That's not quite what I meant. A lute song by Dowland is even different from a viol solo by Hume or a keyboard solo by Bull. Diabelli's piano fluff doesn't really compare to Beethoven's Hammerklavier sonata, but the whole of early-romantic piano repertoire isn't fairly represented by either end of this spectrum. Likewise, York's Sunburst for guitar isn't quite like Balkanski's sonata, but they are both good fun and both serve a function to those who like hearing them.
I was suggesting that, in whole, the body of guitar repertoire isn't necessarily any different in the *level* of quality represented. Some proportion of it can be considered noteworthy; much of it can be considered rather schlocky. I think that's the case with almost any instrument popular enough to have inspired a substantial body of designated repertoire. Some of it will be crafted to sell to the masses rather than to reflect lofty or disciplined artistic ideals. Eugene _______________________________________________________________________ From: nedma...@aol.com [mailto:nedma...@aol.com] Sent: Monday, December 21, 2009 11:15 AM To: brai...@osu.edu; lute@cs.dartmouth.edu Subject: Re: [LUTE] Re: Liuto forte "I don't see how it's substantially different from any other instrument's repetoire. . ." I don't think it's denigrating to any instrument to accept that there are very substantial differences in both quantity and quality between it's repetoire and that of other instuments. The reason I switched from the lute to the cello many years ago was because - having enjoyed early ensemble music - I wanted to explore more recent ensemble music, especially the string quartet. The reason I've returned to the lute is that I now want to explore the wonderful solo repetoire for the lute (comparatively speaking, there ain't a lot for cello). Playing the lute, I never experienced anything like the late Beethoven quartets. Playing the cello, I never experienced anything like Dowland lute songs or solos. Not playing the piano, I'll never experience anything like the Brahms sonatas. . . Ned -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
