[LUTE] Re: Thomas Campion
On Wed, 2009-08-26 at 16:51 +0200, Matteo Turri wrote: Thanks! That's the second wonderful link in one week! Not just dowland and campion facsimiles but also wilson, rosseter etc. etc. Very nice. \ Unfortunately you can only create a pdf of one page and not the whole book. Taco A great resource to retrieve this kind of documents is the EEBO, Early English Books Online: http://eebo.chadwyck.com/home You can only access it via a Library or an Academic Institution, but is should be pretty easy to register at you local library and gain access to it through their online services - this means that you don't have to go to the library to access EEBo, but you can access it through the site of the library. Just to give you an idea: you can access - and download in pdf format - any music book of the Elizabethan era: Dowland, Byrd, Campion, Tomkins, you name it ... Hope it helps Matteo On Wednesday 26 August 2009 15:53:28 ariel abramovich wrote: Dear friends, I'm desperately looking for Thomas Campion 4th books, in any digital format. I bought all others, but the 4th seems to be a bit of a problem to find. Any link to some library files? Thanks in advance! all best, ariel. To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[LUTE] Re: Thomas Campion
Taco, you can download the whole documents in pdf. At the moment I cannot access EEBO form my office. I will do it later from home and explain you the steps. M. 2009/8/27 Taco Walstra [1]wals...@science.uva.nl On Wed, 2009-08-26 at 16:51 +0200, Matteo Turri wrote: Thanks! That's the second wonderful link in one week! Not just dowland and campion facsimiles but also wilson, rosseter etc. etc. Very nice. \ Unfortunately you can only create a pdf of one page and not the whole book. Taco A great resource to retrieve this kind of documents is the EEBO, Early English Books Online: [2]http://eebo.chadwyck.com/home You can only access it via a Library or an Academic Institution, but is should be pretty easy to register at you local library and gain access to it through their online services - this means that you don't have to go to the library to access EEBo, but you can access it through the site of the library. Just to give you an idea: you can access - and download in pdf format - any music book of the Elizabethan era: Dowland, Byrd, Campion, Tomkins, you name it ... Hope it helps Matteo On Wednesday 26 August 2009 15:53:28 ariel abramovich wrote: Dear friends, I'm desperately looking for Thomas Campion 4th books, in any digital format. I bought all others, but the 4th seems to be a bit of a problem to find. Any link to some library files? Thanks in advance! all best, ariel. 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:wals...@science.uva.nl 2. http://eebo.chadwyck.com/home 3. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/%7Ewbc/lute-admin/index.html
[LUTE] Re: Thomas Campion
On Thu, 2009-08-27 at 09:59 +0200, Matteo Turri wrote: Taco, you can download the whole documents in pdf. At the moment I cannot access EEBO form my office. I will do it later from home and explain you the steps. M. Ah, I figured it out: you select the document and in the marked list there is a possibility to download the whole document. Very impressing list of manuscripts: Purcell (57 items), alison, dowland, campion, rosseter, wilson, playford (xxx manuscripts), robinson, bartlet, coprario, canvendish, danyel, ferrabosco, ford, john gamble (never heard of him before), thomas greaves (lutenist of some henri pierrefont..), pierre guedron, thomas hume., jones, lawes, le roy, mace, maynard, morley, pilkington,... To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[LUTE] Re: pacoloni on youtube
The Bacheler Consort plays Pacoloni : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJa0byWuhpU Very stylish playing. Is the cittern part derived from a lute part? Stuart To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.409 / Virus Database: 270.13.67/2326 - Release Date: 08/25/09 18:07:00
[LUTE] Re: Edward Martin/who knows?
