Dear Rob, Not quite ...
The vihuela was not created in Valencia, that is just Ian Woodfield's interpretation based on insufficient iconographucal evidence which ha spread and somehow found acceptance. There was a strong "vihuela-viola" movement in the Aragonese territories which included the viceroyalty of Naples, but it did not displace the lute there. Incidentally, the tag "da mano"-"de mano is very much the same both in Valencia and Naples, not so in Castile and other areas. Regarding types, iconographic sources exhibit quite a large degree of variation, both in Castile and Aragon, while some of them present besides certain characteristics we tend to associate with the viola da mano, so considering only two distinct types is an oversimplification. Early sources, both Spanish and Italian also show the deep indents, so there is no reason to associate this feature specifically with Italian instruments. The repertory could be played with either instrument (if we must insist on considering them as separate members of the same family), but it could also be played, and indeed was played on the lute. Regarding Francesco, we are on speculative ground, although I am tempted to believe he did play the plucked viola at some point, for which exercise the only thing he needed was an instrument which was readily available. We do know that Francesco played an instrument callled viola, as Cosimo Bartoli attests, but at present there is no way to establish whether this instrument was plucked or bowed. A nice bit of information, though, is that Francesco was known to improvise in Rome upon the Conde Claros tenor, the very same used by several vihuelists as a ground for their diferencias. Finally, we have no evidence that Dentice played the vihuela, but Severino is mentioned by Scipione Cerreto's _Della practica musica_ among the "sonatori eccelenti del liuto, della cita di Napoli, che oggi non vivono", together with his father Vincenello and his brother Pompeo, to whic Cerreto adds that all three were known as "della viola". Incidntally, Julio was buried in Madrid and was remembered later by Fancisco Pacheco, who remarked that he did play the vihuela (el ta=F1ido de la viguela de Iulio severino, exelente musico de ocho ordenes). My own impression is that we can add not only Severino's work to the vihuela repertoire, but also a substantial part of the Italian lute repertoire from the first half of the sixteenth century, as witnessed by the 1536 "della Fortuna" prints for "viola a mano ovvero liuto". Best wishes, Antonio ----- Original Message ---- From: Rob MacKillop <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Antonio Corona <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: lute@cs.dartmouth.edu Sent: Wednesday, 4 June, 2008 3:38:00 AM Subject: Re: [LUTE] Francesco and the viola da mano Thanks Antonio. So, allow me to simplify things, at least for my own benefit, and forgive me if I over simplify. I'm just thinking out loud... The vihuela de mano was created in Valencia and found its way to Naples where it became popular, more popular than the lute. Some Italian makers started making their own version which they called the viola da mano. Eventually there emerged two apparently distinct types, Spanish and Italian. The Italian version seems to have kept the classic viol shape with deep indents on the sides, while the Spanish version smoothed out the sides, as with the Raimondi drawing, or the figure of eight, almost classical guitar shape of Milan's book. Both types were used in Italy, either imported or copied, and the Spanish types were referred to as Spanish lutes or lyras. Isabella d'Este asks for a Spanish type, and, importantly, insists on it being made from ebony. Although there seems to have been a distinction in the physical aspects of the Italian and Spanish viola/vihuela, the repertoire could be played on either instrument. The Borgias, being originally Spanish, were important in spreading the popularity of the vihuela/viola to Rome and the northern states. Francesco, therefore, did not need to live in the South to come across the viola. His 1536 book mentions the viola before the lute: *Intavolatura de Viola o vero Lauto*. It was printed in Naples where the viola was most popular. This raises the possibility that Francesco did NOT play the viola, but its name was given chief prominence in order to boost sales in its area of publication...? However, it is certainly possible that he DID play the viola alongside the lute early in his career, but dropped the viola when it declined in popularity in favour of the lute. Two Neapolitan viola da mano players, Dentice and Severino, were active in both Italy and Spain, and their works could be added to the canon of vihuela literature. OK? Rob ------------------------------ Sent from Yahoo! Mail<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/mailuk/taglines/isp/control/*http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=52418/*http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/nowyoucan.html>. A Smarter Email. -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
