Well, As far as the origin of the tiple, cuatro, charango, and assorted other instruments, I think someone could present a strong argument that they evolved from the 16th century Spanish guitar. Of course, they could have evolved from the cittern, or even the medieval lute.
If they evolved from the vihuela de mano, then why did they possess only 4 or 5 courses? The available repertoire for the vihuela de mano seems to require at least 6 courses. I have difficulty believing that someone who played the vihuela de mano, would come to the new world and construct ( or have constructed ) an instrument with which he couldn't play the music written for that instrument. Of course, you could still argue that they're vihuelas de manos ( hands of fate >:) ), but you would need to surmount the problem of the repertoire requiring 6 courses and not 5 or 4. My personal opinion ( which isn't worth much ), is that the Spanish luthiers may have added a 7th course to enable musicians to play the lute repertoire on the vihuela de mano, but eventually, the (legendary?) prejudice against the lute ( "It's Moorish - Yuck!" ) dissipated and more Spaniards began playing the lute in its 8+ course variants. The body of the vihuela was pretty petite, after all, and I wouldn't think those additional basses required for the later lute repertoire would sound terribly pretty on it, Although, I have an eerie feeling that Alexander Batov is going to inform me shortly that there is evidence of a vihuela de mano with the same body dimensions of a bass viol >:) . I still find it easier to believe that the cuatro, et al, were variants of the renaissance guitar. Which still leads me back to my original question: Why are there no fragments ( at least ) of vihuela de manos found in St. Augustine, Florida ( or other North American Spanish colonies )? Is it just because no one is looking? Or is it possibly because the evidence is catalogued and archived somewhere but that no one really knows what it points to? Interesting points about South and Central America, James. Thanks for sharing them! > -----Original Message----- > From: bill kilpatrick [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Saturday, May 14, 2005 2:00 AM > To: James A Stimson; [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Cc: vihuela@cs.dartmouth.edu > Subject: Re: Antwort: Re: S. de Murcia > > vihuelas - in one or two of the many forms in which > they were introduced into the new world, hundreds of > years ago - continue to exist today. the only reason > they're not recognized as such - i maintain - is > because the vihuela, as something distinct from the > guitar, fell out of favor here in europe and only a > few examples survive. > > i loose heart. > > instead of judging what is or isn't a vihuela with > reference to the very few examples which remain, isn't > it possible - valid - to reverse the process and > simply ask where instruments like the charango, > cuatro, tiple, etc. came from? > > imagine what your guitar would look and sound like if > it had made the journey with cortez and back. would > it have become something other than a guitar in the > process? > > > --- James A Stimson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > > > > > > Dear Thomas and All: > > The Mexican musicologist Eloy Cruz has made an > > extensive study of the > > musical life of the early Spanish settlers. His > > theory is that as soon as > > substantial towns were established, the Spanish > > brought with them many of > > the trappings of Spanish urban life, including > > musical instruments. He also > > thinks it likely that instrument makers traveled to > > the New World fairly > > early on. > > I once asked Alejandro Planchart why there are so > > few traces of vihuelas > > in Central America and northern South America. One > > theory is that the > > wholesale destruction that accompanied wars of > > independence (Venezuela, for > > example, lost an estimated one-third of its > > population) took a heavy toll > > on the more fragile trappings of civilization such > > as music. > > Cheers, > > Jim > > > > > > > > > > > > > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > > elec.com To: > > vihuela@cs.dartmouth.edu > > > > cc: > > > > > > 05/13/2005 11:45 > > Subject: Antwort: Re: S. de Murcia > > > > AM > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > I'm not sure spaniards of the 16th century > > considered music as luxury. They > > must have had a different approach to what luxury is > > and what is necessary. > > The question could be: *if* one took a musical > > instrument with him would it > > be a vihuela? As far as I understand the vihuela > > would be rather played by > > the nobility and therefor the number of people who > > *could* have taken a > > vihuela with them would be very limited. To stress > > Jon's picture of the > > "Master" -movie: It would rather be recorders, drums > > in all forms and that > > kind of instruments played by the common sailors and > > soldiers. But I would > > *not* tell it impossible that the one or the other > > nobleman took his > > favorite instrument with him which also could have > > been a vihuela (although > > I doubt it would be considered practical for life on > > board). > > BUT: Later, when colonies were established I am > > rather sure that among the > > first things they imported from spain would have > > been musical instruments. > > There must have been records surviving telling us > > about what was ordered > > from the colonies. Did anyone make a research about > > that? > > > > Best wishes > > Thomas > > > > > > > > > > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> am 13.05.2005 18:00:03 > > > > An: Garry Bryan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, > > "'VihuelaList'" > > <vihuela@cs.dartmouth.edu> > > Kopie: > > > > Thema: Re: S. de Murcia > > > > > > > > When the Spanish colonized the new world, did they > > pack light? Would they > > have > > > carried any musical instruments, or were they so > > militaristic that the > > finer > > > things had no place in the baggage train of the > > first wave? > > Music is a luxury, and generally the thugs of the > > first wave are unlikely > > to > > have time for such a leisurely pursuit. > > RT > > > > > > > > > ___________________________________________________________ > > $0 Web Hosting with up to 200MB web space, 1000 MB > > Transfer > > 10 Personalized POP and Web E-mail Accounts, and > > much more. > > Signup at www.doteasy.com > > > > > > > > To get on or off this list see list information at > > > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html > > > > > > > > > > CONFIDENTIALITY : This e-mail and any attachments > > are confidential and > > may be privileged. If you are not a named > > recipient, please notify the > > sender immediately and do not disclose the contents > > to another person, use > > it for any purpose or store or copy the information > > in any medium. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ___________________________________________________________ > Yahoo! Messenger - want a free and easy way to contact your friends online? > http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com >
