If we aim to recapture the sound the
Old Ones made then it is surely right to adopt the same technique they
used.
As a fringe exercise, rather like a reenactment of the civil war, I can
see having some interest in duplicating as close as possible, what was
done with the music and instruments during the time that they were created.
I sometimes get a sense however that there is some taboo in searching
out new adaptations of lute music or lutes themselves. I've long
lamented the apparent resistance of using modern tuning machines
on a lute for example. Had they been available at the time, I'm rather certain
that the old masters would have joyously adopted them. I guess it's
like asking what Bach would have done if he had a pedal. I'm
more interested in what I will do now that I have one.
As for the technique, and what oil paintings depict, and what
people wrote about at the time, I'd have to wonder what might
have developed had the internet been available and instantaneous
sharing of modified techniques and their results was possible.
There must have been a rather dogmatic "do as I say"
passing of knowledge from teacher to student in the likely small
world of the masters. Of this I know little however as I'm sure
the scholars here will soon point out.
I understand the interest in duplicating old practices, but see
a disproportionately small push to further evolve and modify aspects of
performance and instruments taking advantage of the modern availability of
technologies and knowledge that we now have.
Perhaps I will now be flooded by videos of people who do just
that. I'll welcome it. I'm just a fringe lurker on the world
of the lute player, so be gentle in correcting my assertions please.
Tobiah
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