I bought a mid century guitar lute for 5 bucks and glued it back together. It has a mellow sound using guitar strings and tuned to C. It's too fragile to tune to standard guitar pitch even with a scale of 23.5 inches (59.7 cm). I also have a cigar box theorbo (tiorba cigarra) of my own design with the same scale, it has 8 strings. Thanks for this nice video.
I would suggest putting lute strings on which are thinner and lower tension than classical guitar strings. It will make the sound brighter as well. Then you can specify the tension you want, there is a nice calculator here: www.niskanenlutes.com - select "String calc" and put all the figures in. Single strung theorbo will tell you typical tensions for a single strung instrument.
Thanks for watching, there are various other lute videos on the channel and a couple with the big theorbo in the background which I didn't play in this video.
Thank you, I have a couple of Bach pieces on the channel, I recorded most of BWV998 which is pretty much the most difficult piece for the baroque lute (it was a lockdown challenge for me!). This is the allegro and there is also the fugue that goes before it: ruclips.net/video/WCwzWgjUHh8/видео.html
Thanks, glad it was of some use. I also did a video specifically about the theorbo as I was getting a lot of questions about it. It is the bigger instrument in the background: ruclips.net/video/oBEoVbY2xrk/видео.html
Amazing video. I have to say I liked much better the sound of the last lute you played. It has a fuller, rounder, and more romantic sound when compare to the Baroque lute. However, I can be bias since I love Spanish classical guitar. I actually played 10-string instruments using a Baroque/romantic tuning. Cheers
Thank you. It is easier to do fine expressive details on single strings, and the tone is different. When you say more romantic sound, that is why they eventually moved towards singles strings (same with the guitar at about the same time c.1800) because it suits the music of that era better. Likewise, romantic mannerisms do not belong in baroque music! Each has it's own sound and aesthetics appropriate to the era it comes from.
@@Quatrapuntal yes dear friend, both ways have their advantages and disadvantages. I believe the beauty of music is that there are so many ways of expressing feelings. Cheers 😁🔥
Hi Chris, this is a wonderful insight into the history of the lute and all its relatives. Thanks! However, the Theorbo was what really got me interested. What an amazing instrument...
Thanks, yes the theorbo is great but a bit more limited when it comes to playing solos. Also for the original music it is not chromatic in the bass register so again a bit limiting. The mandora is fully chromatic throughout it's range. Please check out some of the original songs on here, which was the main point of the channel really. It hopefully shows that the lute is not limited to historical music only but can also be a contemporary instrument.
Thank you, very kind! There is plenty more on the channel to listen to, including various things with Portuguese guitar and Neapolitan mandolin as well.
Thanks for the Weiss courante. Envious of your collection After almost 40 years dedicated to classical guitar career these days I find myself wanting to acquire and start on baroque lute and seven string viola da gamba.
Coming from guitar, I would start with Renaissance lute as it's a lot closer, also if you are interested in the gamba it's the same intervals. There is also an 18th century lute called a gallichon which is the exact same tuning as a bass viol, as is the Renaissance bass lute. The 13-course lute is a very different beast with a totally different tuning, and you would have to cut your nails for sure, you can't really play that and the modern classical guitar.
@Quatrapuntal No problem, I've been a flesh or very short nail player for most of my playing career. I'm happy enough playing vihuela and renaissance repertoire on guitar, I can accept the difference in tone and still enjoy the results, but I have been frustrated with much of the transcriptions of baroque lute repertoire, Weiss transcriptions in particular. I've never been particularly happy with the voicing compromises required. It's the tuning and the bordons that lure me toward the baroque instrument proper. The same frustration applies with baroque guitar repertoire, the reentrant tunings and different constructions create totally unique sonics not obtainable on modern guitar..
Well it is a totally different instrument, this connection with the guitar is a modern thing and was not the case at the time. You can't transcribe something idiomatically written for 13 courses onto 6 (with a completely different tuning). To demonstrate the difference, check this out which you have probably played on the guitar - it's rarely played on the lute and even less so on the correct d-minor lute of Bach's time as it's so challenging, there are notes on the transcription as well: ruclips.net/video/SlQ88UKWlWY/видео.html
@@Quatrapuntal Yes as I always when possible consult original scores and tabulatures when learning repertoire, vihuela, lute baroque guitar and for any transcriptions from piano etc so I am well aware of such factors, tuning, register, compass etc that is exactly why I've wanted a baroque lute and enjoy listening to players such as yourself.. Mind you, Petra Polackova pulls off the Tombeau for Comte de Logy on an interesting 9 string Vienesse 19C styled instrument. Not the same tuning or idiomatic sonorities they impart but at least it allows similar range of bass etc. It can be found on this platform. Yepes style 8 to 10 strings just don't do anything for me, just seem to be glorified sympathetic drone generators.
@@rjlchristie yes I've never seen the point of those 13 string guitars (to play Weiss etc. anyway), it's still nothing like the sound that was intended so just play it on a normal guitar or the lute is was written for. The basses ring on far too long, and the high octaves on a lute are important to maintain the line and enable chromatic notes to blend. With historic strings the octave was probably more prominent than the low bass note. Good luck with in anyway if you do decide to take the plunge...
great playing and grat information! thank you for sharing! could you tell me, who built this wonderful 1812-mandora for you? i'm looking for an instrument to play southgerman folkmusic of 1800 in ensembke with historical key instruments. i think this mandora would be exactly what i'm looking for!
Sounds like an interesting group - could you tell me more about it? The mandora was made by James Marriage in the UK, he is very good and does 'student' models which are cheaper but still excellent instruments: www.jminstruments.com/index.aspx I'm sure he could ship it abroad. If you are in Germany there are many 20th century lutes (Wandervogellaute) on eBay, I bought mine from there. But those instruments were not around in 1800, they started appearing in that form after 1880. Also see this video, which has more information about the mandora in the 19th century: ruclips.net/video/HzexBS6-IUM/видео.html
thank you very very much for the contact! the project is about a collection of bavarian songs from the late 18th century ("stubenberger handschriften") there is no music, so our violinist she combined the lyrics with tunes of that time from south germany and austria. the main instruments will be harpschord and hammerflügel, which where built by the "greifenberger institut", specialists for reengeniering and rebuilding historical keyinstruments. so this is an approach to the development of "hausmusik" in south germany. the title of the project is "aufg'spuit und g'sunga umara 1800", our first concert will be in july in munic. my main part is to sing, but i want to add a different instrumental colour as basso continuo either with solovoicings in the higher register with my 1920 german basslute. but since i heard your comparison i think the 1812 mandora would be the correct instrument for the soundsignature of 1800 where lutes and romantic guitarrs where both played, as a singlestringed instrument with luteshaped body.
@@MrMDanes here in the UK there were very many publications of Scottish and Irish folk songs around that time, even Haydn and Beethoven did quite a lot of arrangements. Folk music or at least a classical interpretation of it was very popular around 1800. When I did a video of O Tannenbaum last Christmas the original version was based on a German folk song from 1799, I wonder if your songs will be similar. Are they written in a regional dialect of German? I would be interested to hear it if you do any videos.
one song by mozart is in our programm aswell 😀 the rehearsals didn't start yet so i have no audios, but i let you know! btw do you know the liuto forte, which is a modern interpretation of lutes? i wonder if the "tenorlaute" (liuto forte in e) is quite similar to the 1812 mandora.
No don't get a liuto forte! They are quite pointless instruments, they don't have the characteristic lute sound and they don't represent any historical instrument, you might as well play it on a guitar. Unless you are a guitarist who plays with fingernails and want basically a guitar in lute shape (which you already have with your basslaute) don't waste your money!
