happened already. Smeaton was a significant character in The Tudors, a Netflix series that seems (as far as I could see from dropping in while my wife binge-watched it), to combine insight and outrageous nonsense in roughly equal measure. > > Addressing the larger question, assuming the world rebounds well from Covid shutdown (a dicey proposition in the USA, I know) the lute should do just fine because ensembles and orchestras should be a steady source of professional gigs, and that area still seems to be growing. Some responses here treat the lute as if it were just a vehicle for solo lute music, which was never the case except in the early days of the lute revival. > > > So things are looking up. > > Dick Brook > > > > > On Aug 26, 2020, at 8:13 PM, [4]theoj89...@new-old-mail.cs.dartmouth.edu wrote: > > > Dear luters: > > > What does the future hold the lute? > > > In the waning days of this wonderful email list (Thanks Wayne!!), I > > > thought I would invite thoughts regarding the future of the lute and > > > the lute community. As I muse, it seems that this present lute revival > > > started in 1960's - 70's largely out of the folk music revival and > > > early music revival. I notice that many of our fellow lute enthusiasts > > > are growing older (as am I). And with the recent passing of Julian > > > Bream, I thought it prescient to reflect: > > > What will the next 10, 20, or 50 years look like for the lute and lute > > > community? > > > Is interest in the lute on the decline, ascendency, or moving in some > > > other direction? > > > Is this trajectory different in different countries? > > > The internet has revolutionized access to manuscripts, publishers, and > > > recordings. Will the internet ultimately drive interest to diversions > > > other than the lute? > > > And when will Hollywood finally make a sizzling historical romance > > > about a lute player and br
[LUTE] Re: The lute list is retiring soon
I've gotten the list for years--it's time! It has been very much appreciated (except for the times that I get mad...!) I'm much older (pushing 80) but I want to extend "Thanks!" to Wayne for all the years of work, of responsibility, of time-- Timothy Swain On Sat, Aug 22, 2020 at 12:55 PM guy_and_liz Smith <[1]guy_and_...@msn.com> wrote: Hi Wayne, Congratulations on your retirement. Speaking from experience, it's a great way to finally do some things that you have never had time for (like play your lute in the morning when your fingers are still fresh instead of rushing off to work). I've been on the list since very near its inception (IIRC, you wrote me an email and invited me to join based on my Usenet postings), and it's been a tremendous resource. I very much appreciate all the time and effort you have put into keeping it running smoothly, not a trivial task. I hope someone can keep it going in some form. Email lists may be old school now, but they work (and I avoid FB as a matter of principle). Guy Smith -Original Message- From: [2]lute-...@new-old-mail.cs.dartmouth.edu [mailto:[3]lute-...@new-old-mail.cs.dartmouth.edu] On Behalf Of Wayne Sent: Saturday, August 22, 2020 12:04 PM To: lute net Subject: [LUTE] The lute list is retiring soon Hi - I have been running this lute mail list since 1998, and it has been interesting and fun. Now I am retiring from my job at Dartmouth College, and when I retire the computers that I have run will be shut down. This includes the mail servers that run the lute mail list. So it is time to retire from running the lute mail list too. I will also be closing my lute web page, my lute tablature page, and "Lutes For Sale" web page. If someone wants to take up running the lute mail list I suggest that they announce it on my list in the next month, while my list is still running. My list runs using software that I wrote, and I don't recommend that someone else try to use it. I don't know the last day yet, but I will make an announcement when my list actually closes. Wayne To get on or off this list see list information at [4]https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http:%2F%2Fww w.cs.dartmouth.edu%2F~wbc%2Flute-admin%2Findex.htmldata=02%7C01 %7C%7Cd2048d18759c41e12b3f08d846ce7890%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaa a%7C1%7C0%7C637337199877751036sdata=gmUKr0VwDlTprCSiIbNrN4v aH9zw4%2B0WUGZ7LHhLogE%3Dreserved=0 -- References 1. mailto:guy_and_...@msn.com 2. mailto:lute-...@new-old-mail.cs.dartmouth.edu 3. mailto:lute-...@new-old-mail.cs.dartmouth.edu 4. https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.htmldata=02|01||d2048d18759c41e12b3f08d846ce7890|84df9e7fe9f640afb435|1|0|637337199877751036sdata=gmUKr0VwDlTprCSiIbNrN4vaH9zw4+0WUGZ7LHhLogE=reserved=0
