Size Matters: Historical String Lengths and Possible Tunings of the Chitarrone or Theorbo
(2021)
author(s): Gao Menglin
published in: KC Research Portal
What was considered the "normal" size for the Italian theorbo or chitarrone upon its creation in the 17th century, and why should 21st century players like us embrace the historical size?
This research tackles the question from several different angles: description in historical texts, surviving instruments, the optimal string gauge and tension, and tone comparison. The study finds the vast majority of surviving chitarroni to have a stopped string length around 88-89cm, with some exceeding 90cm and very few falling short of 80cm. This sparks the question of whether smaller instruments required a different tuning. Upon comparing with lute family instruments from the same era, the logical conclusion is that smaller instruments with string lengths around 76cm most probably did not need to have a double re-entrant tuning which is the standard tuning for all solo chitarrone music. When comparing a large instrument (95cm) and a small instrument (76cm, with single re-entrant tuning), one can hear that they perform very different roles as continuo instruments, and are not mutually replaceable. As modern-day lutenists, one should really embrace the large size if one wishes to play the chitarrone, and develop a technique to suit the instrument, instead of scaling down the instrument to suit the technique.
Menglin Gao has been a recorder player, a countertenor, and now a theorbist, studying at the Royal Conservatoire of the Hague. He is the founder and director of the Shanghai Camerata, an early music ensemble based in Shanghai, China.
Intabulation as process and practice (Master thesis)
(2021)
author(s): Asako Ueda
published in: KC Research Portal
Research Title:
Intabulation as process and practice
Research questions:
When it comes to the manifold surviving solo lute intabulations from around 1500, where is the line between "unwritten" and "written" intabulation?
Intabulating involves the writing out of several parts into tablature, but does this twofold distinction really apply to all pieces?
What was the process of appropriation of vocal polyphony for a lutenist of the early 16th century?
How can we apply this to our own processes?
Abstract:
Intabulation refers to the arrangement of vocal pieces for what Johannes Tinctoris refers to as a “perfect instrument”, amongst which he counts such instruments as keyboards and the lute – and it implies writing out the parts of a polyphonic composition into tablature. However, after playing many surviving intabulations for several years, I had a strong feeling that there must be an “unwritten” solo lute intabulation practice behind the “written” intabulations from the beginning of the 16th century, in contrast to the more “composed” intabulations from the time after the mid-16th century. While surviving sources provide us with much information on what lutenists played, they also hide the “unwritten” practice which they did not record. We can only imagine what was happening. In this thesis, I investigate the process of intabulation by lute players from this time by analysing and comparing different versions of the same song from different sources. Through this research, I trace the transition of the changing style of intabulation, which is in turn related to the transition of lute technique from plectrum to finger-plucked and the change in style of the vocal models. Moreover, the diffusion of printed music changed the manner of the transmission of music. To conclude, I hypothesise that lute players might have listened to and copied each other’s intabulations unconsciously, and when they wanted to preserve their work, they might have made some adjustments to their intabulations. The study also suggests how to apply these ideas to actual intabulation practice, which will be presented in the Research Symposium online as a video format.
Biography:
The Japanese lutenist Asako Ueda studied the lute at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague with Mike Fentross and Joachim Held and completed her Bachelor's with the highest achievable mark, which gives her the opportunity to continue to the Master’s program with the Excellence Scholarship of the Royal Conservatory of the Hague. She won first prize at the Biagio Marini Competition and third prize at the International Van Wassenaer Competition.
She started playing the violin at the age of five. After finishing her Bachelor’s degree with the violin in Tokyo, she continued to study the Baroque violin and composition.
https://asakoueda.com
SINGING WITH THE LUTE
(2020)
author(s): Solmund Nystabakk
published in: Norwegian Academy of Music
This project is an attempt at bringing new perspectives and work methods to the performance of lute songs. My point of departure is Historically Informed Performance, also known as HIP. My claim is that the performance of lute songs is lagging behind the general development in HIP. Moreover, I feel that there are aspects of the performance of music that HIP in general has been reluctant to consider.
I want to update the approach to the lute song repertoire, hoping to produce a result that is more varied, nuanced and communicative than what I see as the current state of lute song performance.
The Can of Norms: Expanding the Modern Lute Plucking Technique
(2018)
author(s): Talitha Witmer
published in: KC Research Portal
Name: Talitha Cumi Witmer
Main Subject: Lute/Theorbo
Research Supervisor: Bart van Oort
Title of Research: The Can of Norms: Expanding the Modern Lute Plucking Technique
Research Question: Can “Thumb-out,” a historical lute technique in common use following the late Renaissance period, become favored by lutenists today?
Summary of Results:
After its revival in the 20th century, much has been discovered about the lute and its technique. One issue that is recently placed on the agenda of lutenists is the plucking technique applied on lutes. It is a known fact that Thumb-out was the technique applied most commonly for lute playing. Yet, very few lutenists adopt this Thumb-out technique today. Modern lute tutors tend to advise to avoid Thumb-out. If not, they advise to pluck around the rossete, and position their thumb close to the index finger. In paintings and treatises, however, we see Thumb-out hand with thumb positioned away from the index while the hand is placed around the bridge, and Thumb-out hand placed around the rosette, the former more often. I delved into this technique for 3 years and have come to understand that this “forgotten Thumb-out” is as matter of fact a technique that can be very beneficial for lute players, opening new, colorful, historical and healthy possibilities.
Biography:
The American-Korean lutenist, Talitha Cumi Witmer, started her musical studies at age 4 with church choir and piano. When she was 9 she heard a lute on a CD and immediately fell in love with its sound. Her dream to study the lute was then realized at the age of 13, when she began her formal studies on the instrument in Tokyo. Since 2011 she studies the lute under Joachim Held, and the theorbo under Mike Fentross since 2012. She performs both as a continuo player and a soloist, in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Netherlands, and Portugal.
Transcribing Johann Sebastian Bach's Lute Music for Guitar Bouzouki
(2015)
author(s): Andreas Aase
connected to: Norwegian Artistic Research Programme
published in: Journal for Artistic Research
Johann Sebastian Bach's lute suites were probably written on the harpsichord, and are commonly performed on the guitar. This project examines the possibilities and limitations in transcribing one suite for a four-course, fifth-tuned instrument in the cittern/octave mandolin family, while preserving supposed interpretation practices from Bach's era and/or from Scandinavian traditional music. The final artistic result may or may not express these traits. The audiovisual examples aim to express problems of interpretation, and suggestions for their solutions in the cases where they are specific to my instrument. I will attempt to contextualise the process through introducing various strands of research and the observations of others.
The discussion commences at a point where I have produced a suggestion for a transcription, as I embark from the premises laid out in the previous paragraph and ask, Is it possible to create an edition of Johann Sebastian Bach's Lute Suite BWV 997 for my instrument? Deriving from this question, I simultaneously ask, Which methods and contexts can I employ to make the artistic outcome convincing for myself, as well as for an audience familiar with this music?
This project is an attempt at bringing new perspectives and work methods to the performance of lute songs. My point of departure is Historically Informed Performance, also known as HIP. My claim is that the performance of lute songs is lagging behind the general development in HIP. Moreover, I feel that there are aspects of the performance of music that HIP in general has been reluctant to consider. I want to update the approach to the lute song repertoire, hoping to produce a result that is more varied, nuanced and communicative than what I see as the current state of lute song performance.open exposition comments (2)