Hello David and Taco
I'm not an expert on lute building, but if I made correct
observations, the arciliuto romano has NOT a theorbo body. They are
rounder and much deeper:
Martinus Harz 1665 (Edinburgh): 43 ribs, belly 53.1x36x17 cm, string
legths 67.3*/143.8 *= the neck was shortened; originally at least 71;
6x2 / 8x1
Martinus Harz 1665 (Geneva): 47 ribs, 53.5x36.4x19 cm, 72.9/156; 1x1
+ 5x2 / 8x1
Antonio Giauna 1694: 27 ribs, 55x36.5x19.5 cm, 71/159.5; 6x2 / 8x1
Cinzio Rotondi 1699: 25 ribs, 53.4x36.2x17 cm, 73/162; 6x2 / 8x1
Josef de Carnitis / Cinzio Rotondi 1705: 25 ribs, 52.6x36.8x16.6,
72.8/154.1; 6x2 / 8x1
David Techler 1725: 15 ribs, 52.8x36.6x18.7, 71.1/155.5; 6x2 / 8x1
The pitch (chorista si San Pietro) was ca. 380 Hz.
Interesting are the traces of the little fingr on the Harz of Geneva!
They go from the "normal" point just at the end of the bridge and
then BEHIND the bridge until the third / fourth course!!!
Andreas
Am 07.12.2007 um 12:48 schrieb LGS-Europe:
Hoi Taco
Or was the calculation the other way round? 71cm with a minimum
string
diameter of 0.40 gives an a of 380Hz?
That was my underlying question, obviously. But I don't know about
the prevailing pitch(es?) in Rome around 1660.
My other rather glaringly un-hidden remark was that a theorbo tuned
in g', without re-entrant strings is an archlute in my book (or
rather, according to the Late Bob Spencer's definitive
definitions). A 72cm archlute might be a fairly big one in that
same book, but not impossible, depending on pitch/tuning/string
material. A friend of mine has his 70something theorbo single-
strung in g' without re-entrant strings, using synthetics. Nothing
wrong with that, but what is it called, archlute or theorbo? Moot
question for me, much more interesting is how to get the best out
of a given instrument. An arcileuto romana of 72cm might be a very
practical continuo lute, granted you can play in e' (and which lute
player with a background in guitar couldn't?) if the people around
you decided on 440 in stead of 380. In the 1920s these lutes were
made as theorboed Wandervogellauten. History repeats itself. ;-)
as needed, but next week 466! (don't tell him yet)
466, ough. Why do they make such decisions... Violinplayers almost
never
choose different string diameters, so they will like it too.
The violins apparently will restring for this one. I will try with
existing strings, as these are fairly low-tension. But Stewart's
(?) tip of lowering one diapasson to unusable state is an appealing
one. On my baroque guitar I think I will use a capo, although that
is tricky in meantone temperament, as the capo provides a not so
stable nut as the real nut.
I actually like playing Maria Vespers at 466, it's bright and
shiny. The cornetti and trombones are even greater than usual. And
sopranos streched to the upper limits have an appeal I don't need
to describe to you.
David
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