The problem is that an archlute at this pitch is pretty useless nowadays, with our modern pitch standard of A = 415. Corelli, Stradella, Colista, Lonati and many more all wrote obbligato parts for the archlute, as did Händel whilst in Rome. At this relatively low pitch, in order to produce any kind of decent sound on the theorbo, you need a pretty massive instrument (sure enough some of the largest surviving theorbos are indeed from Rome). Somewhere between A = 360 and A=392. The problem if we scale them down too much, they just end up sounding like small lutes. That was better, but on occasions, if found this instrument couldn’t really make the kind of sound I wanted, … The archlute I commissioned (from the very gifted Ivo Magherini) was a copy of a big Roman instrument made by D. Tecchler in 1725.
Italians viewed the theorbo as an easier alternative to the Then these thumbs (oncia) were tried in the rest of the instrument. A 19th C. Stauffer-style guitar by Ries. 9.00 € / Kürschner Theorbo Single String D, PVF, total length 180cm, diameter 0,78mm.
The tuning is identical to that of the ‘baroque’ lute, minus the top string.
Although the copy was a great one, I think that with scaling down both the body size and string length, we lost just a bit too much oomph.
My copy of the Schelle has string-lengths of 85 / 170cm, with 13 courses, but space for a 14th. Here’s a few pictures of this handsome beast! And it even held up when I tried it on other instruments by Matteo and his brother Domenico Sellas. Change ). The d minor theorbo is an instrument described by both Baron and Weiss.
Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. My Oregon-based friend and harpsichord maker Darin Molnar just told me he found the system of measurement Bartholomeo Cristofori used for his oval spinets…. Learn how your comment data is processed. So after a couple of fruitless attempts, I decided to try a different approach; re-engineer the unit of measurement from the instrument.
Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Pour en savoir plus et paramétrer les cookiesFermer. So why was the archlute so darn popular in just Rome of all places?! Problem solved..? End-to-End testing in WordPress with Nightwatch.js, Unit Testing in WordPress – Testing integrations. It really carries in ensemble, primarily thanks to the rather massive body and the bass is awesome, but the sound still retains the character of a lute.
Kürschner Theorbo Single String C, silver plated copper-wound nylon, total length 180cm, diameter 1, Pour en savoir plus et paramétrer les cookies. Lute lessons are available at both Saltaire and London and we have specialists on hand for expert advice. I wanted something with a brighter tone, something with more bite than the standard theorbo.
Choosing the right continuo instrument for the job is something that I have spent a large amount of time thinking about and a revelation about a (relatively) new theorbo has prompted me to write down some of my thoughts and observations about this very subject. It’s great to see that this method is catching on amongst other builders. Caccini comments in Le nouve musiche (1602) that the theorbo is perfectly suited for accompanying the voice as it can give a very full support without being obscured by the vocalist, indicating the beginning of an Italian tradition of monodic songs accompanied by theorbo. There is one further alternative worth mentioning here, but this one is a little difficult to justify historically… What about a proper, full-sized archlute tuned as a ‘baroque’ lute, that is to say in d minor? New plans: Gosewyn Spyker – a guitar from 1760…, The Trossingen Lyre – A new set of plans…. New plans! ( Log Out /
Kürschner Theorbo Single String E, PVF, total length 180cm, diameter 0,70mm. Kürschner Theorbo Single String G1, silver plated copper-wound nylon, total length 180cm, diameter 1. And there is always a margin of precision while making.
I decided what I needed was an archlute.
Kürschner Theorbo Single String B1, silver plated copper-wound nylon, total length 180cm, diameter 1. That was better, but on occasions, if found this instrument couldn’t really make the kind of sound I wanted, especially for 18th century repertoire.
