Dear Donatella, I'm not sure - there were many different types of lute around at Bach's day. Just as an example the low G usually would fit the tessitura of an archlute - giving the italian connections of the courts it would be understandable how this mistake could happen. Or - another possibility: It was even intended to be played on an archlute (which would make the complete work much easier).
If you tune the 13th course down to g you will need to change the A which seldom but occassionally appears in the suite. So this would point into a similar direction: Bach wouldn't have known the tessitura of the baroque lute. Actually I don't think the work, even if dedicated to someone who is known to have played the lute, is arranged for a lute in baroque tuning. Writing such awkward difficult (if possible to play at all) compositions would have been considered bad at Bach's time. Best wishes Thomas Am Die, 2004-01-06 um 14.09 schrieb Donatella Galletti: > I don't think someone like Bach made "tiny" mistakes of this sort. I played > BWV 995 years ago, at my final Diploma, setting the 13th course as a G and > it worked, and I read from staff. Weyrauch is easier, but makes some changes > I don't think Bach would have much appreciated. > > Donatella > > http://web.tiscali.it/awebd > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Thomas Schall" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "Howard Posner" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Cc: "Michael Stitt" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "Miles Dempster" > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "Lute Net" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Tuesday, January 06, 2004 10:51 AM > Subject: Re: MORE THAN 14 course German theorbo? > > > > The piece in question (BWV 995) is the only one (apart from the short > > prelude BWV 999) clearly dedicated to the Lute. > > The rest could have been to the Lautenwerk (which would have a low g) > > but this one most likely really was rearranged for the lute. > > > > The compromise - as I already said - would be that Big B. made that tiny > > little mistake regarding the range of the lute. > > > > Best wishes > > Thomas > > > > Am Die, 2004-01-06 um 02.09 schrieb Howard Posner: > > > > > Michael Stitt at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > > > > > > Thanks for this Thomas. Assuming Bach either misunderstood the lowest > tuning > > > > of the Baroque lute (which I very much doubt) not being an Gg but > rather a Aa, > > > > or was in contact with such a 14 course instrument. > > > > > > I think it makes more sense to assume that he had a low G on his > lautenwerk. > > > > -- > > Thomas Schall > > Niederhofheimer Weg 3 > > D-65843 Sulzbach > > 06196/74519 > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > www.lautenist.de / www.tslaute.de/weiss > > > > -- > > > __________________________________________________________________ > Tiscali ADSL SENZA CANONE: > Attivazione GRATIS, contributo adesione GRATIS, modem GRATIS, > 50 ore di navigazione GRATIS. ABBONARTI TI COSTA SOLO UN CLICK! > http://point.tiscali.it/adsl/index.shtml > > > -- Thomas Schall Niederhofheimer Weg 3 D-65843 Sulzbach 06196/74519 [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.lautenist.de / www.tslaute.de/weiss --