Well practice makes perfect as they say! Here is one with the big lute in the background that I didn't play in this video: ruclips.net/video/qVk8VS-Ad2c/видео.html
Thank you for sharing the history of the lute. I agree that music by Sylvius Weiss is more interesting and better suited for lute than music by Bach. Thank you also for the excellent comparison of the earlier and modern version of the lute. Hearing it side by side played by the same performer makes it very easy to tell the difference. Indeed, the original version has a fuller, more rounded, nicer sound. And my compliments on your fine performances on all your videos. You have the light touch that only a master performer can achieve.
Thanks for your kind comments, and yes I agree the earlier mandora has a much nicer sound than the 20th century lute. I find that instrument quite difficult to play as the string spacing is too narrow at the nut for me, it also has odd scalloped frets. It's very decorative though, in fact it is mainly used as an ornament in my house!
I've always loved the sound of the Portuguese guitarra. But it's missing the bass sounds. Curious if there are recordings of lute and Portuguese guitarra. Great video, quite informative. Cheers.
The guitarra plays the melody, like the right hand on the piano, so needs something else underneath (like the piano left hand). It's traditionally paired with a guitar and sometimes also a bass guitar. This works well as the tone of the 2 instruments are quite different so each can be heard, I think the lute would stand out more so perhaps get in the way of the guitarra. Plus the guitarra is almost always used in fado of course, which has its strong traditions including almost always playing the guitarra together with a guitar. The lute is more used for playing alone so plays melody and bass parts, or to accompany singers etc. in a similar way that the normal guitar does in fado.
I've been a long time guitar player, and have just been fascinated by the lute for many years, and this was a great, informal video. May I ask, where did you get that specific mandora @1:40? That's just a really beautiful instrument...
Im watching this video because some friends invited me to a dnd party and they said that I’d be a good bard. And they told me that bards can play all sorts of instruments but they’re usually seen with a lite. And I was like (what the hell is that ? ._. ) so here I am learning about the topic. Thanks for the video.
Well I hope you can go armed with some lute related knowledge now! I did a video of some of the music from the Witcher, which has a bard character who plays a (dodgy looking) lute: ruclips.net/video/K3B6yydz-YE/видео.html
Which of weiss' courantes did you play? Which sonata or manuscript is it from? Absolutely love the playing and the piece! Time for me to pick up my lute and try to play it :)
It's a sonata in D minor, I don't know which manuscript it's from I have had a copy of it for years. It starts with a prelude of arpeggios. I also have 2 movements of Bach BWV998 on this channel, which I would say it the most difficult piece for this instrument.
In this video your Schelle Lute sounds really good, with full (sympathetic) resonance in all registers. Even the top two single course strings sound great. Did you changed your microphones or post-processing? Wait....ah....I see the problem: Your plucking technique of the index and middle finger in the other videos: Your fingers move very efficiently, maybe too efficienty and the first knuckle joint is pretty stiff. To get a full, round and resonant tone you should try to strengthen the impulse by really "digging" into the strings first and let it slip over your finger tip while your first knuckle joint bends flexible with the movement. That gives a beautiful, round tone. It needs much practice to make the first finger knuckle joint flexible enough. The most effective way (as I did) is to practice violin vibrato ;-). A good example for this technique is Thomas Dunford. Look at his knuckles!
More likely different equipment, the Weiss is also more resonant and idiomatic - have you ever tried to play BWV998 on the 13-course lute? It is literally the most difficult piece for that instrument, I think mine is the only video of it on YT for that reason, others are on other types of lute not the type Bach knew. To play it at all is a considerable challenge, so yes I am aware of baroque lute technique! TD is not someone I would aspire to, he plays baroque music using renaissance right hand technique on anachronistic single strung archlutes, he is also playing over the rose a lot which gives a warmer tone but is again not how it was done historically.
@@QuatrapuntalYes, a very difficult piece and yours is my favorite Version. Mascardi, North and Smith play nice but on a Hoffmann bass rider lute but the fugue needs strong basses. Eduardo Egüez uses an Edlinger lute wich is pretty ideal. Strong basses and very well balaced with high register. Dunford uses a sort of renaissance technique but his movement comes from the fingers not from wrist. Pretty nice tone I think but yes, unconventional with single/nylon stringed.
First of all, thank you for wonderful video story and the playing.. I was wondering if you could tell me a bit about favorite scene and old movie of my Romeo and Juliet 1953. In the movie Romeo and Juliet 1953! I was first-year college - there was a party at the home of the Capulet's for Juliet for her birthday. It was a very lovely little orchestral precept played in the background and had singing tell me a bit about that I really would like to know. Again super thanks for wonderful video and wonderfully fine play goblets -
Teşekkür ederim! I don't know that piece but I will look it up. I went to Istanbul in 2019 and went to a traditional music shop, really interesting to see and try the Turkish lutes like saz/baglama and oud. I bought a short neck saz, couldn't believe how cheap it was! There is a video of me playing it on the Quatrapuntal Facebook page. There was another type of lute I saw on the Asian side that really looked like the mandora, I think it was a lavta. The shop was closed unfortunately. I loved Istanbul, such a colourful and vibrant city, great food as well!
@@Quatrapuntal Thanks for your visit and your good opinion :) I want to learn and play to bağlama, ud, mandolin or oboe but , actually, all instruments are 'very' expensive for Turkish people (for turkish lira, not euro) :( And the piece playing with an oud(and others). Thanks for the visit. Yine bekleriz!
@@hasanmertyilmaz_ this is the shop I went to: www.megamusiccenter.com/ It was less than 300 TL for a saz with case, strings and plectrums, there were some even cheaper. Less than I paid for a meal the day before! But then in the Grand Bazaar they had the same instruments for over 1000 TL, so depends where you go. I imagine instruments like the oboe would be expensive, they are expensive here. Mandolins are fairly cheap, you could order instruments from the Thomann website and have it posted to Turkey perhaps? They are usually the cheapest site for most instruments. There are some mandolin videos on my channel I don't know if you have seen them.
I've never heard of a 12 string classical guitar, only steel strung acoustic guitars that are mainly strummed and played with a plectrum. How would you play a double strung guitar with right hand finger nails? Lutes are played with no nails which is why you can't play both lute and modern classical guitar (properly)
@@Quatrapuntal Except for experimental builds, there aren't any. You are correct, I don't really know how I would play it, but it is a journey of discovery! 😉
I should have said, double strung 12 string guitars were common in the late 18th century, however they have thinner lower tension strings and are played without nails like a lute. I have never seen a modern style classical guitar with double strings. I think the main issue would be getting both strings to resonate using fingernails, if you only hit one it would sound thin and weak. I'd be interested to hear it if you ever get one! www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/503430
I had a quick look on RUclips and there are no videos whatsoever of double strung guitars (apart from baroque guitars which are a little different) not even the late 18th century type I was talking about. So if you do get one I think you will be cornering the market - extremely rare to find something guitar related that there are NO RUclips videos about! Good luck!
Greetings. I really like the lute but when I saw your video, I really didn’t understand very well a topic in special, and is the tuning. I play the guitar and love Bach’s music and I would like to know how to tune my guitar in order to sound like a lute, in specific with the BWV 998. I was thinking in having tuned in A=465 because it’s sounds like a lute.
