I happen to like the limitations and imperfections of the Baroque
Guitar...
So do I! That's what makes it so interesting. I like the minimalism
of it.
I have just been listening to some recordings of 4-course guitar
music and it's amazing what you can achieve with such slender
resources.
But I worry about somebody "not being impressed" by Baroque guitar
performances.
That's not me.. I never miss an opportunity to hear it played live...
The instrument was fashionable long enough to have a good body of
literature.
And the sad thing is one hears so little of it..
Monica
__________________________________________________________________
From: Monica Hall <mjlh...@tiscali.co.uk>
To: Stuart Walsh <s.wa...@ntlworld.com>
Cc: Vihuelalist <vihuela@cs.dartmouth.edu>
Sent: Sun, November 7, 2010 6:02:32 PM
Subject: [VIHUELA] Re: OT: Baroque Guitar technique
> Amazing - that's a colossal amount of editing! But getting back to
Suzanne's original question:
>
> "So my question is this: Is it technically harder for some reason to
play contrapuntal style pieces on Baroque guitar than Ren lute?"
I think the answer to that is probably Yes! Because it only has five
courses it is difficult to place the music on the fingerboard
conveniently. I think this is quite apparent in some of Foscarini's
arrangements of lute music. With lots more courses, many of which are
mainly unstopped the left hand is less stressed.
> ..and to take it in yet another direction. I haven't heard many
Baroque guitar performances but mostly I've not been very impressed. I
remember even Nigel North (as someone who can really spellbind an
audience) didn't sound that good: he didn't make the music come across
vividly. (Though maybe this is because he is not a specialist)
I am happy to say I have heard Lex, Bill Carter, Taro Tacheuchi.
Elizabeth Brown and Gordon Ferries (to name but a few) all play live
and all using different methods of stringing. All of them were a
pleasure to listen to. When playing live the bourdon on the 5th course
is much less noticeable. When I gave a talk to the Lute Soc and Taro
played for me (he uses a bourdon on the 5th course) I could hardly
hear it even though (or perhaps because) he was sitting beside me.
> And the tuning issues of the two lower courses which so trouble
Monica and Lex just add to the overall difficulty of focus and clarity
in the music.
>
> It's hard to beat struggling with the wayward instrument and its
wayward music yourself.
It just is an imperfect instrument. This was acknowledge in the 17th
century and should be today. Pepys comment about Corbetta says it all.
MH
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