Mark, --- On Sun, 12/20/09, terli...@aol.com <terli...@aol.com> wrote:
> From: terli...@aol.com <terli...@aol.com> > Subject: [LUTE] Re: Liuto forte > To: lute@cs.dartmouth.edu > Date: Sunday, December 20, 2009, 9:30 AM > > > I write at the risk of being gummed to death by a horde of > irate lutenists: > Nope. I'm not anti-classical guitar at all. I consider myself a musician who chooses the right tool for the job. Much as I love theorbo or baroque lute, there's lots of music for which these instruments are totally unsuitable. Same with guitar. > > I don't know what kind of guitars and guitar playing > lutenists here have been exposed to here but there is a wide > variety of types of guitars and playing styles. > I totally agree! As mentioned in my last message, I believe classical players should even expand their horizons to include steel-string and electric guitars in a classical context. Nice as the nylon guitar is, this is such an easy way to extend the dynamic and tonal range of the guitar to nearly orchestral proportions. I have a master's degree in classical guitar from highly regarded conservatory. My main area of emphasis was on contemporary music. I've written a lot of music for it and continue to write for it. Nowadays I only compose solo music for the nylon-string guitar for the reasons outlined in my last message: a modern guitar is built for the purpose of bringing forth a full, rich sonic spectrum. Nice. However, much of this charm gets lost when other instruments with greater emphasis on higher partials are employed. So why use it in chamber music when other types of guitars exist which do bring out the higher partials? > Hauser style > guitar guitars are very good for playing some lute music. > Smallman type guitars are less good for playing most lute > music. To play lute music decently on guitar takes a certain > touch...there are players that can do it. True. I have no problem with guitarists playing lute music, but I'm not very interested in doing it myself for the same reason I don't play Villa-Lobos on my 13-course. At the same time folks should keep in mind that the nylon-string classical guitar as we know it only came into being circa 1950. > The guitar (unamplified) works great great in ensemble > playing e.g Boulez: Le marteau sans maître: Webern op.18, > Takemitsu: Ring for Lute,flute and guitar... I haven't really found so. Even in something like Takemitsu's "Toward the Sea" the guitar is outshined by the delicate alto flute. The soft alto flute tosses off these gentle waves of sound while us poor guitarists are fighting to slam out every note. I've seen these works performed with amplified guitars but things always sound so boomy to me. Already with Webern we may ask ourselves what exactly the appropriate instrument really is. The Stauffer-style type of guitar construction remained current in Austria well into the 1920's. Certainly the heavily-built nylon string instrument is out! I would love to research the status of the guitar in early 20th-century Vienna. There's a new idea: Second Viennese Performance Practice! > Best, > Mark Delpriora > > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: chriswi...@yahoo.com > To: lute@cs.dartmouth.edu; > Sauvage Valéry <sauvag...@orange.fr> > Sent: Sat, Dec 19, 2009 6:18 pm > Subject: [LUTE] Re: Liuto forte > > > Valery, > > --- On Sat, 12/19/09, Sauvage Valéry <sauvag...@orange.fr> > wrote: > > Ok forte, > > we can hear it, but sounds like a guitar (single > strung for > > the one he used). > > So why not play the guitar ? modern and loud > instrument you > > can play with nails... > > Really? I've found the modern classical guitar to be > a really, really awful > ensemble instrument when dealing with anything else other > than other classical > guitars or one other instrument/voice. While the > signal coming from it may be > technically louder than most types of lutes, it is designed > to emphasize the > lower partials so that the sound is literally swallowed up > by other modern > instruments. This sort of dark timbre can be very > effective for a certain > portion (but not all) of the solo repertoire, but it really > loses its charm in > other situations. This is why A) it MUST be played > with nails B) even then it > doesn't project particularly well and C) you often hear the > instrument amplified > in even small ensembles. > > If you're going to amplify it, what's the point of using > that type of guitar > (unless you want to make the amplification part of the > effect and timbre itself, > a la George Crumb)? This is why I haven't used a > classical guitar in any of my > ensemble music for years. A steel-string guitar works > very well unamplified in > a small ensemble and the electric guitar has no volume > limitations at all. > Contemporary composers would find much of interest in these > instruments and > modern classical guitarists would be well advised to think > of them as alternate > versions of their instrument. Unfortunately, classical > players often perceive > them as some kind of threat from outside the "official" > guitar world. > > I haven't found this same problem with lutes or > theorbos. The emphasis of > higher partials means that the sound on both can cut > through quite well. Play > close to the bridge and you can be heard most of the > time. I've been thinking > of writing a duo for lute and modern guitar. Maybe > now's the time to > investigate the project. > > Chris > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "wolfgang wiehe" > <wie-w...@gmx.de> > > To: <terli...@aol.com>; > > <r.turov...@verizon.net>; > > <lute@cs.dartmouth.edu> > > Sent: Saturday, December 19, 2009 8:05 PM > > Subject: [LUTE] Re: Liuto forte > > > > > > > > I heard a "liuto forte" this year at our DLG meeting > on > > "Burg > > Sternberg". Hmm, not louder than my g-lute...;-) > > Greetings > > W. > > > > -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht----- > > Von: lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu > > [mailto:lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu] > > Im > > Auftrag von terli...@aol.com > > Gesendet: Samstag, 19. Dezember 2009 19:41 > > An: r.turov...@verizon.net; > > lute@cs.dartmouth.edu > > Betreff: [LUTE] Re: Liuto forte > > > > > > OR suitable for a guitarist who is NOT sick of the > guitar > > repertoire! > > . and is happy with finger nails. > > > > > > Roman, Did you go to the the demonstration of the > liuto > > forte hat > > occurred at the Met Museum a year or 3 ago? > > > > > > I missed it. > > > > > > Mark Delpriora > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Roman Turovsky <r.turov...@verizon.net> > > To: Lutelist <lute@cs.dartmouth.edu> > > Sent: Sat, Dec 19, 2009 11:51 am > > Subject: [LUTE] Re: Liuto forte > > > > > > It is a single-strung lute and guitar hybrid designed > by > > Andre Burguete, > > that aproximates lute sound while purporting to have > the > > volume of the > > guitar. It uses nylon overspun with fine steel wire, > and > > has some > > interesting and useful peculiarities in the bridge > and > > soundboard > > construction. > > Fixed metal frets are supposedly less dampening to > the > > sound > > (negligibly). > > This technology might yield a nice and loud theorbo in > ET. > > But one really misses the overtone palette of double > > strings. > > It is a very suitable instrument for a guitarist who > is > > sick of the > > guitar repertoire, but is unwilling to part with his > > nails. > > > > http://www.liuto-forte.com/ > > There are a number of notable converts to it: Oliver > > Holzenburg, Luciano > > Contini et al. > > RT > > > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Daniel Winheld" > > <dwinh...@comcast.net> > > To: <lute@cs.dartmouth.edu> > > Sent: Saturday, December 19, 2009 11:31 AM > > Subject: [LUTE] Re: Liuto forte > > > > > Alright, I'll bite- What in God's name is > Liuto > > Forte? (I must have > > > been out of the office for this one) > > > thanks, Dan > > > -- > > > > > > > > > > > > > To get on or off this list see list information > at > > > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