Hi thanks for your question. If you watch from 3:55 I go through the tuning of the baroque lute, which is to a chord of D minor (from highest to lowest: f, d, A, F, D, A', G', F', E' D', C' B'', A'') . It is impossible to replicate music for an instrument with 13 courses on a guitar with 6 strings, however you tune it, so it will always sound very different. The bassline is played most of the time on the lowest 7 open bass strings, on a guitar these will all be an octave higher and fretted not open. You can play music for renaissance lute on a guitar much more closely as it had less strings and the tuning was much more similar, with the baroque lute it won't sound anything like it I'm afraid. Even the multi-string guitars don't sound the same because they have single bass strings which sound lower than they should and ring on too long. The lute has pairs of octave bass strings and gut strings to blend better. As for the pitch, my lute and most baroque instruments are tuned to a lower pitch (A=415, or one semitone lower) so A=465 is the wrong direction! Maybe you are thinking of the renaissance lute which is tuned in g, so a 3rd higher than the modern guitar? Changing the pitch of a guitar won't make it sound anything like a baroque lute though, for the reasons above. Have you seen my videos of BWV 998?
Quatrapuntal Thanks for your answer. About the pitch, is courious but, when I tune my guitar with A=465 and play the Eb, is almost an unisone with yours in the lute in the video of the Allegro you uploaded.
The reason is I am playing in F at A=415, so a semitone lower than A=440. So when I play the note F it sounds like E at A=440. If you play in A=465 that is a semitone higher than A=440, so when you play an Eb it sounds like E at A=440. So it ends up at the same pitch. It will still sound very different on a guitar of course.
@@StrungBug yes that's right, Eb is not a resonant and natural key on the baroque lute that is tuned to a chord of D minor. It was most likely written for a keyboard instrument anyway so I've never understood why people struggle to try and play it in Eb on the lute
It's from Giuliani's Op. 50 "Le Papillion", it's no. 15. You can hear this and 2 others from the set here, with some more info here: ruclips.net/video/yZ4EZIz554c/видео.html
Courante is how it's spelt in the original manuscript, which is a baroque dance movement. There are other spellings you see sometimes like corrente or coranto. It was a bit inconsistent then, like minuet/menuet/menuetto etc.
The oud is much older than the sitar, which is from medieval India. The instrument that the sitar descended from (veena) is much older, although I don't know if that would be classified as a lute or if it is known exactly how it originated. It seems that most stringed instruments originated in the middle east and then spread from there, the ancient Egyptians certainly played lutes. Whether they spread from there to India or developed independently I don't know. It's such a long time ago it's difficult to trace things that happened very gradually.
Very good video overall BUT I think it is important to define “lutes” when mentioning in the intro how ancient peoples had them. They had stringed instruments but they absolutely didn’t resemble what we’d think of as a “lute”
I think I said that originally but it wasn't in the final version because I was trying to get through that part fairly quickly. It's a bit tricky to define exactly what a lute is, other than it has oval body and bowl shaped back, but then so does the Neapolitan mandolin and some instruments called lute have flat backs. There are short and long necked lutes in antiquity and in the middle east now (e.g. the oud is short necked, the Turkish saz is long necked). The ancient Egyptians played small long necked lutes with a rounded body, as did the Romans. And also what defines a guitar? Not the waisted shape alone as medieval instruments that were oval are described as Moorish guitars and of course electric guitars can come in many shapes. So quite a tricky question!
Great video! The use of fingernails when striking the strings was always dissuade in the textbooks for guitar lute / German lute in the early 20th century. The action should come from the flesh of the fingertip or it was not mentioned. Images of the striking hand usually show short nails, or you can't see it.
Interesting, I have an original tutor book for German lute which I thought had nails mentioned, I will try and find it when I get home. With higher tension strings and the heavy construction (compared to an older lute) the sound is pretty quiet and dull without nails. Unless they were using lighter strings, possibly still gut in the early 20th century? Even so, you can feel the whole body of an earlier lute resonate, the 20th century lute just doesn't do that as the soundboard is much thicker.
@@Quatrapuntal Yes, they had mostly gut strings, silk often for the highest, sometimes metal, but it damaged the angle of the neck. The "better" lutes from the time (Hauser, Wach, ...) also resonate very strongly - the simple wanderlutes less.
I found the tutor book I have, the Tutor for Bass Lute by W. Wobersin. There is no date but I think it's around 1920 or slightly earlier. There are photos that show him playing with fingernails, the only reference I could find in the book is "Now press the fingers, the nails of which ought not to be too long, on the strings; see illustration". The photo shows nails which as he says are not too long, but he is not playing with fingertips. I'm sure there were other people that played with no nails at all. In my own experience as a lutenist with no nails, the sound on a 20th century German lute using fingertips is very quiet and dull, even with thinner lute strings. I don't know how they managed to get a good sound without nails, unless they are using some different technique. You can see part of the tutor book here: www.harpguitars.net/players/after6_vol10n2.htm
@@Quatrapuntal The rather dull sound seemed to be an ideal. In Wobersin's book, I can't see any nails. He wrote in another tutor: "The attack may only be done with the tips of the fingers."( W. Wobersin Volkstümliche Reform-Schule für Laute, Gitarre oder Zupfgeige, Leipzig 1916). In 1906 Heinrich Scherrer wrote in his tutor "Die Kunst des Gitarrespiels auf Grundlage der alten Lautenschläger", which was written for guitar and lute: "Only the flesh of the fingertip should touch the strings as much as possible. A fingernail would produce a hard, sharp tone". I would have many other examples (I collect old Lute Tutors, ...a lot of books). Nails are not recommended anywhere.
@@nairolfxii1 the picture is too small here but it's clearer in the book, he has nails but as he says not too long: www.harpguitars.net/players/after6/sample_position-wobersin.jpg
It seems pretty obvious to me that the word "lute" comes from the word "oud" : when it was imported into Europe as a oud, the Arabs would call it "al-3oud" (the 3 standing for the 3aïn letter that is hardly pronounceable by non semitic locutors, who most of the time skip it). People would have heard something like "eloud". Knowing that the "e" is hardly audible too, they would assume it was a "loood", which brings us pretty logically to "lute", as d and t are very often substituted. Just my 2 cents, but I thought it would be nice to share ! 😉 Thanks for the video on this very ancient, fascinating and amazingly beautifully sounding instrument !!
Yes I believe in Arabic it's also said as al-ud, in modern Portuguese lute is alaúde (pronounced like ala-ood) so virtually the same word. So from northern Africa to Iberia it has hardly changed, Spanish is laúd, just dropping the a, in French luth and then English lute. It's a pretty clear progression.
Hi I presume you mean on renaissance lutes? You have the main 6 fingerboard courses like on a guitar (the renaissance tuning is similar but a higher pitch in G, like putting a capo on the 3rd fret) then any extra strings are more bass notes. They go down a scale, so related to a guitar, a 6 course would be the normal 6 strings, 7 course has one extra bass string a note below the bottom string (D), an 8 course has two extra bass strings (D and C, like my mandora), a 9 course has 3 (D, C, B) etc.
@@Quatrapuntal ok good cause I'm going for bardcore style renaissance music. I want to compose renaissance metal so I'm still trying to figure out the instruments. Is the lute the best instrument to get a good deep bass sound?
@@Tabascoblade the lute is more about filling up the middle rather than bass. It has quite a delicate tone that is easily swamped by other things. If you are having distorted guitar chords/riffs underneath I think it would sound thin and weak as the other instruments with a stronger sound drown it out. I have this problem with the cello a lot. You might be better with a harp? If you want a cool renaissance deep bass, try a rackett. I used to own one years ago, tricky to play but sound awesome! ruclips.net/video/hR_suHbZ1yQ/видео.html
@@Tabascoblade for a renaissance bass stringed instrument you would need a bass viol, also called viola da gamba. It is a similar size to a cello but has a different tone.
I am glad today we have good and affordable stringed instruments. Mainly I am referring to guitars. But it is still not helpful that plastic or some material alternative to wood wasn’t developed for making stringed instruments. That way we may have had them cheaper and many people could try their hand on something more than the most common guitars, mandolins, or annoying ukuleles.
