HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: kent@netcom.com (Kent Crispin)
Subject: Re: Harpsichords as Do-it-yourself
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1992 19:30:53 GMT

In article <1210@zogwarg.etl.army.mil> mike@zogwarg.etl.army.mil (Mike McDonnell) writes:
>There are some very good reasons for making your own harpsichord.
>I am currently making an Italian style harpsichord based on historical
>models.  There is no kit available for an Italian harpsichord.

Zuckermann makes an Italian harpsichord kit -- in fact, if I recall correctly
it is one of their cheaper kits.  I thought about it quite a while before I 
got my Flemish Double kit.

I had a chance to visit the Hubbard factory in September, though, and
I was smitten by the bentside spinet kit -- it is a truly exquisite
little instrument, beautiful in appearance and in sound.  In fact, I
believe I will get one anyway -- one can't have too many musical
instsruments :-)


-- 
Kent Crispin			"No reason to get excited",
kent@netcom.netcom.com		the thief he kindly spoke...
Newsgroups: rec.music.early
From: mike@uhunix.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu (Mike W. Burger)
Subject: recorder care tips
Organization: University of Hawaii
Date: Fri, 6 Nov 1992 23:44:29 GMT


	Well, I bought a wood recorder.  It is a lovely thing that
is deeply pleasing on many levels, touch, sight, sound.
It is a Moeck blackwood alto (539?).  I believe it is grenadilla
wood, the grain appears too open for ebony, and with little or
no evidence of varnish. 

	I would appreciate any advice on care and breaking it in,
as well as recomendations on bore oil and cork grease.  One book
was very, very negative about the cute fluffy swabs that come
with the instruments, so I purchased a very nice string and
chamois swab with a brass weight used mainly for clarinets and
oboes which I plan to cut down to size.  I was planning to use
a Kleenex draped over the dry fuzzy swab for the head joint.
The kit that comes with it has a brush and some scary instructions
about oiling right next to the blade and rather in an arc along
the center of the base of the blade and on the vertical walls of the
side of the windhole.

	One strange tip I have already received, possibly unique
to Hawaii, is to watch out for mold!  The new "box" has large
arched cutouts in each end when closed to allow flow through
ventilation.  Our humidity here is from a rare low of 50% to
over 90%.  On the plains of Oklahoma in Winter the humidity could
drop to 5% and be a real problem on the dry side.  In Hawaii, going
on 18 years now,  I rarely get chapped lips and we rarely have
trouble with static electricity due to the usual levels of humidity.
Temperature rarely drops below 55 F but does rise above 90 F a
fair amount of the time.  Median is 78 degrees F.

mike@uhunix.uhcc.hawaii.edu

PS  I have been looking at the ARS level II repertoire list.
Any recomendations on favorites to learn?
From: DKWILSON@UCS.INDIANA.EDU
Newsgroups: rec.music.early
Subject: RE: John Hsu's Workshop
Date: 5 Nov 92 02:43:27 GMT
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I don't know for sure when John Hsu's Cornell Viol Workshop will be in '93,
but it's been the first week of June for a couple years.  Maybe someone else
on this list knows (Martha Bishop?  Are you there?), or you could call John
at Cornell and ask him yourself.
 
David
Newsgroups: rec.music.early
Subject: RE: "[portative organs] as do-it-yourself"
From: Ken Koester <MAINT2@ERS.BITNET>
Date: 06 Nov 1992 08:17:35 -0500 (EST)
In-reply-to: Message of Fri, 6 Nov 1992 01:30:27 GMT from <880840m@ACE.ACADIAU.CA>
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On Fri, 6 Nov 1992 01:30:27 GMT MICHAEL ALEXANDER MCKAY said:
> A friend of mine has been doing some research into the building of
>Medieval and Renaissance portative organs; do any of you know anything
>about this matter, or can any of you direct me to some good sources on the
>same?
>                                                -Mike
 
The Early Music Shop in England has a portative kit; the address should be in
the July archives for this list, or maybe I can dig it up somewhere for you.
Newsgroups: rec.music.early
From: charles@yc.estec.esa.nl (Charles Stroom)
Subject: Re: Harpsichords as Do-it-yourself
Date: Sat, 7 Nov 92 12:08:38 GMT
Organization: ESTEC/YCV, Noordwijk, The Netherlands

In article <de19-061192042122@mac19-pg2.umd.edu> de19@umail.umd.edu (Dana S Emery) writes:
>In article <tlukka.720811155@snakemail.hut.fi>, tlukka@lk-hp-6.hut.fi
>(Tuomas J. Lukka) wrote:
>> 
>> But also, I desire to have an instrument for which the detailed
>> plans are my own... not ready-made.
>
Try to get hold of a real invaluable little booklet by John
Barnes (~50 pages) called "Making a Spinet by Traditional
Methods".  It is publushed by Mac & Me Ltd, 19 Mill Lane,Welwyn,
Herts, England, Al6 9EU (ISBN 0 9507782 4 9).  John Barnes also
sells a couple of very good drawings of historical instruments,
including photographs of the details.  (I believe John Barnes is a
maker and a restorer of keyboard instruments).  I believe that
Barnes would also sell his booklet, so you could write to him.
John Barnes, 3 East Castle Road, Edinburgh EH10 5AP, Scotland.

