Haven't read Coelho, but I don't think Vibrato was old fashioned in Mersenne's time, nor is Mersenne necessarily the best source. Mersenne favored vibrato on the violin.. I think Mersenne's quote is about the lute verre casse, which might refer to vibrato, but might refer to something similar. (snip from Dolmetch site) "The verre casse is not used so much now [on the lute] as it was in the past [partly in reaction] because the older ones used it almost all the time. But [it cannot be dispensed with and] must be used in moderation ... the left hand must swing with great violence [the thumb being free of the neck]."
However, it is not a sure thing that verre casse means exactly what we call vibrato, and certainly could refer to the sideways pulling of the string, in addition to other ornaments. Since M favored vibrato on the violin, it seems likely that these are two *related* effects., and that the violin one is closer to modern vibrato. For the Renaissance, the Ganassi and Agricola are the most interesting I have seen so far; some of this is on the Dolmetch site. Regola Rubertina 1542 "And the bow will execute sad music in a light manner, and to whisperings shake the bow arm and the fingers of the fingerboard hand in order to make the effect conform to sad and sorrowful music." dt .At 01:01 AM 10/13/2007, you wrote: >Mersenne talks about it. You can read more about >it from Coelho's Performance on Lute, Guitar, >and Vihuela. By the time Mersenne mentions it, >it had already become old-fashioined. > >Shaun > >On 13/10/2007, at 2:43 PM, David Tayler wrote: > >>Vibrato in various forms dates back to the middle ages. >>There are many references in the literature as an ornament; I believe >>one of the vihuelists describes it (Narvaez?) >>but I can't find the citation--will keep looking. >>dt >> >> >> >>To get on or off this list see list information at >><http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html>http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html --