Quite right, Dana, but if memory serves Milan introduces the 6 Pavanas by saying that the next six fantasias are pavanas. The there's the problem of pavans being generally in duple and some of the Milan pavanas are in triple. I am away from my copy of milan, so I cant confirm your memorys yea or nay; but no matter, the issue is one of performance practice. All renaissance 'artists' had to contend with the conservative nature of the church; anything 'new' was risque (just ask copernicus or galileo). The natural result was constant references to antiquity, and thematic borrowing from the works of your contemporaries to an extent that startles moderns who are used to the constrictions of copyright. The quodlibet form seen at the end of the 15c takes this to an absurd level which is seen in many of the works of PDQ Bach and also in musical medleys. Pavanna are dances, they are slow dances with the steps taken on the tactus, typically one step per modern measure. Lots of time for slow graceful showing off by the strutting peacocks. No matter if the tactus is subdivided triply or duply. Fantasias can work as pavannas, but when new, they lose a bit of allusional power. A piece well known as the king of spain evokes an expectation of his appearance when the shalms and sackbuts blare it out. Decades later we see the like in the elizabethan court music with its many pieces dedicated to court personages such as the Earl of Essex (his pavan, his galliarde). Fantasias in various forms are to be expected, forms are a useful compositional restriction, guidelines to work within. But the essencial freedom of a Fantasia lies in its theme(s), original matter, treated whimsically; showing all the the art of the composer (hopefully sufficient art to leave room for the performers art). Dances often have structure, with sections needing repeat here, but not there because of the choreography. The use of the bar is very irregular in this music from its inception, section marking is often unclear, even well into the editions of Playford; having a choreography is an immense help to decideing what sections need repeats; sometimes a lyric will serve the same purpose. Accidents of history deny us complete knowledge of the choreographies for all dance music, in some cases we have worthy choreographies begging for suitable music (eg, Mdm Sosilias Allemande). In some cases we have the challenge of reconciling music to choreography where typos are suspect (Arbeau Bransle de la guerre, over the page turn an obvious pick-up note is not composited on the preceding page where is should have been but instead leads off the next and produces one-too-many notes and much confusion for all). -- Dana Emery To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[LUTE] Re: Any hints on how to develop improvisational ability?
There are specific skills you need to be a professional yes, but, what kind of professional? even if you could, as some of the great cornetto players can, improvise in the style of Bassano and others, this would definitely not land you a job. In itself, perhaps not, but one doesnt get to that level of performance without other skills developing too. Would you have this young lady (or any player for that matter) be less rounded musically? Luckily, improv is a skill one can practice in the mind, with the ever-present voice as well as when other instruments come to hand. Further, there is work for soloists as well as the regular players in an orchestra, band, or ensemble; I note the work of George Weigand and consorts he has played with, also the Baltimore Consort and others. Lutenists are not limited to careers playing continuo, there is other work; and artful improv (playing 'new musicke' as well as olde) was respected and considered for appointments. How can it help to scant a long-acknowledged historical performance practice? I am thinking of the several Mozart Concertos with empty staves needing cadenzas; also dixieland and jazz where improv is expected of soloists. Consider that that particular skill didnt hurt Mozarts reputation any. Improv is lots of fun and a reward in itself that one needs no job to enjoy; the technical work that leads to such facility as allows experimentation as one plays should also be a part of the workout for anyone, pro or amateur, aspiring to mastery of an instrument. -- Dana Emery To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[LUTE] Re: Any hints on how to develop improvisational ability?
However, her lute teacher recently pointed out to her that if she hopes to play the lute professionally in the future she will need to become much more proficient in playing improvisationally. Interesting; the unquestioned linkage to a professional lutenist's career with improvisational skills. As was pointed out by David Tayler- one of the very high functioning professionals on this list- improv skills are not the first requirement for a professional career- but sight reading ability is. STEP AWAY FROM THE TABULATURE! Tab is a monumentally ingenious indispensable system for notating preserving lute SOLOS, but dependence on it will cripple your daughter for working with our fellow musicians. Absolute comfort ease with the notational systems is a must; start with G lute, two staves, move on to A lute- (which gets a foot in the door for later A theorbo reading a step to Baroque guitar), figured unfigured bass, learn some of the C clefs, and perhaps also D lute tuning- each new step strengthens the previous abilities and enables the next, which extends the transpositional abilities- extremely useful for song accompaniments with different singers as well as various ensembles up to orchestral levels. I would advise getting a theorbo and/or archlute as soon as practically possible; the pros on here can certainly weigh in here on that step. Now about improvisation- a very loaded term- ranging from inserting a few passing notes cadential figures here and there to on-the-spot wholly decorated and divisioned repeats of pavans galliards where such repeats are not already written out, and other abilities up to freely improvised fantasias. Improvisational skills are learned skills- but of course some people learn them faster and more easily/consciously than others. But anyone who loves and plays music can learn them, and how far one goes is as dependent on time and hard work as talent. Immersion helps. Pick the passamezzo antico, for example- say Adrien LeRoy's well known one- play it over and over, perhaps with other musicians. Study his more shorter ornamented version. Eventually one can't help doing little bits like breaking chords, adding some passing notes, etc. Treat it like the 12 bar blues of the Renaissance. Now take these basic passamezzo chord changes- as well the Folia, moderno, and others- memorize those basic chord changes and learn them in all keys and positions, until the whole fingerboard comes under control. For more advanced work, and more sophisticated music, the books are out there- Diego Ortiz, Sylvestro Ganassi (Fontegara- enough recorder divisions to make your head spin; and the Regola Rubertino- viol and some lute material). A superb course of study is Christopher Simpson's The Division Viol. Other important works are Thomas Morely's book- forget the exact title wording Plaine Easie Introduction to Practical Musick. I'm losing focus rambling- others will no doubt submit more better suggestions- but your daughter has a world of fun hard work ahead of her. Dan -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[LUTE] Re: Any hints on how to develop improvisational ability?