I think the issue with lutes is not so much the materials but the amount of time it takes to makes them by hand and the craftsmanship involved. I don't know if you could mass produce them, there are some cheaper models made in Pakistan but they are awful instruments. With so many strings if the action or neck is not exactly right they can buzz or be unplayable. And the construction is very light and thin, it's very specialised and takes a lot of skill. Arabic ouds etc. can be made cheaper I think because they are more thickly constructed with less strings.
10:27 Is it wrong to believe that these early 20th century mandoras (guitar lutes/Wandervogel lutes) were designed for metal strings? I believe the older mandora used to be strung with metal strings aswell.
Certainly the 18th / 19th century mandoras had gut strings. There were other instruments with metal strings like the English guittar at the time (see my Portuguese guitar video) but I have never seen a reference to a historical mandora with metal strings. The 20th century German lutes usually had nylon strings like a classical guitar, I have seen lots of instruments with old strings and they were all nylon, they may sometimes have used metal strings though
@@Quatrapuntal Hi and thanks! According to various sources though nylon strings weren't common before the late 1940s. This and the fact that those early 20th century German lute guitars have pins for attaching the strings like typical steelstring guitars made me believe that they were meant to be used with steelstrings. (Also, they sound a little weak with nylon imho.) Saludos
@@flavedereus4928 I didn't know that about nylon strings but makes sense as plastics in general came in around the 1930s. If not nylon, they would probably have still used gut strings for the highest 3 strings then metal wound gut for the rest. Those bridge pins were very common on 19th century guitars which certainly had gut strings, so they were inherited from that. I've never understood why though, I think bridge pins are a bad design personally and much better to tie them on like a lute before or modern classical guitar after. It's possible that they sometimes used metal strings on the 20th century German lutes but I don't think it was common. Metal strings are only louder played with a plectrum with a higher string tension, plucked there isn't much difference
The strings of the guitar lutes/Wandervogel lutes were usually made of gut, metal wounded in the bass, the highest string sometims of silk. There were also metal strings, but they were used more for travel guitars because they could withstand climatic conditions better. Some old guitar lutes have metal strings - this has distorted the neck angle of the instruments. In 1924, the lute player Niels Sörnsen recommended in his book "Meine Laute" that steel strings only be drawn to lutes when traveling.
7:28 that is actualy a lute with a harp attached, I play a guitar harp as well! the upper portion derives its tone from the distance of the vibration on the string.....good vid and the history is always welcome!
It is a baroque lute, the end result of adding more and more bass strings to the lute over many years. The bass strings are more a fundamental part of how this instrument is played than on a harp guitar, where they are used less often. The majority of bass notes are played on these strings, which together with the octave stringing gives it the very resonant sound. Glad you appreciated the video, thanks
@@Quatrapuntal no it isnt sir! that sound is not derived from the fret board. my guitar harp does the same thing... it is still very nice as is the demo! the only thing barogue is the lute we know and love. the incorporation of the harp is well done...
Sorry but you are incorrect. The lute is my main instrument which I have played for many years, I also have a degree in baroque music and have published academic articles about the lute so I know what I am talking about and the instrument I own! You are thinking about the earlier, renaissance lute which had less strings. From around 1720 the lute had 13 courses - as I demonstrate in the video the lowest 5 of these run off the fingerboard and are played only with the right hand thumb. Yes these open bass strings are similar in a way to the harp, but this is not some kind of modern hybrid. The instrument I am playing is a copy of an instrument made by Sebastian Schelle in 1744. Just Google baroque lute and you will see lots of instruments like this which were common in the 18th century. Or see the middle part of this page: www.vanedwards.co.uk/history4.htm
This is explained in the first part of the video. I don't have an oud so I used pictures, but I did try one when I was in Istanbul last year. Surprising how little the form of the instrument has changed over the last 1000 years
How can I in a better way accept this instrument considering it's origins, in Europe from occupying Muslim Moors? An occupation which would come to include enforced conversion to Islam and Arabization of the culture. It would feel a bit better if some of the origin had come from a country like Greece. How much could the Lute instruments (and the Arabic Oud for that matter) have originally been inspired from an instrument like the Ancient Greek Kithara?
Well any occupation from one culture to another is bad, especially when it involves the killing of many innocent people and subjugation of the people who live there. But this has unfortunately happened across many cultures throughout history, we Europeans have certainly done our share of invading other countries and forcing them to convert etc. The Greek kithara was really a type of lyre or harp. It depends on what the definition of 'lute' is, if it is a plucked stringed instrument when the notes are fretted with the left hand (not like a harp) then it becomes more complex as you include guitar like instruments. If you include the pear shaped body in the definition, the earliest lutes were in the middle east and ancient Egypt, which is not surprising as many things originated from that area in ancient times. The link from Moorish oud to lute is fairly clear, although there were other plucked instruments around that may have had an influence.
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NEW THEORBO VIDEO! Featuring the big instrument in the background that I don't play in this video: ruclips.net/video/qVk8VS-Ad2c/видео.html
I bought a mid century guitar lute for 5 bucks and glued it back together. It has a mellow sound using guitar strings and tuned to C. It's too fragile to tune to standard guitar pitch even with a scale of 23.5 inches (59.7 cm). I also have a cigar box theorbo (tiorba cigarra) of my own design with the same scale, it has 8 strings. Thanks for this nice video.
I would suggest putting lute strings on which are thinner and lower tension than classical guitar strings. It will make the sound brighter as well. Then you can specify the tension you want, there is a nice calculator here: www.niskanenlutes.com - select "String calc" and put all the figures in. Single strung theorbo will tell you typical tensions for a single strung instrument.
Incredible breadth of knowledge and ability to perform at a high level on all instruments. Fantastic.
Thank you, I appreciate that
Interesting information and demo. Thanks
very interesting! nice playing and thanks for sharing.
Thanks for watching, there are various other lute videos on the channel and a couple with the big theorbo in the background which I didn't play in this video.
Very important history of music thank you for the info very knowledgeable happy to gain this info
Glad you enjoyed it, there are some other videos like this on the channel as well about the theorbo, Portuguese guitar and melodica.
Beautiful playing my friend !!
fantastic lesson. the lute sounds beautiful - i am jealous of the extra bass strings
Thanks. If you like bass strings, check this out: ruclips.net/video/qVk8VS-Ad2c/видео.html
Simply incredible.
I love how you make succh a beatiful sound with string instruments.
Love to hear more Bach if possible.
Thank you, I have a couple of Bach pieces on the channel, I recorded most of BWV998 which is pretty much the most difficult piece for the baroque lute (it was a lockdown challenge for me!). This is the allegro and there is also the fugue that goes before it: ruclips.net/video/WCwzWgjUHh8/видео.html
So very helpful, fascinating and great playing especially the Baroque Lute, thank you
Thanks, glad it was of some use. I also did a video specifically about the theorbo as I was getting a lot of questions about it. It is the bigger instrument in the background: ruclips.net/video/oBEoVbY2xrk/видео.html
Great bit of history and fantastic playing, thank you for sharing these with us.
Thanks, there are a lot more performances of all kinds of lutes (including the theorbo which I didn't cover in this video) on the channel as well
Great video! Thank you. I liked the concise historical overview with the pictures and seeing the lute's evolution. Thanks for the demonstrations too!
