I enjoyed this, Chris. The voices in the Chancy pieces are clear and distinct from each other, and it’s kind of amazing you were able to this with a plectrum. So I think you do show the depth in these little pieces. Chancy’s an interesting composer.
And I like your strums in the Sanz! Thanks for posting and sending the link. Best, Jocelyn ________________________________________ From: Chris Despopoulos [despopoulos_chr...@yahoo.com] Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2011 12:39 PM To: Stuart Walsh; Nelson, Jocelyn Cc: Vihuelalist Subject: Re: [VIHUELA] Re: some Ulm mandore pieces Always one to toot my own horn (or pluck my own strings, as it were), I have posted some recordings on my personal site at: http://cudspan.net/baroque/ Two tracks are some old recordings I did on the mandore, and three others are on the baroque guitar... I keep meaning to do better, but where's the time? Anyway, the mandore recordings are of Chancy's Suite #5, and 3 of his series of 6 branles. The tablatures are for a 4-string instrument, and as I understand it, to be played with a plectrum. At least that's what I was taught by Didier Le Roux and other members of l'Ensemble Gabriel Leone (I was *very* fortunate to attend a class that reviewed the mandolin. I never made it past the mandore.) In spite of being played with a plectrum, the Chancy music is full of hidden polyphony. For the miniature qualities it has on the surface, I believe the music is vast in scope... if only I could reveal a fraction of its depth and breadth I'd be happy. Anyway, for your enjoyment... Vive le mandore! cheers cud ________________________________ From: Stuart Walsh <s.wa...@ntlworld.com> To: "Nelson, Jocelyn" <nels...@ecu.edu> Cc: Vihuelalist <vihuela@cs.dartmouth.edu>; Chris Despopoulos <despopoulos_chr...@yahoo.com> Sent: Wed, January 12, 2011 11:52:10 AM Subject: [VIHUELA] Re: some Ulm mandore pieces On 12/01/2011 16:35, Nelson, Jocelyn wrote: > Certainly nothing wrong with dances and ballad tunes, as you demonstrate. > > Is the tuning similar to the 4-course? > > I'm not familiar with mandore literature, and now I'm looking forward to > learning more about it. > > JN > > > Jean-Marie Poirier has a site devoted to the instrument. http://le.luth.free.fr/mandore/index.html It's French, of course but there is a pdf of an article by the late James Tyler from Early Music. Donald Gill and James Tyler have both tried to promote the mandore (and the mandolino) and have both written about them. Supposing a tuning with top d (it might be g - or something else) then a four-course tuning would be g-d-g-d (or g-d-g'-d' or maybe I mean d'', but you get the point!). And a five course instrument would be d-g-d-g-d. But on both four and five-course instruments the top course could be lowered to c, b flat etc. Also the Skene MS has a section of pieces in lute tuning. Stuart > > On 1/11/2011 2:34 PM, "Stuart > Walsh"<s.wa...@ntlworld.com<mailto:s.wa...@ntlworld.com>> wrote: > >> On 11/01/2011 01:48, Nelson, Jocelyn wrote: >>> I really enjoyed this, Stuart. Thanks for posting! >>> Best, >>> Jocelyn >>> >>> >>> >> Thanks! >> >> I have only one section of the Ulm collection and in that there are 123 >> pieces for five-course mandore (fingerstyle or mixed plectrum and >> fingers) and a small number for four-course mandore (probably plectrum). >> So the Skene and the Ulm collections make up several hundred pieces - >> approaching the size of the repertoire for the four-course guitar. And >> then there are the Chancy pieces and some other things. >> >> Of course the four-course guitar's repertoire is more varied: songs, >> abstract pieces, chanson settings as well as dances etc and the mandore >> repertoire seems to be mainly dances and ballad tunes. Very nice though. >> >> >> Stuart >> >> >> >>> On 1/10/2011 7:04 AM, "Chris >>> Despopoulos"<despopoulos_chr...@yahoo.com<mailto:despopoulos_chr...@yahoo.com>> >>> wrote: >>> >>>> Thanks... My instrument is 30 cm, and actually 5-course, single >>>> strung. I presume it's made according to historical >>>> understanding... >>>> I believe Carlos Gonzales is a historian as well as builder -- he's >>>> planning a workshop on building ancient Egyptian/Coptic lutes this >>>> April, for example. I prefer to use the thin quill of a feather as >>>> a >>>> plectrum, as I saw done on the R. lute once. For as thin and short >>>> as >>>> the strings are, it helps to have something equally tiny to set the >>>> string in motion. And of course, the Chancy MS is to be done with a >>>> plectrum as far as I know. >>>> But I have to say, your playing had me fooled... It sounds like a >>>> mandore to me! And they are lovely tunes. >>>> cud >>>> __________________________________________________________________ >>>> >>>> From: Stuart Walsh<s.wa...@ntlworld.com<mailto:s.wa...@ntlworld.com>> >>>> To: >>>> Vihuelalist<vihuela@cs.dartmouth.edu<mailto:vihuela@cs.dartmouth.edu>> >>>> Sent: Mon, January 10, 2011 6:19:40 AM >>>> Subject: [VIHUELA] Re: some Ulm mandore pieces >>>> Thanks Chris >>>> I should have said I'm not playing these pieces on a mandore, but >>>> on a >>>> small, single-strung instrument, tuned like a mandore. My instrument >>>> has a string length of 37cms and so is larger (and, no doubt, >>>> easier to >>>> play) than a typical four-course, four-string mandore. On the other >>>> hand, maybe there was a difference in size between the four-course >>>> (four-string) plectrum-played mandore and the five-course, >>>> fingerstyle >>>> (or plectrum+fingers style) instrument. >>>> I knew about the Ulm tablatures from Donald Gill and James Tyler >>>> but it >>>> was Jean-Marie Poirier who pointed me in the direction of the >>>> Cornetto >>>> catalogue. >>>> [1]http://www.faksimiles.org/verlag.htm >>>> I think there are three separate tabaltures in the Ulm collection >>>> and >>>> the Cornetto facsimiles are quite expensive. At Jean-Marie's >>>> suggestion >>>> I got Cornetto catalogue, 0073 which turned out to be two >>>> nicely-produced facsimiles. The main 'book' (there's probably a >>>> technical name for a publication roughly 8 inches by 6 inches) has >>>> music for a five course instrument and uses a couple of tunings but >>>> mainly one (in fourths and fifths, without lowering the first >>>> course). >>>> Like the Skene MS, it has to be fingerstyle or plectrum plus >>>> fingers. >>>> The supplementary 'book' has only a few pieces, all or mainly from >>>> the >>>> larger collection, but now set for a four-course instrument, >>>> presumably >>>> to be played with a plectrum. >>>> Stuart >>>> To get on or off this list see list information at >>>> >>>> [2]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html<http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/%7Ewbc/lute-admin/index.html> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> >>>> References >>>> >>>> 1. http://www.faksimiles.org/verlag.htm >>>> 2. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/%7Ewbc/lute-admin/index.html >>>> >>> >>> > > >
