At 22:02 08-12-2003 -0500, Matanya Ophee wrote: >At 01:35 PM 12/8/2003 -0800, Howard Posner <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >>We have to remember that lute players, then as now, could read staff >>notation, and played continuo from the first days of continuo, and often >>played obbligato parts, like those by Bach, Handel and Vivaldi, from staff >>notation. They did not have to write solo music in tablature, but chose to >>do so because the system was useful. > >I have no argument with this historical account, except to say that it does >not deal with the question at hand. Roman has argued that the free >availability of facsimiles of lute tablatures will be useful in >proselytizing the lute. The problem, taken from the point of view of the >idea of increasing the size of the lute world, the subject line of this >thread, is not what lute players do or can do, but what is the situation >among those who are not yet lute players.
Guitar transcriptions of lute music can be very useful to recruit lute-players. Myrna Sislen did a great job in an edition from the early 70s, mostly from Robert Dowland's book. It introduced me to lute music, via guitar. But I would probably have to be marooned somewhere, without a choice, to pick up the Sislen book again, now that I have tried the real thing. Early (i.e. 6-course) lute music would seem to be better suited to entice guitarists, since no modifications are necessary (except possibly a capo). Chordially, Arne.
