**** Welcome to the "LuteBot Quarterly" **** - the free electronic lute journal - *** #9, Winter 2000 **** *** by Federico Marincola *** The "LuteBot Quarterly" serves to disseminate information on the lute and its charming literature. Each issue contains one or more articles. This document contains inline ASCII graphics which look best unformatted, in a monospace font like Courier. * To receive the latest issue of the "LuteBot Quarterly", send an email to: * To unsubscribe reply to this message with the words "remove LuteBot" in the subject line. * To receive the following past issues of the "LuteBot Quarterly", send a request to : ---> LuteBot Quarterly #1, Winter 1998: "Vincenzo Capirola and his Lute Book - 1517" (by F. Marincola) ---> LuteBot Quarterly #2, Spring 1998: Adrian Le Roy's "A Briefe and easye instruction" - 1568 (a synopsis, by Ian Harwood) ---> LuteBot Quarterly #3, Summer 1998: The "Honorable homme Maistre Guillaume Morlaye, marchand bourgeoys de Paris" (by F. Marincola) ---> LuteBot Quarterly #4, Autumn 1998: The "Raimondi Manuscript - 1601" an Italian lutebook (by Franco Pavan) ---> LuteBot Quarterly #5, Winter 1999: "The Calichon and the Mandora" (by Pietro Prosser) ---> LuteBot Quarterly #6, Spring 1999: "The Lady of the Lute": an unpublished interview with Diana Poulton (1977) (by C. Alba) ---> LuteBot Quarterly #7, Summer 1999: "An hypothesis on the tuning of the Italian theorbo" (by Andrea Damiani) ---> LuteBot Quarterly #8, Autumn 1999: "Half-serious considerations on a half-serious instrument: the medieval lute" (by Francis Biggi) * To receive my Electronic Brochure, send an email to * For further information about the lute and about me, and for links to interesting lute sites, tablature editors, etc, visit my Lute Page: http://www.marincola.com * To subscribe to "liuto-it", the Italian Lute Mailing List, send an email to , with the following line in the body of the message: subscribe liuto-it --------------------------------------------------------------------------- **** Copyright and dissemination **** | Under the Berne Convention, this document, where not otherwise specified, | is Copyright (c) 1999 by Federico Marincola (lute@marincola.com), all rights | reserved. Permission is granted for it to be reproduced electronically on any | system connected to the various networks which make up the Internet, Usenet, | and FidoNet so long as it is reproduced in its entirety, unedited, and with this | copyright notice intact. Web sites are included. Individual copies may | also be printed for personal use. This document was produced for free redistribution. If you paid money for it, not only did you do so unnecessarily, but none of the money went to the person who did the work of producing the documents. You need not obtain special permission to quote parts of this document for academic research purposes, as long as you cite the source. If you would like to offer suggestions and ideas, please email me at . ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *** Table of contents *** Part I -- Observations on the lute technique (by Giorgio Ferraris - kafer@tin.it) Part II -- About Giorgio Ferraris Part III -- About Federico Marincola ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Part I -- Observations on the lute technique (by Giorgio Ferraris - kafer@tin.it, with the kind permission of "Il Fronimo, rivista trimestrale di chitarra e liuto", translation by Robin Fox) -- INTRODUCTION In 1978 I wrote an article for the magazine "Il Fronimo", entitled "Sulla tecnica del liuto". At that time "Il Fronimo" was directed by Ruggero Chiesa, my former guitar teacher, and edited by Edizioni Suivini e Zerboni; the article was published in the January 1979 issue. Even today, republishing the same article twenty years later, I must quote from the introduction to that article that "I'm totally in debt to Mrs Diana Poulton for her research of the sources and for most of the quotations about the lute". At that time I was just a beginner lute student and she was a famous lute teacher and the best-known musicologist of the lute repertoire. On my request, however, Diana very kindly sent me various pages of quotations and suggestions for the article. When I respectfully sent the article to her, she wrote back to me saying: "Thank so much for sending me the copy of "Il Fronimo" with your article on the technique of