I've just been thinking about Bach's bass lines (not the lute/violin/cello suites) and the impossibility of playing them as written on either a baroque lute (either swan or bass rider), an Italian theorbo or a German Continuo theorbo - only the Gallichon seems capable, and even then a large c.90 plus gallichon in A would suffice. I've been listening to a lot of part music these last couple of weeks, from Renaissance recorder consorts (in a beautiful meantone temperament) to A Musical Offering and The Art of Fugue on viols - and thought how wonderful it would be just shaping a single line in a consort: something I haven't done for a long time, and even then not very often. I'm sure it would help my line phrasing in solo lute pieces.
So...when my harpsichord friend asked me if I'd like to join her small ensemble (harpsichord, violin, viola) with my new (Italian) theorbo (arriving in a couple of weeks time) to explore A Musical Offering and suchlike, I said 'Yes!'. But now I'm not sure what contribution one could make on such an instrument in such a setting with such music. Doubling the bass line would be odd as I'd have to leap octaves all over the place, the viola is taking care of the tenor line, the violin the soprano line. The harpsichord could play bass and alto/second treble line. There's nothing left to play! We could look at those pieces with more than four voice parts, but somehow it is all beginning to lack integrity. On the other hand, it's just friends getting together - not a serious recording project. But I just can't 'hear' where the theorbo would fit in. Can't afford a gallichon as well... What to do? Ideas? Rob -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