[LUTE] Re: Nigel concert
The great, great Nigel North--to whom I bow down--great performer, great teacher, great man--I think I first heard of him in 1979 (or was in 1980?) at the English Summer lute workshop--I don't know. But any excuse to hear him play will do, any. (I used to play lute, the photo is from 46, 47 years ago? from a concert we did...) I'm much older now, almost too old--the years go on--but Nigel North is GREAT! Any excuse will do to hear him play from any of his years. On Mon, May 18, 2020 at 5:09 PM howard posner <[1]howardpos...@ca.rr.com> wrote: > On May 18, 2020, at 4:21 PM, Daniel Shoskes <[2]kidneykut...@gmail.com> wrote: > > OK, Nigel's part isn't live (there's a full audience) but it's still Weiss! I looked around after the first WTF moment seeing all those real persons, and found this on the BLEMF website: "To keep us all in the mood for live performances, Bloomington Early Music is thrilled to present an online festival with daily presentations via Facebook and YouTube Live! Please join us from May 17-24, each evening at 7pm (4pm on Saturday), as we celebrate a set of performances from a wide variety of artists and ensembles, most of whom have their artistic roots in Bloomington." Pretty vague, but it sounds like they're telling us the festival is a collection of recorded performances from different times and places (fine with me; Youtube is Youtube), without actually saying so in as many words. And yes, it's still Weiss. And Nigel. And someday I'll tell my grandchildren that I was there, at my desk, for the premier upload whatever of this concert. At least until I had to get off and go do something else, which is right now. And thanks to the good doctor for letting us know about the concert. > On May 18, 2020, at 7:03 PM, Daniel Shoskes <[3]kidneykut...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >> For those of you who haven't heard, a live concert with Nigel North at >> the Bloomington Early Music Festival is starting now. Bach, Marais and >> Weiss >> >> [1][4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCGAXl65QV8 To get on or off this list see list information at [5]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html -- References 1. mailto:howardpos...@ca.rr.com 2. mailto:kidneykut...@gmail.com 3. mailto:kidneykut...@gmail.com 4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCGAXl65QV8 5. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[LUTE] An English translation of...
Can anyone provide, or name an English translation of Nicolas Fleury's METHODE POUR APPRENDRE FACILEMENT A TOUCHER LE THEORBE (1660) etc.--I have the Minkoff reprint but would like to get a translation. Is there one? Could I get a copy? Let me know. Thanks! Timothy Swain -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[LUTE] Re: another controversial question (again)
Sean, you are absolutely right! Keep on... Tim Swain On Tue, Jan 14, 2020 at 2:42 PM Sean Smith <[1]lutesm...@gmail.com> wrote: For the record I still believe Francesco Spinacino's two books are indeed cans of worms overflowing with colorful content. I've compared all the non-ricercars to their originals (where possible) and am certain that a) there are multiple intabulators at work, b) many of the pieces are alternately playable on a 5-course lute, and c) many their texts are less than faithful either by accident and design. a) Some pieces are fairly straightforward such as Haray tre amours (Stokem), Isaac's Benedictus, and Comment peult (JdP) where the decoration is light, few ficta adjustments and they lie well on a 6-c instrument. b) This style is very different from the layouts of Allez regrets, Fortuna d'un grand tempo (Vincenet), Que vous madame (Agric. & JdP) and Nunquam fuit. These, among many others require the matching of ficta to their manuscript sources (or maybe the hair-raising clashes are acceptable like the sources to L'eure et venu where the clashes are baked into the lines). In these pieces, the meandering creativity that appears in decorated solo lines continually jumps between voices. Then there are pieces like Cent milles ecus, Le Souvenir and La Bernadina (solo) that are