the lute. I am so very pleased that you haver been able to make use of the sources of information which I was able to show you. This will all help towards spreading a knowledge of the true technique and, I hope, help to convert some of the people who still maintain that the technique of the guitar can be transferred to the lute without any modification. I can't tell you how much pleasure it gives to me when I find I have been able to help people towards a better understanding of the lute and its music" (a facsimile of Diana's letter is at ---> http://www.marincola.com/lutebot9/diana.htm ) Apart from the technical contents of this letter and the many subsequent letters that I had the honour of receiving from her, I must say that, thanks to her teaching, I had an extraordinary lesson on how to transmit culture. She showed me, in what was the most evident way, how a teacher's influence can shape a pupil's mind and way of thinking for life. Twenty years ago there were very few well-qualified lute teachers and, at the same time, many guitarists who wanted to play the lute, thinking that the two instruments shared the same technical approach. I think the problem is still a current one and the points made in my article are valid discussion points even today. Anyway, I was trying to prove that the main difference between the two techniques - the little finger on the belly - has immediate consequences on the musical expression in a performance of a piece of music. In other words, "the little finger on the belly" is the technical principle which unites all European lute schools from the renaissance to the late baroque period. On the other hand the aim of modern classical guitar technique is far from being orientated towards specific philological problems of interpretation; the modern guitarist who wishes to play early lute music on the classical guitar should, in my opinion, adopt a right-hand fingering technique based on that used by lute players. --RESEARCH METHODS The playing of early music on the guitar has led to many guitarists being interested in the lute. The lute is an instrument that has a very precise place in history. It underwent a definitive halt in its evolution and has been virtually "dead" for a certain period of time. The only possible method of research for an instrument of this type is, therefore, a philological one. There is no valid reason, for example, for the invention or application of new technical principles. As, from a mechanical point of view, what was taught at the time was considered adequate and satisfied all the aesthetic rules of the period, why should any new way of holding the instrument or moving the hands be any better? It is even less thinkable to call into question the general aesthetic principles of the time and think about introducing new principles. The philological approach, here, is clearly indicated. -- LUTE TECHNIQUE AND THE PHILOLOGICAL METHOD. Two methods can be used to provide clear indications as to how musicians in the past played their instruments: the study of treatises and the study of iconography. The quantity of iconography regarding the lute is, in fact, enormous and very detailed (The English lute Society has the biggest collection in the world with hundreds and hundreds of examples); equally as detailed and as numerous are the treatises: there are examples from every period and from every school. Any complete study of lute technique would need a comparative analysis of treatises and iconography, but, in order not to deviate from the aim of this article, we will include only a few examples of visual evidence as confirmation of the written evidence without attempting to go into the subject in detail. -- THE HAND-POSITION ACCORDING TO THE TREATISES (English translation by Diana Poulton) Hans Gerle , 'Musica Teusch', Nuremberg, 1532: "take the lute holding it with the left hand and place the little finger and the ringfinger on the soundboard, not on the rose, bat a little lower" Adrian Le Roy, 'A Briefe and easye instruction', London, 1568: "the little finger serveth but to keep the hande from [firm ] upon the bealie of the lute" Matthaeus Weissel, 'Lautenbuch', 1592 (translation by D.A. Smith, Journal of the lute Society of America, vol. VIII ): "the right arm is placed not too high, but almost in the middle behind the bridge, so that the hand is stretched out somewhat