gm not nearly as bad as it seems on an A theorbo. Peri also wrote a lot in g and G maj. and his pieces work well too. Even F is okay once you figure out how to stay away from the Bb barr chord on the first fret. Reentrant tuning helps . R.
________________________________ From: Ed Durbrow [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sat 1/26/2008 10:29 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; LuteNet list Subject: [LUTE] Re: Theorbo in G? But look at how many pieces are in the key of F for a nominal G Renaissance lute. I would expect something close to the same proportions transposed up a tone for a theorbo in A. cheers, On Jan 16, 2008, at 2:07 AM, Rob wrote: > I have a theorbo being made now by Malcolm Prior for delivery by > the end of > February. Very much looking forward to it as I haven't played a > theorbo in > ten years or more. It is an 84cms Koch model, Italian tuning. > > > > Now, I've been looking at the song repertoire by Giulio and Francesca > Caccini, a repertoire ideally suited to theorbo accompaniment. > Giulio played > it, and his daughter possibly played it - she was respected as a lute > player, although the type of lute was never specified. At least in > Giulio's > music one might expect 'theorbo keys' - Am, Dm, A, D. Here are the > keys from > his 1614 edition (the only one I have to hand): > > > > G or Gm ///// ///// ///// ///// / > > D or Dm //// > > A or Am /// > > F ///// // > > E / > > > > And Francesca's (from 'Il primo libro delle musiche' 1618 - Indiana > University Press) > > > > G or Gm ///// ///// > > Am // > > F /// > > Bb / > > C / > > > > So, a very high percentage based on G. All the keys are obviously > possible > on a theorbo in A, but I wonder if their theorbo was in G. I > imagine someone > (or more than one) has done research into this, and it would be > interesting > to read their findings. > > > > I've also noticed that a few theorbo recordings are on a theorbo in > G, both > solo and continuo. Is it common among modern players? I imagine G > would be > an easier transition for Renaissance players who think in G more > easily than > A. I'm planning on having it tuned in A, with A=440, but I'm > interested in > what others are doing, and general thoughts pro and contra any > particular > tuning. > > > > Rob > > > > www.rmguitar.info > > > > > > > > > -- > > To get on or off this list see list information at > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html Ed Durbrow Saitama, Japan [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www9.plala.or.jp/edurbrow/ --