pretty accurate, contain the many decorated lines but sit so awkwardly on the lute. Each of these have full B-flat [G-lute] chords and rarely travel below that B-flat. If we play this on a 5-c we have nearly the entire piece available on the fretboard. If we were to play them on a 6-c they are unnecessarily difficult but moving that big B-flat chord to a more open G-chord (which, admittedly, again moves a few notes off the fingerboard but we often see that low F moved up an octave where the song is often acceptably intabulated). In their printed forms Cent milles and Le Souvenir are quite a handful; moved down a minor 3rd and their ficta adjusted, they are a relative joy. Some pieces remain just plain "Huh?" but I still haven't found many ricercars that come close to the inventiveness I find in the intabulations. There is an old article in the LSA Q where I compare Capirola's Nunquam to Spinacino's and am certain they are by different intabulators as are the other intabulations. c) Are these "mistakes" by accident or design? Obviously an open question but we shouldn't forget that printing lutebooks was a hitherto unknown practice and the risks were entirely unfathomable at this scale of sale. It may seem logical to us to print the best lutebook possible but I don't discount the possibility that the established lute professional community with which Spinacino worked may have reserved the sale of lessons to unlock this book for the amateur student. Basically, I've found a way into this rep and deeply respect and enjoy it. Sean On Tue, Jan 14, 2020 at 12:45 PM Ron Andrico <[1][2]praelu...@hotmail.com> wrote: Tristan, I would hesitate to say that Spinacino was a bad composer for the lute.Quite the contrary, considered in context his work represented a very high standard of writing for the instrument. The value judgement of Spinacino's work must be weighed against the position it occupies as the very first instrumental music published with moveable type.Were there mistakes? Multitudes. To truly judge the worth of the music in Spinacino's book(s) it is absolutely essential that one compare the intabulations against the vocal models. I have done this for a large proportion of the intabulations and, after adjustments and replacing missing measures, find Spinacino's settings of vocal music to be quite brilliant.Likewise, his instrumental recercars must be analyzed as sectional pieces.There are cases where what amounts to separate sections are strung together without fermati or double bars.If we adjust for this and deliver a more sensitive and flexible interpretation, the writing can be quite nice. The other mistake we make is in considering Spinacino's work as marking an abrupt change from
[LUTE] Re: status of Courantes at there time
Don't know how this happened, but many years ago (in the early 60's) learned few steps & danced galliards, courantes, slower dances--woman whose name I've forgotten--from the various treatises mentioned above. So we had dancers in our early programs, they just tried to look authentic, dances were danced but were not very authentic. There are people around now very authoritative. (I was an ardent folkdancer at Reed College in 60's & 70's, did lots of eastern European dances--line dances, etc.) Timothy Swain (erstwhile lutenist of old) On Thu, Oct 31, 2019 at 6:06 AM Ron Andrico <[1]praelu...@hotmail.com> wrote: Tristan: You are fortunate in that there is a great deal of information about historical dance available. Start here. RA [1][2]https://www.loc.gov/collections/dance-instruction-manuals-from -1490- to-1920/articles-and-essays/western-social-dance-an-overview-of-the- col lection/renaissance-dance/ [2]Renaissance Dance | Western Social Dance: An Overview of the Collection | Articles and Essays | An American Ballroom Companion: Dance Instruction Manuals, ca. 1490-1920 | Digital Collections | Library of Congress Renaissance Dance. The cultural period known as the high Renaissance, c.1550-1650, produced the manuals of several important dancing masters: Thoinot Arbeau (Jehan Tabourot; born 17 March 1520 in Dijon, France, died 21 July 1595 in Langres), Fabritio Caroso (born c.1526 or1535 in Sermoneta, Italy, died after 1605), and Cesare Negri (born c.1535 in Milan, Italy, died c.1604). [3]www.loc.gov __ From: [4]lute-...@new-old-mail.cs.dartmouth.edu <[5]lute-...@new-old-mail.cs.dartmouth.edu> on behalf of Tristan von Neumann <[6]tristanvonneum...