lengthways, restling firmly on the little finger which is placed on the top of the lute on held motionless" Thomas Robinson, 'The Schoole of Musicke', London, 1603: "leane upon the bellie of your Lute, with your little finger onelie, & that neither so far from the Treble strings, neither to neere, and although you ought to leane lightlie, you carie your hand stedd ilie, not sliding out of this place" Robert Dowland, 'Varietie of Lute-Lessons', London ,1610: "First set your little finger on the belly of the LUTE, not towards the Rose, but a little lower" Alessandro Piccinini, 'Intavolatura di liuto e chitarrone, Libro Primo', Bologna 1623: "Il deto Police stia longo; l'Auricolare sta posato sul fondo e stara' bene Mary Burwell's Lute Tutor (c. 1652-8): "For the right hand, it must be placed between the Rose and the Bridge, but nearest to the Bridge your hand must lie upon the belly of the lute with the little finger onely which must be as it were glued unto it; [...] but take heed that you never lay the little finger uppon the Bridge, neither strike the strings with nails" Marin Mersenne, 'Harmonie Universelle', 1636 (Translated by Roger E. Chapman): "In the fourth place, the little finger ought to be propped on the soundboard of the lute, close to the bridge and the treble strings, since those who place it behind the said bridge contract a bad habit which changes later into a second nature" Thomas Mace, 'Musick Monument', 1676, p.71: "set your Little finger down upon the Belly of the Lute, just under the Bridge, against the Treble or the Second String" Ibidem, p.72: "The second thing to be said is, setting down your Little Finger upon the Belly, as afore said, close under the Bridge about the first, 2d, 3d. or 4th Strings; for the thereabouts, is its constant station. It steadies the hand, and gives Certainty to the Grasp." Ernst Gottlieb Baron, 'Study of the Lute', 1727 (Translation by D. A. Smith), p. 121: "the right little finger must be placed by the chanterelle or thinnest string behind the bridge where it is held slightly curved, and the lute rests somewhere on the right thigh". The above-mentioned sources, as well as making it clear that the little finger was to be rested on the instrument, also outline various different hand-positions; from the little finger being placed between the rose and the bridge according to Gerle (1532) to a position behind the bridge according to Baron (1727). The fact remains that lute technique, according to all the important composers of the time, required the little finger to rest on the lute. -- CONSEQUENCES OF THE PLACING OF THE LITTLE FINGER ON THE INSTRUMENT The most important result of the placing of the little finger on the belly was that it led inevitably to the thumb and first finger being the main fingers used in alternation for playing the melody. During the renaissance period, in fact, the thumb was to play without exception on the strong beats of the bar. The third or ring finger was never used in alternation with other fingers; the first known indication of the use of this finger was in 1603, in Thomas Robinson 'The Schoole of Musicke'. Among many different examples, I'm quoting one from the introduction by Besard published in Robert Dowland's 'Varietie of Lute Lessons' (1610): "if a letter be left immediatlie after any Griffe, which letter is of the same mesure with the Griffe, then when you have played that Griffe, you must needs begin the Note following with your fore-finger at all the times, and afterwards use the Thombe if you meet a third note, so that as long as you play in that mesure you begin nothing with the Thombe twice together" "know that the two first fingers may be used in Diminutions very well insteed of the Thombe and fore-finger, if they be placed with some Bases, so that the middle finger be in place of the Thombe, which Thombe whilst it is occupied in striking at least the Bases." (a facsimile of these examples is at ---> http://www.marincola.com/lutebot9/varietie.htm ) In any case the numerous theoretical examples found are supported by most tablatures which indicate the fingering of the right-hand. -- AN INITIAL ANSWER TO THE PROBLEM The answer to the question "can the lute be played seriously using the same technique as used on the guitar?" is clearly negative. Without even going into the mechanical aspect, which works excellently, it is clear that the