On lutes, would it only have been nine course lutes that had this
double first course (as the one Martin Shepherd recorded with
recently, and Dowland is said to have played), or were 10c, or even
some 11c lutes strung that way (even if there are no extant ones, can
we be sure, they just did not survive, or is there some reference to
them as dated or old fashioned)?
If I remember correctly, Martin was recently playing 10c Jacques
Gautier music with his 9c, so I suppose the ninth course is tuned to
C-10, and has to be stopped down to obtain the D-9?
Can most transitional 10c lute music be played on such a lute, a
little like playing 8c lute music on a 7c lute, with the 7c tuned to
D (as I usually do)? Would this work well with most transitional
music (Cuthbert Hely, for example who seems to have been a
contemporary of Jacques), or might there be a sort of break off
point, where the double top or the 9c would be more incongruous?
Anthony
Le 19 déc. 08 à 23:06, Daniel Winheld a écrit :
Slightly lower pitch, and slightly lower tension; it's two strings
now and the whole course should feel (and sound) balanced vis-a-vis
the other courses. It need not have literally the same tension as the
second course; but the feel of "balance" should be a steady increase
from bass to treble at a certain point- 4th or 3rd course, usually-
not a sudden jump in tension. I have been bothered by the
double-first issue for many years, and it was not until I had an
instrument built on commission to a historic design that I could take
advantage of the doubled first. Well worth the effort- one should at
least try it; one can always remove a string. -Dan
Yup--
The double first course is sorta the sleeper in historical lute
performance.
Along with the double course theorbos.
The top course doubled sound terrific at a slightly lower pitch,
seamless transition among the top three courses.
dt
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