Dear Bill,
Amazingly, such instruments actually seemed to have existed; there
seems to be evidence that JS Bach owned one (or even two). Modern
reconstructions have been made and, indeed, I bought a CD a few years
ago of a recital of the luth o cembal works played by Elizabeth Farr on
such an instrument. It's a Naxos recording so should be available
still.
I recall is was reasonably well reviewed and certainly the relevant
pieces seem more idiomatic on the keyboard than on a Dm lute....
Farr says that the instrument she uses is based on a detailed
description by Adlung in 1768 and also on Bach's own specification for
at least one of his own instruments.
regards
Martyn
--- On Wed, 19/10/11, William Samson <willsam...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
From: William Samson <willsam...@yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: [LUTE] Re: BWV 998
To: "dc" <den...@free.fr>, "lute-cs.dartmouth.edu"
<lute@cs.dartmouth.edu>
Date: Wednesday, 19 October, 2011, 10:09
I have heard that 'luth o cembal' was perhaps a keyboard instrument
that sounded like a lute - I've even heard it suggested that it was
a
harpsichord strung in gut, but I very much doubt the feasibility of
such an instrument - It would be a nightmare to keep in tune, as we
lutenists know only too well. Sorry I don't have any sources for
this
information - just speculative hearsay I'm afraid. Maybe somebody
has
some more concrete information?
Bill
From: dc <[1]den...@free.fr>
To: lute-cs.dartmouth.edu <[2]lute@cs.dartmouth.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, 19 October 2011, 9:27
Subject: [LUTE] BWV 998
I apologize if this subject has already been discussed here, but I'm
wondering if Bach's Prelude (marked "Prelude pour la Luth o Cembal),
Fugue & Allegro BWV 998 is playable as written (i.e. in E flat
major,
with all the low bass notes) on a type of lute Bach might have
known.
If so, what would the tuning (and the range) of such an instrument
have
been? If not, how do scholars interpret or explain "pour la Luth" on
the manuscript?
Thanks,
Dennis
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