technique used was the only one that satisfied the general aesthetic criteria of the time. We believe that the decline and disappearance of the lute was precisely because of its inability, at a certain point in time, to adapt to the new demands asked of it and for which it was not created. I consider it important, therefore, to mention some of the general principles of musical aesthetics valid during the renaissance and baroque periods and to see how the lute fitted in to this. -- AESTHETIC CONSIDERATIONS: THE "PRONUNTIA" OF THE INSTRUMENTS The lute was one of the most common and widespread instruments in the whole of Europe during the renaissance. It goes without saying that general aesthetic musical principles were also valid for the lute: one need only consider the innumerable pieces written "for any instrument" and refer to the treatises that dissertate on every manner of making music. We can quote from Luis Venegas de Henetrosa's 'Libro de cifra nueva para tecla harpa y vihuela' from Bottigari's 'Il Desiderio' from Mersenne's 'Harmonie niverselle' or from Ganassi, Bermudo, Vicentino, Galilei, etc. What Ganassi states in 'Fontegara', Venezia 1535, chap. I, is therefore true for the lute: "All musical instruments respect and copy the human voice [...] therefore we try to learn from it and imitate it" The method by which the instruments 'imitate' the human voice is by their "pronuntia" or 'pronunciation'. This term was adopted by the most important theorists of the time, such as Vicentino in his 'Della Antica Musica ridotta alla Moderna Prattica', Roma, 1555, Libro IV, chap. XXIX. Trissino, whose Academy Vicentino attended, defined 'pronuntia' as the study of the accent ("in spirit, in timing and in tone") of the syllable. Even Zarlino talks about pronunciation with a musicological meaning, likening the definition to singing or playing a melody where accent depends on the 'technique of voice emission'. As L. Girodo and M. Tiella state in their 'Pronuntia strumentale nel Rinascimento e nel Barocco', Torino, 1977, p. 5, "The voice or melody should not be measured so much by its quantity [...] as by the accent; [...] a detailed analysis of the components of accent coincide with an analysis of emission". -- THE 'PRONUNTIA' IN VARIOUS FAMILIES OF INSTRUMENTS As far as string instruments are concerned , L. Girodo and M.Tiella remember that "the slightest alteration of pressure from the first finger of the right hand on the bow, and consequently from the finger onto the strings, constitutes the technical basis of playing accents, such as the 'tremar del braccio de lo archetto' described by Ganassi in his Regola Rubertina (Venice, 1542)". "Regarding the recorder, according to Ganassi there are three basic methods of articulation: the first is TE CHE, TE CHE to produce a harsh and severe effect ('un effetto crudo e aspro'); the second TE RE TE RE, that is for the tempering of harsh and tender sounds ('temperamento di durezia e tenerezia'); the third for 'pleasant and soft sounds' ('piacevole et piano') is LERE LERE". Again , according to Girodo and Tiella, "for keyboard instruments reference can be made to Diruta's Transilvano:'It remains for me to tell you which are the good fingers and the bad fingers; as the fingers speak in a similar fashion about good notes and bad notes...' -Good- notes are those on which the accent falls (strong beats) and therefore the ones that characterise the harmony: the 'pronunciation' comes from the inequality of the touch, which corresponds to the accent of long and short syllables". -- THE LUTE'S 'PRONUNTIA' Similar analogies emerge when comparing the thumb-index finger technique of the lute with the techniques used for other instruments. Used in alternation with the index finger, the thumb (or its substitute, the middle finger), playing always on the strong beat, leads to the formation of 'good' notes and 'bad' notes. A quick practical trial is enough to confirm this statement. We do not believe that the lute can be played well if these considerations, which were the basis of musical composition, are overlooked. -- CONCLUSION According to some writers, modernisation of the instruments themselves brings about a continual improvement in performance technique. In reality, only if we turn our judgement criteria around, can "an aesthetic principle of pronuntia" emerge, albeit a simplistic one, and it