Thanks for watching, on the channel there are various videos featuring lutes and the Portuguese guitar as well if you like those instruments
Amazing video. I have to say I liked much better the sound of the last lute you played. It has a fuller, rounder, and more romantic sound when compare to the Baroque lute. However, I can be bias since I love Spanish classical guitar. I actually played 10-string instruments using a Baroque/romantic tuning. Cheers
Thank you. It is easier to do fine expressive details on single strings, and the tone is different. When you say more romantic sound, that is why they eventually moved towards singles strings (same with the guitar at about the same time c.1800) because it suits the music of that era better. Likewise, romantic mannerisms do not belong in baroque music! Each has it's own sound and aesthetics appropriate to the era it comes from.
@@Quatrapuntal yes dear friend, both ways have their advantages and disadvantages. I believe the beauty of music is that there are so many ways of expressing feelings. Cheers 😁🔥
thank you so much for this video! I love the lute!!!
Thanks for watching, yes it's a great instrument
Hi Chris, this is a wonderful insight into the history of the lute and all its relatives. Thanks! However, the Theorbo was what really got me interested. What an amazing instrument...
Thanks, yes the theorbo is great but a bit more limited when it comes to playing solos. Also for the original music it is not chromatic in the bass register so again a bit limiting. The mandora is fully chromatic throughout it's range. Please check out some of the original songs on here, which was the main point of the channel really. It hopefully shows that the lute is not limited to historical music only but can also be a contemporary instrument.
Thoroughly enjoyed this. Love the lute!
Thank you. There are various performance videos on the channel as well on the baroque lute and mandora, I am preparing some on the theorbo as well
Thank you for this video. I was very curious about the different types of lutes
Thanks for watching, let me know if you have any questions about lutes
Very informative and you play so beautifully i could listen all day.✨
Thank you, very kind! There is plenty more on the channel to listen to, including various things with Portuguese guitar and Neapolitan mandolin as well.
Thanks for the Weiss courante.
Envious of your collection After almost 40 years dedicated to classical guitar career these days I find myself wanting to acquire and start on baroque lute and seven string viola da gamba.
Coming from guitar, I would start with Renaissance lute as it's a lot closer, also if you are interested in the gamba it's the same intervals. There is also an 18th century lute called a gallichon which is the exact same tuning as a bass viol, as is the Renaissance bass lute. The 13-course lute is a very different beast with a totally different tuning, and you would have to cut your nails for sure, you can't really play that and the modern classical guitar.
@Quatrapuntal No problem, I've been a flesh or very short nail player for most of my playing career. I'm happy enough playing vihuela and renaissance repertoire on guitar, I can accept the difference in tone and still enjoy the results, but I have been frustrated with much of the transcriptions of baroque lute repertoire, Weiss transcriptions in particular. I've never been particularly happy with the voicing compromises required. It's the tuning and the bordons that lure me toward the baroque instrument proper. The same frustration applies with baroque guitar repertoire, the reentrant tunings and different constructions create totally unique sonics not obtainable on modern guitar..
Well it is a totally different instrument, this connection with the guitar is a modern thing and was not the case at the time. You can't transcribe something idiomatically written for 13 courses onto 6 (with a completely different tuning). To demonstrate the difference, check this out which you have probably played on the guitar - it's rarely played on the lute and even less so on the correct d-minor lute of Bach's time as it's so challenging, there are notes on the transcription as well: ruclips.net/video/SlQ88UKWlWY/видео.html
@@Quatrapuntal Yes as I always when possible consult original scores and tabulatures when learning repertoire, vihuela, lute baroque guitar and for any transcriptions from piano etc so I am well aware of such factors, tuning, register, compass etc that is exactly why I've wanted a baroque lute and enjoy listening to players such as yourself..
Mind you, Petra Polackova pulls off the Tombeau for Comte de Logy on an interesting 9 string Vienesse 19C styled instrument. Not the same tuning or idiomatic sonorities they impart but at least it allows similar range of bass etc. It can be found on this platform. Yepes style 8 to 10 strings just don't do anything for me, just seem to be glorified sympathetic drone generators.
@@rjlchristie yes I've never seen the point of those 13 string guitars (to play Weiss etc. anyway), it's still nothing like the sound that was intended so just play it on a normal guitar or the lute is was written for. The basses ring on far too long, and the high octaves on a lute are important to maintain the line and enable chromatic notes to blend. With historic strings the octave was probably more prominent than the low bass note. Good luck with in anyway if you do decide to take the plunge...
great playing and grat information! thank you for sharing! could you tell me, who built this wonderful 1812-mandora for you? i'm looking for an instrument to play southgerman folkmusic of 1800 in ensembke with historical key instruments. i think this mandora would be exactly what i'm looking for!
Sounds like an interesting group - could you tell me more about it? The mandora was made by James Marriage in the UK, he is very good and does 'student' models which are cheaper but still excellent instruments:
www.jminstruments.com/index.aspx
I'm sure he could ship it abroad. If you are in Germany there are many 20th century lutes (Wandervogellaute) on eBay, I bought mine from there. But those instruments were not around in 1800, they started appearing in that form after 1880. Also see this video, which has more information about the mandora in the 19th century:
ruclips.net/video/HzexBS6-IUM/видео.html
thank you very very much for the contact! the project is about a collection of bavarian songs from the late 18th century ("stubenberger handschriften") there is no music, so our violinist she combined the lyrics with tunes of that time from south germany and austria. the main instruments will be harpschord and hammerflügel, which where built by the "greifenberger institut", specialists for reengeniering and rebuilding historical keyinstruments. so this is an approach to the development of "hausmusik" in south germany. the title of the project is "aufg'spuit und g'sunga umara 1800", our first concert will be in july in munic. my main part is to sing, but i want to add a different instrumental colour as basso continuo either with solovoicings in the higher register with my 1920 german basslute. but since i heard your comparison i think the 1812 mandora would be the correct instrument for the soundsignature of 1800 where lutes and romantic guitarrs where both played, as a singlestringed instrument with luteshaped body.
@@MrMDanes here in the UK there were very many publications of Scottish and Irish folk songs around that time, even Haydn and Beethoven did quite a lot of arrangements. Folk music or at least a classical interpretation of it was very popular around 1800. When I did a video of O Tannenbaum last Christmas the original version was based on a German folk song from 1799, I wonder if your songs will be similar. Are they written in a regional dialect of German? I would be interested to hear it if you do any videos.
one song by mozart is in our programm aswell 😀 the rehearsals didn't start yet so i have no audios, but i let you know!
btw do you know the liuto forte, which is a modern interpretation of lutes? i wonder if the "tenorlaute" (liuto forte in e) is quite similar to the 1812 mandora.
No don't get a liuto forte! They are quite pointless instruments, they don't have the characteristic lute sound and they don't represent any historical instrument, you might as well play it on a guitar. Unless you are a guitarist who plays with fingernails and want basically a guitar in lute shape (which you already have with your basslaute) don't waste your money!
Awesome video my friend ! Big Like!👍👍👍👍👍👍
Thanks for watching.
Very interesting and informative, thank you!
Thanks for watching. There are also various videos of these lutes and also Portuguese guitar and other instruments on this channel
Holy cow you are good at that!
Well practice makes perfect as they say! Here is one with the big lute in the background that I didn't play in this video: ruclips.net/video/qVk8VS-Ad2c/видео.html
Thank you for sharing the history of the lute. I agree that music by Sylvius Weiss is more interesting and better suited for lute than music by Bach. Thank you also for the excellent comparison of the earlier and modern version of the lute. Hearing it side by side played by the same performer makes it very easy to tell the difference. Indeed, the original version has a fuller, more rounded, nicer sound. And my compliments on your fine performances on all your videos. You have the light touch that only a master performer can achieve.
