See below.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Martyn Hodgson" <hodgsonmar...@yahoo.co.uk>
To: "Lute Dmth" <lute@cs.dartmouth.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, January 04, 2011 4:39 AM
Subject: [LUTE] RV93 - which instrument?
<<<SNIP>>>
It is much more likely that the instrument required is the 18th
century Italian 'leuto' (sometimes but by no means always in its
arcileuto configuration) tuned, I and others have suggested, like the
old lute in a nominal G (but sometimes A); an E tuning has also been
proposed - tho' this is most unlikely in view of the string length of
these instruments. The general size of these instruments can be deduced
from contemporary iconography and there are good early/mid 18th century
Italian paintings showing lutes being played (often just 7 course
instruments - perhaps even old lutes?) suggesting string lengths close
to old G lutes (ie generally low/mid 60s cm). A number of these
instruments survive in modern collections and often in a pristine state
by makers such as Radice. As first suggested by Bob Spencer these
instruments would have played from staff notation (like Dalla Casa):
often using the octave transposing G2 clef but also, I suspect, also
using the normal bass clef for basso continuo.
Whether Vivaldi was concerned about these pieces being played on a
'baroque' ie Dm lute rather than an instrument in the old tuning I
think we will never truly know (since he didn't expect modern
organologists to delve into the question) but what can be said is the
the one lute work which he did indisputedly conceive for the Dm lute
(the double concerto with viola d'amore) RV 540 was first performed in
1740 and its fits well on the instrument - much more so than the
earlier 'leuto' works. We also know that the Dm lute made surprisingly
very little impression in 18th century Italy.
In short, if in doubt play these works on a 7 course lute (tuned in
nominal G or A) but use overwound on the lowest courses, unlike the
wholly gut strings of earlier generations. Also, I suspect, they
employed a significantly higher string tension than earlier generations
(the extant 18th century leuto seem more robust than earlier lutes; use
of nails to pluck) but then, of course, you risk damaging the
instrument.............. Alternatively, if you really want to hear what
contemporary audiences expected, get a special instrument made.
MH
================================
Bob Spencer may have been thinking about the _Sinfonia à Solo di Archiliuto_
(lute with basso continuo), transcribed here from a score formerly in
Bob's library.
http://mysite.verizon.net/vzepq31c/arthurjnesslutescores/sinfonia.html
He purchased it in 1956 (ex-Harrach?), along with two concertinos (one
with "organo" continuo--see below) for the same instrument, and the
Lauffensteiner suite published by the Lute Society. The instrument sounds an
octave lower in the treble clef, and at pitch in the bass clef. The works
are thought to be Bohemian in provenance.
(If you download the Sinfonia from my site, use the *.PDF files at the
bottom of the page--they reproduce the notation clearly.) It shouldn't be
difficult to
determine the tuning.
Beware of the Malipiero editions for Ricordi (the edition you are
most likely to encounter in a music library) because he often does not
indicate the full lute part. Almost always Vivaldi has the lute playing
"col basso" in the Tutti. That is, the lute plays basso continuo. Malipiero
gives rests, usually without explanbation! Peter Segal (Production d'Oz)
gets it right in his excellent
editions of the Vivaldi pieces (score and parts), but in a bow to guitarists
uses the treble clef (Vivaldi's manuscripts use bass clef when the lute
plays basso continuo).
I notice in at least one of the Vivaldi score (lute, mandolin) the strings
are instructed to use mutes ("con sordino"). There are other lute concertos
which likewise call for muted strings. One of the Vivaldi concertos calls
for "organo" continuo, and that is what Paul O'Dette uses in that early CD.
I don't hear him play
continuo in the tuttis, and he seems to follow Malipiero's faulty score in
that regard.
AJN
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