My feeling of the speed is that it needs a certain lightness and rythmic
pulse to be a dance form rather than sounding, as you suggest, like a sort of
anthem.
Regarding stringing: I really would suggest that you to persist with octaves
on the 4th and certainly try high unison on the 5th which will, at a stroke,
solve your problem of octave intrusion on the 5th as well as making more sense
of the common passage work involving the open 3rd and open 5th. Also use gut
on the 4th rather than a powerful modern overwound string: this may seem
counter-intuitive, but the thicker, more protruding, bourdon may make it
easier for you to strike the lower of the pair as well as the upper. Rather
like a violin, much depends on the attack; here of the thumb rather than the
bow - playing well through the course and somewhat down into the belly should
strengthen the bass of the pair. Indeed, I think much baroque guitar music is
often closer to that of the violin than the lute: solo note passages
interspersed with chords and emphasise on up and down bows(strums). There's
good exceptions to this of course: in particular some of Sanz's pieces
and
Guerau
Interestingly, the piece you mention does not, of course, conform to this
more common pattern which is why, having failed to spot anything in Sanz or
Guerau, I suspected a transcription: either from lute or other instrumental
source. There are, as you'll have noted, other pieces from the Gallot
collection in the same style ie largely treble and bass with no strumming and
no campanella play (eg including Pavanne 71v, the long Gaillarde and suite
69v-70v, two courantes 68v-69) - maybe others can find concordances for these
which may also be a clue to the source of this Baleto.
Martyn
Stuart Walsh <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I'm pleased someone else plays music from this wonderful MS which must
> contain the logest piece ever written for baroque guitar (if, of course, it
> was ever expected to be played in one sitting).
>
> Regarding the particular piece: the harmonies and structure are reminiscent
> of Gianoncelli's 'IL LIUTO' (Venice 1650) with its passing dissonances
> (intentional I think) and variation form. However, whilst there is indeed a
> 'Baletto' with 5 variations (pgs 6,7) it isn't this one.
>
> It may seem a strange thing: to transcribe from the 14 course arciliuto to
> the 5 course guitar, but much of this music is only two part and the low
> basses are either used for effect or to free the left hand in higher
> positions (much as the extra basses on the Dm lute) so putting them up an
> octave or even two on a re-entrant tuned guitar may bring unexpected
> inversions - but to good effect here. Incidentally, I don't think this music
> it requires a bourdon on the fifth course altho' I do use one on the fourth.
> Perhaps it could go a little faster as well - but nicely played.
>
> rgds
>
> M.
>
Thanks for your reply. Yes, it drags at the end at the speed I'm playing
it. But it felt wrong to play it faster at the beginning of the piece.
Seems more like a sort of anthem at the beginning.
I've finally made a decision about playing the Baroque guitar: I just
cannot anymore stand the sound of the intrusive high d on the fourth
course. To me it ruins everything. Maybe a pair of gut strings an octave
apart could sound pleasantly ambiguous but with modern strings (my
current ones are from a reputable maker) all I hear is the high string
- so often managing to wreck the melodic line or the harmony. Full
re-entrant tuning on the guitar is just a complete and utter mystery to
me. There's no issue with re-entrant tuning on the Renaissance cittern -
you are bobbing about on different strings but the notes are in the same
octave. And the same with the archlute or theorbo (can't remember
which) with the top courses an octave lower. I've read that that is
fully accounted for in the tab - there's no octave hopping.
So I've resolved to 'do' something: - in some circumstances to split the
courses and, as far as possible, to play the lower octave when that
makes musical sense and the higher octave in campanella passages. Or, as
in my attempt to play this Baleto, to play the fourth course (sometimes
even the fifth) with the fingers.
I wish I'd resolved to do this years ago. It's like getting an image
suddenly in focus. For me (this is obviously a personal thing) it puts
the Baroque guitar back in line with every other plucked instrument -
rather than (in my opinion) an unsatisfactory anomaly.
I used to play the Baroque lute and often the thumb is miles away from
the fingerboard. I'm not exactly sure but I think it was a lesson as at
a summer school with Nigel North who suggested I should sometimes use
fingers to play both the low and high notes on the fingerboard rather
than have the thumb continually moving form the low bas strings to the
fingerboard. In effect, one is playing the fingerboard thumblessly.
Stuart
>
>
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