Thanks for your kind comments, and yes I agree the earlier mandora has a much nicer sound than the 20th century lute. I find that instrument quite difficult to play as the string spacing is too narrow at the nut for me, it also has odd scalloped frets. It's very decorative though, in fact it is mainly used as an ornament in my house!
wonderful. so interesting. all new info to me.. MORE MORE!!!
Thank you, but more lute videos or more instrument demonstrations?
i'm guessing a good quick lute tuner was a pretty popular dude in the court, nice playing
I don't think they ever had a separate person to tune lutes for them, would be great but a pretty boring job!
Bravo! Well done. I learned a lot.
Thanks I appreciate that
I've always loved the sound of the Portuguese guitarra. But it's missing the bass sounds. Curious if there are recordings of lute and Portuguese guitarra.
Great video, quite informative. Cheers.
The guitarra plays the melody, like the right hand on the piano, so needs something else underneath (like the piano left hand). It's traditionally paired with a guitar and sometimes also a bass guitar. This works well as the tone of the 2 instruments are quite different so each can be heard, I think the lute would stand out more so perhaps get in the way of the guitarra. Plus the guitarra is almost always used in fado of course, which has its strong traditions including almost always playing the guitarra together with a guitar. The lute is more used for playing alone so plays melody and bass parts, or to accompany singers etc. in a similar way that the normal guitar does in fado.
I've been a long time guitar player, and have just been fascinated by the lute for many years, and this was a great, informal video. May I ask, where did you get that specific mandora @1:40? That's just a really beautiful instrument...
It was custom ordered from a great British luthier James Marriage. His prices are also really good compared to many others: www.jminstruments.com
Im watching this video because some friends invited me to a dnd party and they said that I’d be a good bard. And they told me that bards can play all sorts of instruments but they’re usually seen with a lite. And I was like (what the hell is that ? ._. ) so here I am learning about the topic. Thanks for the video.
Well I hope you can go armed with some lute related knowledge now! I did a video of some of the music from the Witcher, which has a bard character who plays a (dodgy looking) lute: ruclips.net/video/K3B6yydz-YE/видео.html
Cool stuff :) 🎶🙌
Thanks, glad you liked it
Which of weiss' courantes did you play? Which sonata or manuscript is it from? Absolutely love the playing and the piece!
Time for me to pick up my lute and try to play it :)
It's a sonata in D minor, I don't know which manuscript it's from I have had a copy of it for years. It starts with a prelude of arpeggios. I also have 2 movements of Bach BWV998 on this channel, which I would say it the most difficult piece for this instrument.
In this video your Schelle Lute sounds really good, with full (sympathetic) resonance in all registers. Even the top two single course strings sound great. Did you changed your microphones or post-processing? Wait....ah....I see the problem: Your plucking technique of the index and middle finger in the other videos: Your fingers move very efficiently, maybe too efficienty and the first knuckle joint is pretty stiff. To get a full, round and resonant tone you should try to strengthen the impulse by really "digging" into the strings first and let it slip over your finger tip while your first knuckle joint bends flexible with the movement. That gives a beautiful, round tone. It needs much practice to make the first finger knuckle joint flexible enough. The most effective way (as I did) is to practice violin vibrato ;-). A good example for this technique is Thomas Dunford. Look at his knuckles!
More likely different equipment, the Weiss is also more resonant and idiomatic - have you ever tried to play BWV998 on the 13-course lute? It is literally the most difficult piece for that instrument, I think mine is the only video of it on YT for that reason, others are on other types of lute not the type Bach knew. To play it at all is a considerable challenge, so yes I am aware of baroque lute technique! TD is not someone I would aspire to, he plays baroque music using renaissance right hand technique on anachronistic single strung archlutes, he is also playing over the rose a lot which gives a warmer tone but is again not how it was done historically.
@@QuatrapuntalYes, a very difficult piece and yours is my favorite Version. Mascardi, North and Smith play nice but on a Hoffmann bass rider lute but the fugue needs strong basses. Eduardo Egüez uses an Edlinger lute wich is pretty ideal. Strong basses and very well balaced with high register. Dunford uses a sort of renaissance technique but his movement comes from the fingers not from wrist. Pretty nice tone I think but yes, unconventional with single/nylon stringed.
First of all, thank you for wonderful video story and the playing..
I was wondering if you could tell me a bit about favorite scene and old movie of my
Romeo and Juliet 1953.
In the movie Romeo and Juliet 1953! I was first-year college - there was a party at the home of the Capulet's for Juliet for her birthday. It was a very lovely little orchestral precept played in the background and had singing tell me a bit about that I really would like to know.
Again super thanks for wonderful video and wonderfully fine play goblets -
Hello I don't know that film, if you can send a link to a video with that scene I can have a listen?
Very informative video. Do you know 'Gamzedeyim Deva Bulmam'? It's a beautiful piece from Ottoman Empire. Thanks from Turkey :D
Teşekkür ederim! I don't know that piece but I will look it up. I went to Istanbul in 2019 and went to a traditional music shop, really interesting to see and try the Turkish lutes like saz/baglama and oud. I bought a short neck saz, couldn't believe how cheap it was! There is a video of me playing it on the Quatrapuntal Facebook page. There was another type of lute I saw on the Asian side that really looked like the mandora, I think it was a lavta. The shop was closed unfortunately. I loved Istanbul, such a colourful and vibrant city, great food as well!
@@Quatrapuntal Thanks for your visit and your good opinion :) I want to learn and play to bağlama, ud, mandolin or oboe but , actually, all instruments are 'very' expensive for Turkish people (for turkish lira, not euro) :( And the piece playing with an oud(and others). Thanks for the visit. Yine bekleriz!
@@hasanmertyilmaz_ this is the shop I went to: www.megamusiccenter.com/ It was less than 300 TL for a saz with case, strings and plectrums, there were some even cheaper. Less than I paid for a meal the day before! But then in the Grand Bazaar they had the same instruments for over 1000 TL, so depends where you go. I imagine instruments like the oboe would be expensive, they are expensive here. Mandolins are fairly cheap, you could order instruments from the Thomann website and have it posted to Turkey perhaps? They are usually the cheapest site for most instruments. There are some mandolin videos on my channel I don't know if you have seen them.
I am interested in a 12 string classical guitar and the lute is the closest instrument to it. Beautiful sounds. Thank you! 😇
I've never heard of a 12 string classical guitar, only steel strung acoustic guitars that are mainly strummed and played with a plectrum. How would you play a double strung guitar with right hand finger nails? Lutes are played with no nails which is why you can't play both lute and modern classical guitar (properly)
@@Quatrapuntal Except for experimental builds, there aren't any. You are correct, I don't really know how I would play it, but it is a journey of discovery! 😉
I should have said, double strung 12 string guitars were common in the late 18th century, however they have thinner lower tension strings and are played without nails like a lute. I have never seen a modern style classical guitar with double strings. I think the main issue would be getting both strings to resonate using fingernails, if you only hit one it would sound thin and weak. I'd be interested to hear it if you ever get one!
www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/503430
I had a quick look on RUclips and there are no videos whatsoever of double strung guitars (apart from baroque guitars which are a little different) not even the late 18th century type I was talking about. So if you do get one I think you will be cornering the market - extremely rare to find something guitar related that there are NO RUclips videos about! Good luck!
Very interesting - the pegbox design looks quite bizarre! Unfortunately the sound clips didn't work, I wonder if he is playing it with fingernails
An informative video. Good job! Subscription for sure.
Thank you. There are also explanation videosabout the Portuguese guitar and melodica as well if interested
Very Very intersting !!!! Thanks a lot !