is commonly true that in musical performances any historical perspective in fact vanishes with the mistaken belief that modern-day instruments are more perfect than period ones and their corresponding performance techniques are better. Accordig to Girodo and Tiella "the reversal of judgement criteria can be identified historically with the exasperating search for a greater volume of sound and consequently for a greater dynamism of emission which has characterised the ideals of the 'romantic' schools. The idea of using vocal expression as a point of reference was also reversed, in that melodrama in the nineteenth century produced an instrumental model which singers were to imitate". --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --- LIST OF SOURCES AND MODERN EDITIONS * Ernst Gottlieb Baron, 'Study of the Lute', 1727 (Translation by D. A. Smith), modern edition, Instrumenta Antiqua Publications, Redondo Beach, California, 1976 * Robert Dowland, 'Varieties of Lute-Lessons', London 1610, fac simile editon by Schott and Co. Ltd, London 1958 * Silvestro Ganassi, 'Opera Intitulata Fontegara', Venetia 1535 * L.Girodo-M.Tiella, 'Pronuntia strumentale nel Rinascimento e nel Barocco', in 'Musica Antica', Pamparato, 1977 * Adrian Le Roy, 'A briefe and easy instruction…',London 1568, modern edition by C.N.R.S, edited by Jacquot, Vacaro and Sordes, Paris 1977 * Marin Mersenne, 'Harmonie Universelle', Paris, 1636-7, new edition C.N.R.S., Paris 1965 * Thomas Mace, 'Musick's Monument', London, 1676, fac-simile edition C.N.R.S., Paris, 1966 * Alessandro Piccinini, 'Intavolatura di Liuto, et di Chitarrone, Libro Primo', Bologna 1623,fac simile edition edited by Orlando Cristoforetti, S:P:E:S , Firenze 1983 * Thomas Robinson, 'The Schoole of Musicke', 1603,Modern edition by C.N.R.S. edited by David Lumsden, Paris, 1971 * Marco Tiella, La pronuntia degli strumenti barocchi, in Atti del Convegno su M.Schütz, Urbino-Roma, 1978, p.221-240 * Marco Tiella, Renaissance and baroque Musical Instrument and their "pronuntia", in The Organ yearbook, XV,1984, p.5-12 * Marco Tiella, La "pronuntia" degli strumenti barocchi,in Atti dell'Accademia roveretana degli Agiati, VI,20,I.A., 1981, p.147-166 * Stefano Toffolo, 'Antichi strumenti veneziani', Arsenale Editrice, Venezia 1987 * Gioseffo Zarlino, 'Le Istituzioni Harmoniche'. Venetia, MDLXII ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Part II -- About Giorgio Ferraris Giorgio Ferraris was born in Milan in 1946; he studied Economics and graduated at the Catholic University of Milan in 1969. In the same years he was taught guitar by Ruggero Chiesa and got his diploma at the "G. Verdi" Conservatory of Milan. As a guitarist he completed higher courses of specialization held by Oscar Ghiglia and Abel Carlevaro. In the following years he devoted himself to the study of the lute; he studied under the guidance of Orlando Cristoforetti and got his diploma at the Conservatory of Verona. As a lute player he completed higher courses of specialization run by the English Lute Society. He performed as a concert-player in Italy and abroad (on tours in Europe, Japan and India) both as a soloist and as a member of groups specialized in early music. As a continuo player he performed l7th and l8th century music with the R.A.I. Orchestra of Milan and with the Teatro alla Scala Orchestra. He is also interested in musical iconography. He cooperated with the Biblioteca della Banca Popolare of Bergamo an the Accademia Carrara of Bergamo to the publication of different books on Evaristo Baschenis, the most important l7th century painter of musical instruments. He published papers, essays and monographs on the above topic. He is currently teaching at the Scuola Civica di Musica and Civica Scuola di Liuteria of the City of Milan. He has recorded for Concerto and Ducale. -- DISCOGRAPHY: 1991 Ensemble del Riccio: Per sonare et cantare, musiche italiane del XVI e XVII secolo, Concerto 1998 Ensemble Baschenis: The Early Mandolin, musiche del '700 italiano per uno o due mandolini barocchi e basso continuo, Ducale -- SELECTED ARTICLES * In Marco Rosci, "Evaristo Baschenis", Biblioteca della Banca Polpolare di Bergamo, Bergamo, 1985: 'Guida all'identificazione degli strumenti' by Giorgio Ferraris and Franco Gallini * In AA.VV., "Evaristo Baschenis e la natura morta in Europa", Skira' Editore, Milano, 1996: 'Guida