On Aug 26, 2009, at 6:17 AM, Christopher Witmer wrote: s improvisational ability something that you either have or you don't? Or is it something that can be learned? Are there any tips concerning how my daughter could most effectively approach this? I'm assuming the skills we're talking about involve ornamenting or creating an accompaniment, rather than inventing music out of whole cloth. A lot of this amounts to connecting dots -- recognizing harmonic and melodic patterns and adding a few notes to get from one point to another. Eventually the short bridge patterns can turn into longer improvisations, of course. What it takes to develop the skill depends on what the student already knows. Does she recognize ornamentation when she sees it? Or are all notes created equal for her? Here are some things she can do: 1. Compare different ornamented versions of a melodies (e.g. Elslein, Innsbruck, Lord Willoughby, Ruggero, Light My Fire) 2. Learn or listen to different versions of variations on ground basses: the Bergamasca is a a good place to start because it's so harmonically simple, and there are lots of them out there, so a student can learn a hundred ways of getting from I to IV to V to 1, but there are enough passamezzos and Greensleeves to a Ground and similar things to keep someone busy for a long time. 3. One of the more valuable exercises, though more difficult, is to take an ornamented ornamented or florid line and simplify it to a basic melody. 4. Learn to read figures and play continuo. Looking at editorial realizations of continuo parts can give ideas, both good and (very often) bad, about connecting dots. -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[LUTE] Re: Any hints on how to develop improvisational ability?
In the current (August 31) issue of The New Yorker, Alex Ross has an article called Taking Liberties: Reviving the art of classical improvisation. He points out that while modern musicians specializing in the Renaissance and the Baroque have been leaders in improvisation, the idea of adding unwritten material to Classical and Romantic works is becoming more common. Perhaps conservatories will begin giving more emphasis to this skill in their curriculae. Ned __ -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[LUTE] Re: Edward Martin/who knows?
Dear Friends, Quite right, Dana, but if memory serves Milan introduces the 6 Pavanas by saying that the next six fantasias are pavanas. The there's the problem of pavans being generally in duple and some of the Milan pavanas are in triple. Dana: I am away from my copy of milan, so I cant confirm your memorys yea or nay; but no matter, the issue is one of performance practice. I can confirm that Milan states in quite certain terms that the six following fantasias, as I said above, in their air and composition are alike to the same pavans that are played in Italy, and, since they resemble them in everything, let's call them pavans. (Estas seis fantasias que se siguen, como arriba os dije, parecen en su aire y compostura a las mismas pavanas que en Italia se tañen, y pues en todo remedan a ellas, digamosles pavanas). I believe we should be wary of considering these pieces as typical examples of pavans just from Milan's loose quotation which, besides, makes it clear that, in his view, they were first and foremost fantasias, to which we can add the fact that the sixth one (whose tune is not by him: las dos que se siguen [i.e. the last two] la sonada de ellas se hizo en Italia ) cannot be construed in any way as responding to the structure of a pavan (it has, in fact, the typical structure of a galliard). Dana: All renaissance 'artists' had to contend with the conservative nature of the church; anything 'new' was risque (just ask copernicus or galileo). The natural result was constant references to antiquity, and thematic borrowing from the works of your contemporaries to an extent that startles moderns who are used to the constrictions of copyright. The quodlibet form seen at the end of the 15c takes this to an absurd level which is seen in many of the works of PDQ Bach and also in musical medleys. This is not the case with Milan, he was a self-recognized amateur player and composer, moving in the circle of the court of Germaine de Foix, widow of Ferdinand, and composing and playing strictly within this aristocratic entourage, as it can be shown by his