Thanks for watching. Please have a look at the other videos on the channel, there are quite a few styles and instruments covered
Really Very Interesting :)
Thanks. I have just done a video using the big theorbo that is in the background but I don't play in this: ruclips.net/video/qVk8VS-Ad2c/видео.html
Greetings. I really like the lute but when I saw your video, I really didn’t understand very well a topic in special, and is the tuning. I play the guitar and love Bach’s music and I would like to know how to tune my guitar in order to sound like a lute, in specific with the BWV 998. I was thinking in having tuned in A=465 because it’s sounds like a lute.
Hi thanks for your question. If you watch from 3:55 I go through the tuning of the baroque lute, which is to a chord of D minor (from highest to lowest: f, d, A, F, D, A', G', F', E' D', C' B'', A'') . It is impossible to replicate music for an instrument with 13 courses on a guitar with 6 strings, however you tune it, so it will always sound very different. The bassline is played most of the time on the lowest 7 open bass strings, on a guitar these will all be an octave higher and fretted not open. You can play music for renaissance lute on a guitar much more closely as it had less strings and the tuning was much more similar, with the baroque lute it won't sound anything like it I'm afraid. Even the multi-string guitars don't sound the same because they have single bass strings which sound lower than they should and ring on too long. The lute has pairs of octave bass strings and gut strings to blend better. As for the pitch, my lute and most baroque instruments are tuned to a lower pitch (A=415, or one semitone lower) so A=465 is the wrong direction! Maybe you are thinking of the renaissance lute which is tuned in g, so a 3rd higher than the modern guitar? Changing the pitch of a guitar won't make it sound anything like a baroque lute though, for the reasons above. Have you seen my videos of BWV 998?
Quatrapuntal Thanks for your answer. About the pitch, is courious but, when I tune my guitar with A=465 and play the Eb, is almost an unisone with yours in the lute in the video of the Allegro you uploaded.
The reason is I am playing in F at A=415, so a semitone lower than A=440. So when I play the note F it sounds like E at A=440. If you play in A=465 that is a semitone higher than A=440, so when you play an Eb it sounds like E at A=440. So it ends up at the same pitch. It will still sound very different on a guitar of course.
Quatrapuntal Oh, I understand, you made the transcription in F major due to some problems with Eb major in the lute.
@@StrungBug yes that's right, Eb is not a resonant and natural key on the baroque lute that is tuned to a chord of D minor. It was most likely written for a keyboard instrument anyway so I've never understood why people struggle to try and play it in Eb on the lute
Hi! Where can I find a score or a tab for a piece starting at 09:08 and how is it called?
Thanks in advance!
It's from Giuliani's Op. 50 "Le Papillion", it's no. 15. You can hear this and 2 others from the set here, with some more info here: ruclips.net/video/yZ4EZIz554c/видео.html
@@Quatrapuntal thank you so much!
How do you spell the name of the first piece you played by leopold weiss?
Courante is how it's spelt in the original manuscript, which is a baroque dance movement. There are other spellings you see sometimes like corrente or coranto. It was a bit inconsistent then, like minuet/menuet/menuetto etc.
I’ve wondered whether perhaps the Oud was influenced by the sitar from India.
The oud is much older than the sitar, which is from medieval India. The instrument that the sitar descended from (veena) is much older, although I don't know if that would be classified as a lute or if it is known exactly how it originated. It seems that most stringed instruments originated in the middle east and then spread from there, the ancient Egyptians certainly played lutes. Whether they spread from there to India or developed independently I don't know. It's such a long time ago it's difficult to trace things that happened very gradually.
Maestro, how do you do the arpegio with lute?
Just the same way as on a guitar or piano, play the notes of a chord one at a time - is that what you meant?
@@Quatrapuntal yes, thank you!!
Great !
Thank you
Very good video overall BUT I think it is important to define “lutes” when mentioning in the intro how ancient peoples had them. They had stringed instruments but they absolutely didn’t resemble what we’d think of as a “lute”
I think I said that originally but it wasn't in the final version because I was trying to get through that part fairly quickly. It's a bit tricky to define exactly what a lute is, other than it has oval body and bowl shaped back, but then so does the Neapolitan mandolin and some instruments called lute have flat backs. There are short and long necked lutes in antiquity and in the middle east now (e.g. the oud is short necked, the Turkish saz is long necked). The ancient Egyptians played small long necked lutes with a rounded body, as did the Romans. And also what defines a guitar? Not the waisted shape alone as medieval instruments that were oval are described as Moorish guitars and of course electric guitars can come in many shapes. So quite a tricky question!
Great video!
The use of fingernails when striking the strings was always dissuade in the textbooks for guitar lute / German lute in the early 20th century. The action should come from the flesh of the fingertip or it was not mentioned. Images of the striking hand usually show short nails, or you can't see it.
Interesting, I have an original tutor book for German lute which I thought had nails mentioned, I will try and find it when I get home. With higher tension strings and the heavy construction (compared to an older lute) the sound is pretty quiet and dull without nails. Unless they were using lighter strings, possibly still gut in the early 20th century? Even so, you can feel the whole body of an earlier lute resonate, the 20th century lute just doesn't do that as the soundboard is much thicker.
@@Quatrapuntal Yes, they had mostly gut strings, silk often for the highest, sometimes metal, but it damaged the angle of the neck. The "better" lutes from the time (Hauser, Wach, ...) also resonate very strongly - the simple wanderlutes less.
I found the tutor book I have, the Tutor for Bass Lute by W. Wobersin. There is no date but I think it's around 1920 or slightly earlier. There are photos that show him playing with fingernails, the only reference I could find in the book is "Now press the fingers, the nails of which ought not to be too long, on the strings; see illustration". The photo shows nails which as he says are not too long, but he is not playing with fingertips. I'm sure there were other people that played with no nails at all. In my own experience as a lutenist with no nails, the sound on a 20th century German lute using fingertips is very quiet and dull, even with thinner lute strings. I don't know how they managed to get a good sound without nails, unless they are using some different technique. You can see part of the tutor book here: www.harpguitars.net/players/after6_vol10n2.htm
@@Quatrapuntal
The rather dull sound seemed to be an ideal.
In Wobersin's book, I can't see any nails. He wrote in another tutor:
"The attack may only be done with the tips of the fingers."( W. Wobersin Volkstümliche Reform-Schule für Laute, Gitarre oder Zupfgeige, Leipzig 1916).
In 1906 Heinrich Scherrer wrote in his tutor "Die Kunst des Gitarrespiels auf Grundlage der alten Lautenschläger", which was written for guitar and lute: "Only the flesh of the fingertip should touch the strings as much as possible. A fingernail would produce a hard, sharp tone".
I would have many other examples (I collect old Lute Tutors, ...a lot of books). Nails are not recommended anywhere.
@@nairolfxii1 the picture is too small here but it's clearer in the book, he has nails but as he says not too long: www.harpguitars.net/players/after6/sample_position-wobersin.jpg
REALLY INTERESTING
Grazie
It seems pretty obvious to me that the word "lute" comes from the word "oud" : when it was imported into Europe as a oud, the Arabs would call it "al-3oud" (the 3 standing for the 3aïn letter that is hardly pronounceable by non semitic locutors, who most of the time skip it). People would have heard something like "eloud". Knowing that the "e" is hardly audible too, they would assume it was a "loood", which brings us pretty logically to "lute", as d and t are very often substituted. Just my 2 cents, but I thought it would be nice to share ! 😉 Thanks for the video on this very ancient, fascinating and amazingly beautifully sounding instrument !!
Yes I believe in Arabic it's also said as al-ud, in modern Portuguese lute is alaúde (pronounced like ala-ood) so virtually the same word. So from northern Africa to Iberia it has hardly changed, Spanish is laúd, just dropping the a, in French luth and then English lute. It's a pretty clear progression.