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It’s a nice idea, but it’s not exactly true…. Most of the surviving Roman archlutes have really big bodies and long string lengths (somewhere between 72 – 77cm). The instruments were originally designed using simple drawing tools; ruler, square, …
A few years later I upgraded to a more realistic (or historical, depending on your degree of fanaticism) Italianate theorbo with a string length of 88cm. I think it’s an excellent alternative to the archlute and an instrument that I would really encourage players to try (then you can make your own minds up!). Italians called the theorbo's diapasons its “special excellence”. I spoke with Ivo about potential models and we decided to take it to the max and make a copy of the beautiful and rather massive 18th century theorbo by Schelle, currently hidden away from mortals in the basement of the museum in Nüremberg. A journey into the wonderful world of lutherie and all arts and crafts involved. Finally, if you’ve never played continuo in d minor, then you’re really missing out! In fact, being perfectly honest, although the brightness of a good archlute is almost always a very pleasing sound, I’ve never really heard or played one that had enough depth or quantity of sound to compete with a theorbo. After a few years, I bought a small English theorbo (a meagre 78cm) that I used in Italian tuning (that is to say in A with the top 2 courses at the lower octave). Then, we’re on to the big guns: the diapasons. The theorbo was developed in Italy, and so has a rich legacy in Italian music as both a solo and continuo instrument. We know now that the ‘standard’ pitch in Rome at this period was low – really low.
Basic model: 5.200 € Pictured model: 5.700 €
And there is always a margin of precision while making. Contact us …
The instruments were originally designed using simple drawing tools; ruler, square, dividers, etc.
Our instruments are perfect for beginners, with hand-made instruments also available for the more advanced player. It’s unlikely that Roman archlutes were ever tuned in this way, but it would enable us today to play on a really big instrument and thus enjoy all the benefits! Les cookies nous permettent de personnaliser le contenu et les annonces, d'offrir des fonctionnalités relatives aux médias sociaux et d'analyser notre trafic. ( Log Out / Nous partageons également des informations sur l'utilisation de notre site avec nos partenaires de médias sociaux, de publicité et d'analyse, qui peuvent combiner celles-ci avec d'autres informations que vous leur avez fournies ou qu'ils ont collectées lors de votre utilisation de leurs services. Could it really be that simple? When I studied in London, I often read that the archlute gradually replaced the theorbo in the 18th century as the tessitura of the bass lines went progressively higher. If we look historically at where and when the archlute was really popular, we must look to Rome. At the roots of the guitar; The Carolingian CYTHARA. Solo theorbo (string length 75cm/bourdons 1m30 to 1m50) based on Matteo Sellas (Venice, c.1640), belly of 13 ribs, single or triple rose, pegbox with pulleys. So here are the basic measurements fot the “Braccio da Sellas”: The next step is to make a couple of rulers: one for the complete Braccio and one for a Pide. It was around this time that I started considering a theorbo in d minor tuning. The vast majority of the instruments people play on today have much shorter string-lengths and smaller body sizes – with good reason: with a top string (especially in gut), there is a physical limit to how the top string on a lute can be tuned before it breaks.
Drawing the Sellas Theorbo. Ehhhm… Well, it seemed to work… The found thumb was fitting other measurements, luke the body length. Browse our selection of renaissance lutes, baroque lutes and theorbos.
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By now you probably know that I never simply copy an instrument from a plan.
All dimensions for the Venetian Braccio, given in old metrology books, didn’t fit the theorbo at hand (M255 of the Muziekinstrumentenmuseum in Brussels).
The point I’m trying to make here is that I think that this is the ultimate continuo lute for 18th century music (and late 17th too!).
2 – just a short update. So to re-construct the design, one must find the original compass points and radii of the arches.
Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. A d minor theorbo is really just a massive lute, which is really what I reckon a big archlute should sound like.
Where the theorbo has many disadvantages at this lower pitch, (very long string lengths, a less bright tone, etc) the archlute on the other hand gains hugely by having a longer string length and a larger body that still remains relatively easy to play. So for the first attempt I decided to use the body width (345 mm) as a foot length and break it up in twelve thumbs. In Rome we have tons of mentions of the archlute (as well as loads of obbligato parts – way more than we find elsewhere) in the 2nd half of the 17th and the first half 18th century, give or take a few decades. Apparently it could, because no matter what I tried, it always had the same outcome….
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