@gmx.de> Sent: Thursday, October 31, 2019 9:25 AM To: [7]lute@cs.dartmouth.edu <[8]lute@cs.dartmouth.edu> Subject: [LUTE] Re: status of Courantes at there time Not all courantes are easy to play though :))) I would be very happy to receive any info on the possible dance moves around 1600. Virus-free. [3][9]www.avast.com -- References Visible links: 1. [10]https://www.loc.gov/collections/dance-instruction-manuals-from-1 490-to-1920/articles-and-essays/western-social-dance-an-overview-of- the-collection/renaissance-dance/ 2. [11]https://www.loc.gov/collections/dance-instruction-manuals-from-1 490-to-1920/articles-and-essays/western-social-dance-an-overview-of- the-collection/renaissance-dance/ 3. [12]https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email_source=link _campaign=sig-email_content=webmail_term=link Hidden links: 5. [13]https://www.loc.gov/collections/dance-instruction-manuals-from-1 490-to-1920/articles-and-essays/western-social-dance-an-overview-of- the-collection/renaissance-dance/ 6. [14]https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email_source=link _campaign=sig-email_content=webmail_term=icon 7. file://localhost/net/ifs-users/lute-arc/L18265-546TMP.html#DAB4FAD8- 2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2 To get on or off this list see list information at [15]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html -- References 1. mailto:praelu...@hotmail.com 2. https://www.loc.gov/collections/dance-instruction-manuals-from-1490- 3. http://www.loc.gov/ 4. mailto:lute-...@new-old-mail.cs.dartmouth.edu 5. mailto:lute-...@new-old-mail.cs.dartmouth.edu 6. mailto:tristanvonneum...@gmx.de 7. mailto:lute@cs.dartmouth.edu 8. mailto:lute@cs.dartmouth.edu 9. http://www.avast.com/ 10. https://www.loc.gov/collections/dance-instruction-manuals-from-1490-to-1920/articles-and-essays/western-social-dance-an-overview-of-the-collection/renaissance-dance/ 11. https://www.loc.gov/collections/dance-instruction-manuals-from-1490-to-1920/articles-and-essays/western-social-dance-an-overview-of-the-collection/renaissance-dance/ 12. https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email_source=link_campaign=sig-email_content=webmail_term=link 13. https://www.loc.gov/collections/dance-instruction-manuals-from-1490-to-1920/articles-and-essays/western-social-dance-an-overview-of-the-collection/renaissance-dance/ 14. https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email_source=link_campaign=sig-email_content=webmail_term=icon 15. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[LUTE] Re: Julian Bream on Lute
Bravo Ron Andrico! Bravo! No more cluttering of emails--yours says it best! Timothy Swain On Wed, Jun 19, 2019 at 8:11 AM Ron Andrico <[1]praelu...@hotmail.com> wrote: I feel I must add a word of support for Julian Bream and his many contributions to the current lute revival. As a 20th-century pioneering concert artist, Julian Bream first and foremost raised the lute from a quaint closet instrument, best suited to historians and eccentrics, to an instrument capable of musical expression that reached and communicated to modern audiences. Yes, Julian Bream developed and employed his own characteristic technique. And yes, he used instruments that were modified from historical models to suit his needs as a touring concert artist. But it was through his musical chops that he exposed a broad audience to the depth and the possibilities of old music for the lute. Bream-bashing has been a popular sport among modern players who like to dwell on what is now considered proper lute technique, but many of these players for all intents and purposes dwell in glass houses. For instance, I still see an absurd number of modern players (who really should know better) using thumb-under technique on baroque lute and theorbo. This is patently unhistorical. In fact, it is well known that music from circa 1600 onward should be played with the thumb out. While the lute world is populated by an abundance of opinionated hobbyists, Julian Bream is a real musician, and probably still has chops most lute players will never attain. Let's give the man the respect he deserves. RA __ From: [2]lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu <[3]lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu> on behalf of Gary Boye <[4]boy...