@@Quatrapuntal Thank you so much for your answer ! The Portuguese version is amazingly similar indeed !
Who can tell me what names of the plays on 11:05 and 11:24, please?
It is an Andante by Carulli (in A minor)
Do you know as you go from 6 to 7 course string or from 7 to 8 course strings, do the bass strings increase or the treble strings?
Hi I presume you mean on renaissance lutes? You have the main 6 fingerboard courses like on a guitar (the renaissance tuning is similar but a higher pitch in G, like putting a capo on the 3rd fret) then any extra strings are more bass notes. They go down a scale, so related to a guitar, a 6 course would be the normal 6 strings, 7 course has one extra bass string a note below the bottom string (D), an 8 course has two extra bass strings (D and C, like my mandora), a 9 course has 3 (D, C, B) etc.
@@Quatrapuntal ok good cause I'm going for bardcore style renaissance music. I want to compose renaissance metal so I'm still trying to figure out the instruments. Is the lute the best instrument to get a good deep bass sound?
@@Tabascoblade the lute is more about filling up the middle rather than bass. It has quite a delicate tone that is easily swamped by other things. If you are having distorted guitar chords/riffs underneath I think it would sound thin and weak as the other instruments with a stronger sound drown it out. I have this problem with the cello a lot. You might be better with a harp? If you want a cool renaissance deep bass, try a rackett. I used to own one years ago, tricky to play but sound awesome! ruclips.net/video/hR_suHbZ1yQ/видео.html
@@Quatrapuntal that's a good one but I'm looking for string instruments for the bass sound. Do you know anything like that?
@@Tabascoblade for a renaissance bass stringed instrument you would need a bass viol, also called viola da gamba. It is a similar size to a cello but has a different tone.
REDEAMUS AD LIUTOS IGITUR !
Latinam non intellego
@@Quatrapuntal So we go back to Liutes
The best revision of the Barroque lutes ", great ..
Thank you
I am glad today we have good and affordable stringed instruments. Mainly I am referring to guitars. But it is still not helpful that plastic or some material alternative to wood wasn’t developed for making stringed instruments. That way we may have had them cheaper and many people could try their hand on something more than the most common guitars, mandolins, or annoying ukuleles.
I think the issue with lutes is not so much the materials but the amount of time it takes to makes them by hand and the craftsmanship involved. I don't know if you could mass produce them, there are some cheaper models made in Pakistan but they are awful instruments. With so many strings if the action or neck is not exactly right they can buzz or be unplayable. And the construction is very light and thin, it's very specialised and takes a lot of skill. Arabic ouds etc. can be made cheaper I think because they are more thickly constructed with less strings.
10:27 Is it wrong to believe that these early 20th century mandoras (guitar lutes/Wandervogel lutes) were designed for metal strings? I believe the older mandora used to be strung with metal strings aswell.
Certainly the 18th / 19th century mandoras had gut strings. There were other instruments with metal strings like the English guittar at the time (see my Portuguese guitar video) but I have never seen a reference to a historical mandora with metal strings. The 20th century German lutes usually had nylon strings like a classical guitar, I have seen lots of instruments with old strings and they were all nylon, they may sometimes have used metal strings though
@@Quatrapuntal Hi and thanks! According to various sources though nylon strings weren't common before the late 1940s. This and the fact that those early 20th century German lute guitars have pins for attaching the strings like typical steelstring guitars made me believe that they were meant to be used with steelstrings. (Also, they sound a little weak with nylon imho.) Saludos
@@flavedereus4928 I didn't know that about nylon strings but makes sense as plastics in general came in around the 1930s. If not nylon, they would probably have still used gut strings for the highest 3 strings then metal wound gut for the rest. Those bridge pins were very common on 19th century guitars which certainly had gut strings, so they were inherited from that. I've never understood why though, I think bridge pins are a bad design personally and much better to tie them on like a lute before or modern classical guitar after. It's possible that they sometimes used metal strings on the 20th century German lutes but I don't think it was common. Metal strings are only louder played with a plectrum with a higher string tension, plucked there isn't much difference
The strings of the guitar lutes/Wandervogel lutes were usually made of gut, metal wounded in the bass, the highest string sometims of silk. There were also metal strings, but they were used more for travel guitars because they could withstand climatic conditions better. Some old guitar lutes have metal strings - this has distorted the neck angle of the instruments. In 1924, the lute player Niels Sörnsen recommended in his book "Meine Laute" that steel strings only be drawn to lutes when traveling.
7:28 that is actualy a lute with a harp attached, I play a guitar harp as well! the upper portion derives its tone from the distance of the vibration on the string.....good vid and the history is always welcome!
It is a baroque lute, the end result of adding more and more bass strings to the lute over many years. The bass strings are more a fundamental part of how this instrument is played than on a harp guitar, where they are used less often. The majority of bass notes are played on these strings, which together with the octave stringing gives it the very resonant sound. Glad you appreciated the video, thanks
@@Quatrapuntal no it isnt sir! that sound is not derived from the fret board. my guitar harp does the same thing... it is still very nice as is the demo! the only thing barogue is the lute we know and love. the incorporation of the harp is well done...
Sorry but you are incorrect. The lute is my main instrument which I have played for many years, I also have a degree in baroque music and have published academic articles about the lute so I know what I am talking about and the instrument I own! You are thinking about the earlier, renaissance lute which had less strings. From around 1720 the lute had 13 courses - as I demonstrate in the video the lowest 5 of these run off the fingerboard and are played only with the right hand thumb. Yes these open bass strings are similar in a way to the harp, but this is not some kind of modern hybrid. The instrument I am playing is a copy of an instrument made by Sebastian Schelle in 1744. Just Google baroque lute and you will see lots of instruments like this which were common in the 18th century. Or see the middle part of this page: www.vanedwards.co.uk/history4.htm
@@Quatrapuntal not worth it, it is a lovely piece as is the instrument. thanks for sharing the expertise
OK fair enough thank you. Here is a performance of a great Bach piece on that same lute: ruclips.net/video/WCwzWgjUHh8/видео.html
Wawwwww
what is a lute? impetuous fire...
"What is a Lute?"
Well, obviously a Flute with a de-tuned F.
Duh.
;)
Such a great instrument, really. :(
Lute has originated from Arabic Oud, and Arabic Oud has originated from Barbat (Persian).
This is explained in the first part of the video. I don't have an oud so I used pictures, but I did try one when I was in Istanbul last year. Surprising how little the form of the instrument has changed over the last 1000 years
How can I in a better way accept this instrument considering it's origins, in Europe from occupying Muslim Moors? An occupation which would come to include enforced conversion to Islam and Arabization of the culture. It would feel a bit better if some of the origin had come from a country like Greece. How much could the Lute instruments (and the Arabic Oud for that matter) have originally been inspired from an instrument like the Ancient Greek Kithara?
Well any occupation from one culture to another is bad, especially when it involves the killing of many innocent people and subjugation of the people who live there. But this has unfortunately happened across many cultures throughout history, we Europeans have certainly done our share of invading other countries and forcing them to convert etc.
The Greek kithara was really a type of lyre or harp. It depends on what the definition of 'lute' is, if it is a plucked stringed instrument when the notes are fretted with the left hand (not like a harp) then it becomes more complex as you include guitar like instruments. If you include the pear shaped body in the definition, the earliest lutes were in the middle east and ancient Egypt, which is not surprising as many things originated from that area in ancient times. The link from Moorish oud to lute is fairly clear, although there were other plucked instruments around that may have had an influence.
That really long lute looks like a harp.
Not so much when you see it properly: ruclips.net/video/qVk8VS-Ad2c/видео.html
Hey mr hirst cya at skl in January