all'identificazione degli strumenti musicali', by Giorgio Ferraris and Lorenzo Girodo * In "Il Fronimo, rivista trimestrale di chitarra e liuto", Edizioni Suvini e Zerboni, Milano: - 'Sull'impostazione del braccio destra', XVII, p.17-21 - 'Sulla tecnica del liuto', XXVI, p.24-28 - 'Liuto, arciliuto, chitarrone. Strumenti dell'età barocca in Italia', XXXIX, p. 11-18 - 'I liuti di Evaristo Baschenis', LVII, p. 7-21 - 'Pasquale Taraffo e la scuola chitarristica genovese',CVI, p.17-30 * ADDRESS: Giorgio Ferraris via Marsala 7 20121 Milano Italy tel: +39 02 65 92 274 cell. +39 (0)328 4667457 email ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Part III -- About FEDERICO MARINCOLA I live at the border between France and Italy, but I spend a lot of time traveling around to play my concerts and to teach. Usually I have a quite tight schedule, but, if you contact me well in advance, I might be available for recitals and seminars, or for collaborations with professional renaissance and baroque ensembles. Here are my addresses and phone numbers: email: marincola@yahoo.com Lute Page: http://www.marincola.com snailmail: CP 50, 18039, Ventimiglia (IM), Italy French Tel. + 33.4.93356658 Italian mobile + 39.347.7309321 Here is my CV. If you want to check my complete discography, see some press reviews etc, you are warmly invited to visit my Lute Page at http://www.marincola.com ----- Curriculum Vitae ----- Born in Rome, Federico Marincola studied classical guitar with Sergio Notaro, later specializing in the lute with Diana Poulton. Having won a grant from the Dutch Government, he studied with Anthony Bailes at the Sweelinck Conservatorium of Amsterdam. Another grant from the British Council enabled him to study with Jakob Lindberg at the Royal College of Music in London, where he obtained a Performer diploma in lute, a second diploma in early music and the Certificate of Advanced Study. He completed his training with Nigel North and Christopher Wilson. In the last twenty years, Federico Marincola has been very active as a performer. He has given many solo recitals and played with singers and early music groups all over Europe. In 1986, he toured as a soloist in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. He is also in demand as a "basso continuo" player, and has played in many baroque operas at some of the most famous opera theaters of Italy (Teatro alla Scala, Milan; Teatro dell’ Opera, Rome; Teatro Massimo, Palermo; Teatro Comunale, Florence; Teatro San Carlo, Naples...). He has made more than twenty CDs with orchestras and small groups, and has broadcasted in Italy, Switzerland, Yugoslavia, the Vatican, India and Shri Lanka. With "Verany Disques - Arion", he recorded a CD of pieces from the "Vincenzo Capirola Lute Book" in 1992 (PV793012), a CD of pieces for lute and renaissance guitar by the French composer Guillaume Morlaye in 1993 (PV794052) and a third CD of lute pieces by Anthony Holborne in 1995 (PV795112). These solo recordings have been very positively welcomed by the international press ("5 Diapasons" to Capirola and Morlaye, "5 Diapasons" and "10 by Repertoire" to Holborne). Federico Marincola, who is also one of the founders of the Societa' Italiana del Liuto, uses an instrumental technique which is based on several treatises and iconographical sources from the 16th and 17th centuries. He believes that, to give a convincing performance of this repertoire, it is of paramount importance to have a profound knowledge of the original fingerings and criteria of interpretation. He also finds ideas and inspiration for the performance of early music in certain aspects of the philosophy and astrology of the Renaissance period. In the last few years he has also turned his attention to the study of social science: he is convinced that the sociology of music can be a great help in understanding the "spirit of the age" in which the different repertoires were produced. In 1994 he was highly commended for his thesis on the Jesuit opera Apotheosis sive Consecratio SS. Ignatii et Francisci Xaverii (1622) by Hieronimus Kapsberger, which earned him his degree in Sociology at the University of Urbino. He teaches the lute and the early guitars at the "Academie de Musique" of Monaco-Montecarlo. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ######### end of the "LuteBot Quarterly" #9, Winter 2000 ########## (by Federico Marincola )