@appstate.edu> Sent: Wednesday, June 19, 2019 11:23 AM To: Edward C. Yong Cc: Jurgen Frenz; Lute List Subject: [LUTE] Re: Julian Bream on Lute Edward, Back in the '70s, there was a quip that "Julian Bream makes the lute sound like a guitar and the guitar sound like a lute." I think that came from guitarists who had no idea what the lute could sound like. He was pretty amazing in concert (on guitar, I didn't see him play lute), and quite a character off stage. In addition to "lute," he also played "vihuela" and "Baroque guitar" (quotes used intentionally!) . . . Can't say I'd recommend his early music recordings to students today though.. Gary On Wed, Jun 19, 2019 at 5:39 AM Edward C. Yong <[1][5]edward.y...@gmail.com> wrote: I have to agree. JB used his stardom to get the lute out there, even if it was a Frankenlute with nothing lute about it apart from the shape. Would anyone have paid attention to his lute playing if it hadn't ridden on the back of his guitarist reputation? Probably not. I recognise that many here were introduced to the lute via JB's efforts, but my own experience was rather different. My first exposure to lute music was an LP of Julian Bream playing Dowland in my school library, and that put me off the lute - it sounded like a classical guitar to me, so at 12, I didn't see the point. It wasn't until a year later that I heard Paul O'Dette and Jakob Lindberg's cd of Elizabethan lute duets and that changed my mind entirely - I wanted to play an instrument that sounded like theirs. While I have much respect for JB being a musician on the guitar and an 'early adopter', I fear I find his tone on the lute to be thin and hard, or âmetallic sharp' as Mr Frenz calls it. It's difficult for me to look past the tone and appreciate JB's musicianship on the lutewhen I find the tone unattractive - and this is my failing, not JB's. Edward > On 19 Jun 2019, at 12:40 PM, Jurgen Frenz <[2][6]eye-and-ear-cont...@protonmail.com> wrote: > > Julian Bream was a vital part (I believe) of the lute revival 50 years ago by making the music public. On the downside of it he played guitar technique on it to the point of using singe
[LUTE] You obviously haven't heard...
You obviously have NOT heard of David Crystal's OXFORD DICTIONARY OF ORIGINAL SHAKESPEAREAN PRONUNCIATION published by Oxford in 2016 (the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death). A very respected scholar, his son has become an expert on Shakespeare. David has authored many texts, including ones in his own fields of study. As David says, "This dictionary has been over ten years in the making. I downloaded an electronic edition of the First Folio in December 2004, once it became apparent that the initiative of Shakespeare's Globe to present plays in original pronunciation (OP) was going (forward)..." You can see his son, Ben Crystal, wax eloquent on Shakespeare through several entries on YouTube. Ben Crystal is quite an accomplished scholar & a visiting scholar the world around, including our own USA. And the book is the first OP production, Original Pronunciation (which is NOT the never-achievement it has for so long presumed to be!). David Crystal is remarkable! I am tired of the incessant deluge of emails from some people that should know better. They reveal their ignorance of a vital subject. (May it be said that is does NOT apply only to Shakespeare!) More restraint is urged! From an old man (who hereby betrays his own considered silence). Timothy Swain -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[LUTE] Re: Four and Twenty Fiddlers: The Violin at the English Court, 1540-1690
The ridiculous spate of Lute emails! Do you not recognize phrases that are used for (somewhat poetic) purposes? I use that phrase occasionally: I betray myself by writing this! Let's leave off unimportant, rollicking, fatuous, plainly unimportant affairs such as this & get on to more important matters! Timothy Swain (an old, old former lutenist who cannot help but be astonished by ridiculous matters being brought up...) On Sun, Jan 28, 2018 at 5:38 AM, Matthew Daillie <[1]dail...@club-internet.fr> wrote: The posts on this forum might answer your question Rainer: [2]https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/3903/19th-centur y-english-texts-occasionally-use-germanic-style-number-words-such-as Best, Matthew On 28/01/2018 11:11, Rainer wrote: Dear lute-netters, some of you certainly know (have) Peter Holman's book. I always thought that this pronunciation of numbers (as still used in German) was only used in the 17th century and before and changed a long time ago. Does anybody know when this changed (from four and twenty to twenty-four)? Rainer To get on or off this list see list information at [3]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html -- References 1. mailto:dail...@club-internet.fr 2. https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/3903/19th-century-english-texts-occasionally-use-germanic-style-number-words-such-as 3. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[LUTE] Re: "Sting Effect" (was Direwolf Hall)
