Thanks... My instrument is 30 cm, and actually 5-course, single
strung. I presume it's made according to historical understanding...
I believe Carlos Gonzales is a historian as well as builder -- he's
planning a workshop on building ancient Egyptian/Coptic lutes this
April, for example. I prefer to use the thin quill of a feather as a
plectrum, as I saw done on the R. lute once. For as thin and short as
the strings are, it helps to have something equally tiny to set the
string in motion. And of course, the Chancy MS is to be done with a
plectrum as far as I know.
But I have to say, your playing had me fooled... It sounds like a
mandore to me! And they are lovely tunes.
cud
__________________________________________________________________
From: Stuart Walsh <s.wa...@ntlworld.com>
To: Vihuelalist <vihuela@cs.dartmouth.edu>
Sent: Mon, January 10, 2011 6:19:40 AM
Subject: [VIHUELA] Re: some Ulm mandore pieces
Thanks Chris
I should have said I'm not playing these pieces on a mandore, but on a
small, single-strung instrument, tuned like a mandore. My instrument
has a string length of 37cms and so is larger (and, no doubt, easier to
play) than a typical four-course, four-string mandore. On the other
hand, maybe there was a difference in size between the four-course
(four-string) plectrum-played mandore and the five-course, fingerstyle
(or plectrum+fingers style) instrument.
I knew about the Ulm tablatures from Donald Gill and James Tyler but it
was Jean-Marie Poirier who pointed me in the direction of the Cornetto
catalogue.
[1]http://www.faksimiles.org/verlag.htm
I think there are three separate tabaltures in the Ulm collection and
the Cornetto facsimiles are quite expensive. At Jean-Marie's suggestion
I got Cornetto catalogue, 0073 which turned out to be two
nicely-produced facsimiles. The main 'book' (there's probably a
technical name for a publication roughly 8 inches by 6 inches) has
music for a five course instrument and uses a couple of tunings but
mainly one (in fourths and fifths, without lowering the first course).
Like the Skene MS, it has to be fingerstyle or plectrum plus fingers.
The supplementary 'book' has only a few pieces, all or mainly from the
larger collection, but now set for a four-course instrument, presumably
to be played with a plectrum.
Stuart
To get on or off this list see list information at
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References
1. http://www.faksimiles.org/verlag.htm
2. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/%7Ewbc/lute-admin/index.html