autobiographical book Libro del Cortesano (nothing to do with Castigione's). Dana: Pavanna are dances, they are slow dances with the steps taken on the tactus, typically one step per modern measure. Lots of time for slow graceful showing off by the strutting peacocks. No matter if the tactus is subdivided triply or duply. As I stated above, the sixth pavan is by no means such a dance. As far as I can recall, I have never seen a pavan in triple time with the characteristic hemiola of the galliard. Speed has nothing to do with rythmic structure. Dana: Fantasias in various forms are to be expected, forms are a useful compositional restriction, guidelines to work within. But the essencial freedom of a Fantasia lies in its theme(s), original matter, treated whimsically; showing all the the art of the composer (hopefully sufficient art to leave room for the performers art). Not necessarily for Milan, who stated that fantasias are called thus because they proceed from the author's fancy. From this perspective, if Milan composed the pieces in question, they indeed proceed from his fancy, including the polemic sixth pavan, whose tune is not by him, but the composition over it (la compostura sobre la sonada de ellas es mia). Dana: Dances often have structure, with sections needing repeat here, but not there because of the choreography. The use of the bar is very irregular in this music from its inception, section marking is often unclear, even well into the editions of Playford; having a choreography is an immense help to decideing what sections need repeats; sometimes a lyric will serve the same purpose. Again, Milan´s indications leave no room for doubt: They must be played with a somewhat fast air [so much for the slow pavan] and it is required that they be played twice or thrice (Debense tañer con el compas algo apresurado, y requierense tañer dos o tres veces). Milan does not say you may, he states you must. Dana: Accidents of history deny us complete knowledge of the choreographies for all dance music, in some cases we have worthy choreographies begging for suitable music (eg, Mdm Sosilias Allemande). In some cases we have the challenge of reconciling music to choreography where typos are suspect (Arbeau Bransle de la guerre, over the page turn an obvious pick-up note is not composited on the preceding page where is should have been but instead leads off the next and produces one-too-many notes and much confusion for all). Dana Emery Again, I must stress that we cannot be too dogmatic and should consider each case from the point of view of the available evidence concerning each piece, composer, etc. In this particular case, I would be hard pressed to explain how slow pavans with the structure of a galliard could be played somewhat fast in general usage.
[LUTE] Flying with lutes
Harking back to a recent thread about airline travel with lutes, has anyone ever tried Ryanair's -L-30 musical instrument transportation scheme? I would love to know that it works, although frankly I'm deeply sceptical. Here's what their website says: Sporting or musical equipment including but not limited to large fishing rods, golf clubs, bicycles, scooters, fencing equipment, surfboards, bodyboards, snowboards and skis and large musical instruments including but not limited to harps, double bass and drums are inherently unsuitable for carriage by airlines operating fast turnarounds such as Ryanair. However these items may be carried in the hold of the aircraft in addition to your personal checked baggage allowance upon payment of an additional charge of -L-30/30 per item, per one way flight via [1]www.ryanair.com or -L-40/40 per item, per one way flight at the airport or through a Ryanair call centre. Smaller musical items such as a guitar, violin or viola which exceed our cabin baggage dimensions may be carried in the cabin if a seat for it has been reserved and the appropriate fare paid. There is no checked baggage allowance associated with the purchase of an extra seat. [2]http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/faqs.php?sect=bagquest=musicalinstru mentsxtmc=baggagextcr=24 All best Peter -- References 1. http://www.ryanair.com/ 2. http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/faqs.php?sect=bagquest=musicalinstrumentsxtmc=baggagextcr=24 To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[LUTE] Re: Edward Martin/who nose?