This was interesting (among all the responses that I deleted...) to someone who was involved in the early years of lutes & luting...I knew Robert Lundberg BEFORE he knew a thing about lutes! (He died of cancer in 2001, God rest him...) & the book that was published a few months after he died, HISTORICAL LUTE CONSTRUCTION by the Guild of American Lutheirs: Daniel Shoskes is right--& the blissfully talented large number of very gifted lutenists! I'm reminded of the first lute I had, a GLUTE (terrible thing!) & watched Bob & his wife as they plunged into lutes, going to Europe many times, the course he taught in Germany over 10 years--surely lutes deserve all this attention, good bad or indifferent! Praise be! Timothy Swain On Fri, Sep 8, 2017 at 1:58 PM, Leonard Williams <[1]arc...@verizon.net> wrote: I've always enjoyed Sting's musical offerings, and was encouraged by his lute diversion. However, I was quite disappointed to see a close up of him in some sort of ensemble with a third fret very obviously loose and surely buzzin' like bee. I would like to have seen him take a second to slide it into place. Leonard > To get on or off this list see list information at [2]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html -- References 1. mailto:arc...@verizon.net 2. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[LUTE] Re: Spain 2, Italy 1 in extratime
Ah, someone who's been taken in by the Wolf Hall production. No, there's no difference (except Shakespeare was GREAT) between Wolf Hall Shakespeare -- Mantel has done indeed much research, but Wolf Hall is no more worthy of history than Shakespeare (though Shakespeare is great which I'm afraid Wolf Hall is not!)...very little difference in various doings between Shakespeare Wolf Hall...though Shakespeare, well, is great. Wolf Hall is not. Mildly amusing. A rather good response it is to the history, but NOT of the quality of Shakespeare... Timothy Swain On Fri, May 8, 2015 at 8:48 AM, Robert Clair [1]rcl...@elroberto.com wrote: Some rather sweeping generalizations here. I'm currently reading Wolf Hall. My knowledge of Tudor England is not what it could be so the book often sends me Googling. I every case I've encountered so far it seems that Ms. Mantel has done her research. As for adaptations - while I haven't seen it I'm given to understand that The Tudors was done as a bit of a bodice ripper. The BBCA production of Wolf Hall is most definitely not. Aside from Ah, Robin played on lute over the opening, the music falls in two categories: Any music that is mise en scene - that the characters on screen would have heard - is real 16th C music. (There is a shawm band.)A There is also a modern background score of which the best I can say is that it it unobtrusive. Beyond music, the BBC has gone to a staggering amount of work to get the visuals correct. Check out some of the material here: [2]http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02gfy02 [3]http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02gfy02 I've also just seen the excellent Royal Shakespeare Company production. (Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies - 3 hours each on the same day with a break for dinner.) Which brings up a question for Ron: Does your antipathy to historical fiction extend to the Shakespeare history plays? You could, if you like, argue that Shakespeare was a better writer than Ms. Mantel and Mike Poulton (who did the RSC adaptation) but is there any fundamental difference in what they are doing? -- To get on or off this list see list information at [4]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html -- References 1. mailto:rcl...@elroberto.com 2. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02gfy02 3. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02gfy02 4. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[LUTE] Re: Spruce for lute vs guitar.
I find it hard to believe many of the discussion points that come up; Robert Lundberg (lute builder, who died of cancer in 2001--he was a good friend-- deserved person of great respect about lute building) talked a lot about the very same subjects that people still discuss (as if they're unaware, or the topics had never been discussed before). Where I live is in Oregon: yew grows here, as do many evergreens--Bob used to talk about certain species becoming harder to obtain, foresaw times when certain species of wood would become very difficult to get. It strikes me that many of the points being discussed are beside the point--(many, many are excellent deserve attention)--or maybe I misunderstand the purpose of the discussions. At any rate, they're somewhat interesting to follow, although not of permanent interest! But many of the subjects have come up again again yet again... Timothy Swain On Tue, Jan 20, 2015 at 1:14 PM, Braig, Eugene brai...@osu.edu wrote: -Original Message- On 17.01.2015 20:54, Herbert Ward wrote: Do lutes and guitars compete directly for tone wood supplies? In other words, do lute builders and guitar builders use the same criteria in selecting spruce lumber for soundboards? From: lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu [mailto:lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu] On Behalf Of Markus Johann Mühlbauer Sent: Tuesday, January 20, 2015 3:08 PM To: lute@cs.dartmouth.edu Subject: [LUTE] Re: Spruce for lute vs guitar. There seems to be a lot of confusion about what tonewood is supposed to be. Some use the term only for wood that is especially suited to be used as soundboard, others use it for any wood that can be used to build a good instrument. I've looked up some properties of soundboard woods in a book and found that there seems to be a difference in desired growth ring distance depending on the type of instrument you want to build. I guess guitars are not so much different from lutes, so there should be much difference for the physical properties of the tonewood. This leads me to the assumption that the desired growth ring spacing is the same for both instruments. Another much more interesting aspect is the species of tree used. Usualy Lute soundboards are made of Picea abies (Norway Spruce). Guitar soundboards can be made far greater choice of softwoods (mostly new world woods not available in Europe at the times lutes were played). Some of those substitutes like Sitka spruce are as good or somtimes even better than Norway spruce. So technically one could say they compete, but guitar builders have more possible sources for tonewoods. Regards, Markus I certainly agree with your bottom line, Markus, that guitar builders have more possible sources for tonewoods. However, Picea abies is still in very high demand as soundboards for modern classical guitars (marketed to US luthiers under many trade names, perhaps most commonly as European or German spruce (although I believe very little of the current supply comes from Germany). Given the relative volume of guitar production, even considering classical guitars in comparison to steel-strung incarnations, I'd wager there is a pretty substantial competition with lute builders for quality timber. That's only an assumption and I have no idea how what kind of influence that has on markets and production. Sitka (P. sitchensis) is really only prized in high-tension, steel-strung modern acoustic guitars. I've only encountered a few classical builds in Sitka. Of the North American spruces, Engelmann (P. engelmannii) is probably the most popular for classical instruments. . . . And of course, western red cedar (Thuja plicata) is also prized as classical guitar tonewood, although its favor seems to wax and wane a bit in comparison to spruce(s). I actually have a vihuela that Chad Neal, a local luthier friend, rebuilt using hybrid Lutz spruce (P. x lutzii) which is actually a white (P. glauca) x Engelmann spruce hybrid. I think it works very well in context. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__F-xZ4YNaFk/SsLPMHXvD_I/AAU/wFEGYRuLxOc/s1600/IMG_5096.JPG Very slow growth--closely spaced grain--seems the most highly prized feature of soundboards whatever the timber (assuming an absence of flaw/defect like runout, etc.). However, the very few well-made (and sometimes very old) instruments I've encountered with widely spaced grain bring the rationale for that status quo into question. Best, Eugene To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
