Marion, Often a lute duo would consist of a tenorista playing the tenor perhaps with a plectrum (or fingers) or playing the tenor and another noncantus line w/out plectrum (or in combination? see below). Most of the vocal nonliturgical music (but by no means all) from this period is for 3 voices and this works fairly often.
A very good example would be the duet of the chanson, "Je ne fay" in the first Spinacino book. There, the 2nd lute part is a nearly exact intabulation of the lower voices and the top line rattles around in variations on the cantus that would fit nicely w/ the plectrum. A more exact setting is in the first Petrucci Odhecaton (A). Yet another setting for organ sets the lower 2 voices in organ tab and the cantus (w/ diminuations) in mensural notation, again, offering a variety of interpretations. The words can be found in H.H.'s Odh A or H.M.Brown's "A Florentine Chansonniere" and the latter translates the humorous text. There are more many examples in various manuscripts that fit the lute duo scenario. Whether they are *specifically* for lutes is open to debate but Crawford and the late Mr. Schroeder make a strong argument to the positive. By the way, I received a note from another of Crawford Young's duet partners who says another lute technique is to pluck w/ the plectrum and still use other fingers to get another voice in. all the best, Sean On Mar 30, 2005, at 8:29 AM, Dr. Marion Ceruti wrote: > > Hi Ed, > > I was lucky enough to find a book of this type of music on eBay. It is > rare > and out of print. It is the Canti B Numero Cinquanta Vol. II by > Ottaviano Petrucci > Edited by Helen Hewitt. The pieces are arranged in 3 or 4 parts each > with > a single note at once. No chords are written for any single part taken > separately. If you wanted to, you could play each single line with the > plectrum but with only two people playing one could use a plectrum but > the other one would need to use fingers or miss some of the parts. > > Are you sure that Crawford Young used a plectrum? He could have chosen > that but how did he get that sound quality? Do you know what kind of a > plectrum > he used? Where and how is he striking the strings to get that quality? > > I have tried to play the lute using a plectrum and but so far, I > cannot duplicate > that sound quality. Do you suppose the plectrum techniques for lute > differed > in those days from those we use today? Then again I don't have a lute > in A or in E. > > Best, > Marion > > -----Original Message----- > From: Edward Martin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Mar 29, 2005 7:08 PM > To: "Dr. Marion Ceruti" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, > Sean Smith <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, > Lutelist <lute@cs.dartmouth.edu> > Subject: Re: Montagna's lutes > > Marion, I do believe Crawford Yound used a plectrum on the upper > parts. > > ed > > At 06:19 PM 3/29/2005 -0800, Dr. Marion Ceruti wrote: >> Dear Sean, >> >> Thank you for posting these pictures. The same picture is on the >> cover of >> Karl-Ernst Schroder and Crawford Young's CD, "Amours amours amours" >> released in 2002 by Harmonia Mundi HMC905254. In fact two A lutes were >> used in this recording as well as a lute in E. If the music on the CD >> is any >> indication of what the concert depicted in the picture was supposed >> have >> on the program, I doubt that a plectrum was used. >> >> Best regards, >> Marion >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: Sean Smith <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >> Sent: Mar 29, 2005 4:00 PM >> To: Lutelist <lute@cs.dartmouth.edu> >> Subject: Montagna's lutes >> >> >> Having lived in the 6-course world for a while now I'm very interested >> in the left lute in this painting by Montagna: >> http://www.xs4all.nl/~amarin/Page1-Pages/Image198.html >> http://www.xs4all.nl/~amarin/Page1-Pages/Image199.html >> >> It appears M. tried to be very realistic in the proportions, colors >> and >> detail and I think there may be enough information in it to actually >> build a copy. Granted we don't know the string length or the back >> shape >> but some of this could be educatedly guessed at. >> >> Has anyone had a lute built in this shape (or built one) and if so >> what >> are your conclusions? Might it make a good F or A lute? (I'm set for >> G) >> Are there any surving lutes, complete or not, that might suggest a >> precedent for this triangular, wide-belly shape? >> >> By the by, some have rumored to have seen a plectrum in this painting >> but in the detail, I honestly don't see it. Granted this is a >> ficticious concert (angels, etc), and while the weight lately has been >> to give most lute playing in this era a pick of some kind (or to one >> of >> the players), I don't see the plectrum support in this instance. On >> the >> other hand, so to speak, I see support for playing 15th century music >> in the same polyphonic way as the next. Fascinating right hand >> technique on the blond plucker, too. >> >> And my thanks to Alfonso for posting this page of lute iconography. >> Here's the rest of it: >> http://www.xs4all.nl/~amarin/Page1.html >> >> all the best, >> Sean Smith >> >> >> >> To get on or off this list see list information at >> http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html > > > > Edward Martin > 2817 East 2nd Street > Duluth, Minnesota 55812 > e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > voice: (218) 728-1202 > > >