On Aug 27, 2009, at 12:21 PM, Antonio Corona wrote: They must be played with a somewhat fast air [so much for the slow pavan] and it is required that they be played twice or thrice (Debense tañer con el compas algo apresurado, y requierense tañer dos o tres veces). Milan does not say you may, he states you must. Or you should or you ought In this particular case, I would be hard pressed to explain how slow pavans with the structure of a galliard could be played somewhat fast in general usage. Three beats to one step works rather like a more modern march in 6/8 (you do have to assume that pavana really means pavana and not play the last two bars as a hemiola, or not care about it); the notes go by quite quickly but the steps are slow. -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[LUTE] T Merula
Dear All, I'm looking for a collection of vocal music with continuo : Il Curtio precipitato... of 1638 by Tarquinio MERULA. Seams that the net is full of CD recordings but no edition, either modern score or a facsimile. Do you know where to get it from? Thanks in advance, Jurek ___ To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[LUTE] Temperament on the lute
Thank you, Richard Kolb, for the article on tempered tuning for lute players in the latest LSA Quarterly! I've recently read two books on the subject of temperament: Duffin's How Equal Temperament Ruined Harmony and Isacoff's Temperament. The former was fun and informative; the latter informative but oddly insistent on the notion that fretted instuments like the lute were always in ET because they had fretted fingerboards and there was nothing else to be done (!). I didn't like the latter, though he confesses to loving the sound of pure intervals. But (my point) neither volume, being keyboard oriented, really gets to the point of how to do it on a lute, so thanks again Richard, for explaining how it works with frets. Oddly enough, perhaps synchronistically, just days before I received the Quarterly I discovered on my own that the good and bad intervals on my 1/6 comma meantone ren lute can be visually spotted. [I'll use (course #/fret letter) to designate fingerboard positions] The major third g-b (2f-1e) is a narrow (more pure) third: a raised fret up to a lowered fret. The g flat-b flat (2e-1d) goes from a lowered fret to a raised one: a wide and unpleasant third. Similarly, one can spot good/bad minor thirds and any other tricky intervals and adjust as needed for key. I've found that once I have my frets set, I can tune courses 1 and 6 right on; 2 and 3 a tiny bit flat; 4 and 5 a tiny bit sharp (compared to ET). I test with some octaves, and, for some reason the following works for me as a test for those strings that cross the third (3,4,5): I play the chord 5f 4e 3d (f major) and it should sound pretty good (in my limited experience). Regards, Leonard Williams /[ ] / \ | * | \_=_/ To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[LUTE] Re: pacoloni on youtube
From http://tinyurl.com/nxmee2 NOVA ET ELEGANTISSIMA IN CYTHARA LUDENDA CARMINA QUAE VIDELICET IN SOLA CYTHARA VEL ETIAM CUM tribus Testudinibus exhibita, mira dulcedina auiditorum possunt oblectare, eaque omnia facilitate quam fieri potuit summa in tyronum usum composita. Et Primo quidem libro Passomezi, Padoani, Saltarelli, ad Joannis Pacoloni tabulaturas (ut vocant) trium Testudinum, apprime congruentes, ut etiam sola Cythara ex hibendi. Deinde etiam Alemandae Branles similia. Et Secondo quidem libro habes Cantiones Musicales quantum Cythara rei admittit Musicae habes iam non minus jucundas. AUTORE FREDERICO VIAERA FRISIO. [Fleuret] LOVANII. Apud Petrum Phalesium Bibliopol. Jurat. Anno 1564. Cum Gratia Privilegio. Contains cittern accompaniment to the Pacaloni followed by cittern solos. s On Aug 27, 2009, at 8:50 AM, Stuart Walsh wrote: The Bacheler Consort plays Pacoloni : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJa0byWuhpU Very stylish playing. Is the cittern part derived from a lute part? Stuart To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.409 / Virus Database: 270.13.67/2326 - Release Date: 08/25/09 18:07:00
[LUTE] Re: Edward Marvin/who nose?
On Aug 27, 2009, at 9:29 PM, Antonio Corona wrote: You are quite right, but that was not the point I was trying to make. Rather than questioning how to manipulate the piece, I was trying to show the inconsistency of forcing a historic category into a context that contradicts it explicitly. Maybe I'm missing the context. By forcing a historic category etc. do you mean playing a pavana as if it's a pavana because it's called a pavana? Or something else? -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[LUTE] Re: Edward Martin/who nose?
Dear Howard, You are quite right, but that was not the point I was trying to make. Rather than questioning how to manipulate the piece, I was trying to show the inconsistency of forcing a historic category into a context that contradicts it explicitly. With best wishes, Antonio - Original Message From: howard posner howardpos...@ca.rr.com To: Lute mailing list lute@cs.dartmouth.edu Sent: Thursday, 27 August, 2009 14:40:11 Subject: [LUTE] Re: Edward Martin/who nose? On Aug 27, 2009, at 12:21 PM, Antonio Corona wrote: They must be played with a somewhat fast air [so much for the slow pavan] and it is required that they be played twice or thrice (Debense tañer con el compas algo apresurado, y requierense tañer dos o tres veces). Milan does not say you may, he states you must. Or you should or you ought In this particular case, I would be hard pressed to explain how slow pavans with the structure of a galliard could be played somewhat fast in general usage. Three beats to one step works rather like a more modern march in 6/8 (you do have to assume that pavana really means pavana and not play the last two bars as a hemiola, or not care about it); the notes go by quite quickly but the steps are slow. -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
