I transcribed a few Kapsberger pieces for the GFA Soundboard a few years ago. Part of that article said: "Among Kapsberger's works, the toccatas show the boldest ventures into the new era. The one I have chosen, from the Libro Primo d'intavolatura di Chitarone (Venice, 1604), is actually one of his more conservative. Unlike most of his others, it is in the form of a series of arpeggios, much like the lute preludes of S.L. Weiss. In the original manuscript the arpeggiation pattern is not indicated and so this is left to the performer to invent. The two recordings that I have heard each use a different pattern. Paul O'Dette plays a simple pima-pima-pima-pima for each chord while Hopkinson Smith uses the more complex pimi-aimi-paim-paim. The unusual tuning of the chitarrone and the ingenuity with which Kapsberger exploits it render both these patterns kaleidoscopic and even hypnotic."
Richard Yates ----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Sunday, August 01, 2004 5:14 PM Subject: Re: Theorbo arpeggio patterns > (First of all, I'll ignore all the Gogolesque talk > about missing thumbs...) > > > t4, i2, m1, i3 makes perfect sense. This way, > the arpeggio ascends from bass to treble in the > correct order. However, what if the arpeggio does not > involve these strings? In that case because of the > re-entrant tuning, the order of the notes will not > always proceed from low to high. Therefore, do we > know whether Kapsperger and Piccinini are trying to > say that a)arpeggiated chords should ALWAYS ascend > from low to high in proper musical order or that b)the > theorbist should ALWAYS use the same right hand finger > order regardless of the musical result? (...and I > know that "always" is a dangerous word.) If I recall > correctly Paul O'Dette seems to opt for option B in > his recording of the Arpeggio Toccata. Is this his > take on it, or is there clearer historical evidence of > the practice? > > > Chris Wilke > > > > --- Howard Posner <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > Tom Leoni wrote > > > > > Someone told me > > > > Someone? You're listening to Someone? What does > > Someone know? If this > > guy's so smart, how come he doesn't even have a real > > name? > > > > > that Kapsberger's preferred 4-note arpeggio > > pattern was: t4 i2 > > > m1 t3 :||: (using the first 4 strings as an > > example). I find this rather > > > straightforward in spite of the jump of the thumb > > as it strikes the fourth and > > > first notes of the pattern - but I got used to it > > pretty quickly. It becomes > > > a little harder when the first note of the pattern > > is one of the lower orders, > > > although it is still manageable. > > > > > > Does anyone know whether I got this right - > > especially as pertains the music > > > of Kapsberger? > > > > I believe Kapsberger's instructions were to use the > > index finger on the > > fourth note, since the last note of the arpeggio is > > on the third or fourth > > course, even when it isn't the highest note. > > There's a discussion of this > > in the first pages of chapter 10 of Nigel North's > > continuo book. > > > > In general the thumb should stay home as much as > > possible; it's too easy to > > get lost if it goes roaming. Then you have to call > > the police and make a > > missing thumb report, which, frankly, is really > > embarrassing and > > occasionally dangerous. I live in Los Angeles, and > > the last time I reported > > my thumb missing, an overzealous police officer > > attacked it with a > > flashlight. > > > > Howard Posner > > > > > > > > > > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > New and Improved Yahoo! Mail - 100MB free storage! > http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail >
