(perhaps this has been discussed before) Tinctoris (c.1480) "commented on the German invention of brass strings [on lutes] which were added 'tuned very deeply through an octave' by means of which 'the sound is rendered not only stronger, but also very much sweeter'." (Keith Polk, German Instrumental Music of the Middle Ages p.22, 1992). Polk, somewhere else in the same book, talks about the 'ever reliable Tinctoris'. I've never heard of wire-strung lutes (apart from lute-bodied citterns in the late 18th century). Anyone know what Tinctoris is talking about? Stuart --
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