While your 30% idea can be good enough for Blue Peter, in no way you can
spread sweeping generalisations like that on historical lutes, that's really
daft. The very idea of lute forgery in the period from, say, early 16th -
early 18th century (the 'golden era' of the lute) would not be possible by
default, simply because of the guild regulations that were in place. One
could not just belong to the business by being an amatory maker and / or
even apprentice but only when the necessary skills are reached and the
examination passed (in making of an instrument of certain complexity). And
this is why one can see such a difference between a genuine lute and a
forged substitute by, for example, the first historical forger Franciolini.
Think about it. Or get yourself a copy of the lute catalogue from the Cite
de la Musique where there are some good examples of historical lute
'forgeries' (all not earlier than mid-19th century of course).
You say you prefer 'copies' but what is 'the copy' anyway in your
understanding? Is it a 'copy' in appearance and some physical parameters or
in acoustical terms? Strictly speaking, neither of these is possible to
replicate completely and hence there is no such thing as an 'exact replica'
of the lute! That was my original point anyway. However, by applying the
main principles of historical lute construction we can reasonably well
approach the ancient tradition of lute making and, ultimately, the sound
idea.
Once again, there is no point in drawing examples from books, painting,
scores etc here. The difference may not be evident to you but it is there if
you know where to look.
Alexander
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Tayler" <vidan...@sbcglobal.net>
To: "lute-cs.dartmouth.edu" <lute@cs.dartmouth.edu>
Sent: Friday, February 06, 2009 10:55 AM
Subject: [LUTE] Re: was trench fill now exact replica
What I'm saying is that it is possible to build an exact replica
because it has already been done on a large scale for , sculpture and
musical instruments.
Hey, the Capirola Lutebook could be a forgery. It is a good
candidate. Some of the forgers were true geniuses.
I'm not sayng we should do that--although I prefer copies,
myself--I'm just saying it has been done, wholesale.
People say it isn't possible, but it has been done.
dt
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