-- 
Charles Stroom, Estec/YCV

charles@yc.estec.esa.nl  or	CSTROOM@ESTEC.BITNET
European Space Technology Centre, Noordwijk, the Netherlands
Newsgroups: rec.music.early
Subject: RE:  Broadside Band
From: Elaine Bradtke <ebra@SEQ1.LOC.GOV>
Date: 10 Nov 1992 14:45:30 -0500
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It's an ok recording, not too  flashy, a few nice arrangements.
My main beef is some of the tempi are a bit brisk for actual dancing
(but that's a common problem with dance music recorded for a listening
audience), and the intonation is a little iffy on a few tracks.
I've heard much worse renditions of ENglish dance music (like
the polka band version of Staines Morris).
*****************************************************************************
Elaine Bradtke
Archivist
American Folklife Center
Library of Congress
ebra@seq1.loc.gov  (Internet)
*****************************************************************************
 
,
From: TERRY@UCONNVM.BITNET (tom terry)
Newsgroups: rec.music.early
Subject: vibrato in a cappella renaissance music
Date: 5 Nov 92 15:04:19 GMT
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I have been singing Renaissance music for many years. An issue that comes
up occasionally is the use (or avoidance) of vibrato, especially in the
higher voices. Singers like Emma Kirkby and the Tallis scholars produce
what I would call a very pure tone, well-supported but with little trace of
vibrato, and I have the impression that this type of sound is widely regarded
as the ideal for music of this period. Why? Is it because boys were used
instead of women's voices in choirs of the time? Certainly women did join
with men in singing madrigals--how did they sing? Do we know?
Are there records indicating how people were supposed to
sing during this period? And on a more practical note, does anyone have
suggestions on how to help amateur singers today improve the quality of
vocal production for early music?
From: bchivers@smiley.mitre.org (Brent Chivers)
Subject: Re: "[portative organs] as do-it-yourself"
Keywords: Lark Morning kit mail-order
Organization: The MaiTai Corp, McLean, VA
Date: Sun, 8 Nov 1992 22:17:03 GMT


In article <EARLYM-L%92110614203105@AEARN.EDVZ.UNIVIE.AC.AT> MAINT2@ERS.BITNET (Ken Koester) writes:
 > On Fri, 6 Nov 1992 01:30:27 GMT MICHAEL ALEXANDER MCKAY said:
 > > A friend of mine has been doing some research into the building
 > > of Medieval and Renaissance portative organs; do any of you know
 > > anything about this matter, or can any of you direct me to some
 > > good sources on the same?
 > >                                                -Mike
 >
 > The Early Music Shop in England has a portative kit; the address should be in
 > the July archives for this list, or maybe I can dig it up somewhere for you.

I recently received a catalog from "Lark in the Morning".
They carry an incredibly wide range of instruments (early,
ethnic, obscure, etc).  They list a 2-octave 2' portative
organ kit for $3480.  "Challenging taking 10-20 hours to build."

	Lark in the Morning
	POB 1176
	Mendocino, CA 95460
	707-964-5569 (Visa/MC)
	707-964-1979 FAX

Along with instruments, they also CDs and cassettes, books, and
lesson videos.  I've never bought anything from them (yet), but
the catalog is fascinating.  (I expect the catalog costs $2 or $3.)
-- 
______________________________________________________________________

Brent Chivers		McLean, VA		bchivers@mitre.org
From: GONTER@AWIWUW11.BITNET (Gerhard Gonter)
Newsgroups: rec.music.early
Subject: RE: vibrato in a cappella renaissance music
Date: 6 Nov 92 06:48:55 GMT
Article-I.D.: AEARN.EARLYM-L%92110816454888
In-reply-to: Message of Thu, 5 Nov 1992 10:04:19 EST from <TERRY@UCONNVM.BITNET>
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Comments: From: "Stephen T. Moore" <STMOORE@PUCC>

LISTSERV didn't forward this to the mailing list, so I'm doing it
by hand after re-editing the file a little bit.  -GG
 
From:         "Stephen T. Moore" <STMOORE@PUCC>
------------------------- original message -----------------------------
One could write a book on this topic - but briefly...
There are several sources which discuss vocal production for sixteenth-century
music. One which goes into much detail is the Prattica di musica, vol. 1, by
Lodovico Zacconi (Venice, 1592). Zacconi discusses head vs. chest voice, the
differences between church singing (loud) and chamber singing (softer), vocal
ornamentation, and many other relevant topics. This book has been published
in facsimile by both Forni and Olms - there is no translation available yet,
nor do I expect there to be one, because in addition to the book's length,
the author's style is somewhat repetitive and chatty. However the Italian he
writes is quite clear.
     Regarding women in madrigals - actually women singing madrigals was the
exception to the rule for most of the sixteenth century. Usually the situation
was more that of a private men's club, for example the Accademia Filarmonica of
 Verona, which was made up of gentlemen who would hire a music master to direct
their activities and provide music. Extensive records survive regarding this
group (its successor organization still puts on operas in Verona) - there were
no women singing there throughout the sixteenth century. Women gradually came
into more professional situations (e.g. the famous singing ladies of Ferrara),
but not until the 1580's or so.
       Vibrato was also used only as an ornament for instruments in this
period (if at all), and so by extension modern singers attempting to recreate
this repertoire often choose to follow what they perceive as the general sound-
ideal of the time. Further, there is much discussion of the niceties of tuning
by writers on music from the Cinquecento - different sizes of half-step etc,
with the intention of producing well-tuned chords. This fine attention to
tuning is difficult to achieve if you have a vibrato you can drive a truck (or
even a VW) through (try listening to the appalling results in Gesualdo by
Craft and his ensemble from the Metropolitan Opera).
     To improve vocal quality find a voice teacher who is focused on songs
rather than opera, and take some lessons.
                                         Tom Moore STMOORE AT PUCC
From: lconrad@wilko.prime.com (Laura Conrad)
Newsgroups: rec.music.early
Subject: MASS: concert announcement
Date: 9 Nov 92 18:01:41 GMT

Harpsichord concert

Heritage State Park

Fall River, Mass.

Sunday, November 15, 1992

2PM

Harpsichord: Judith Conrad

Guest artists will perform on recorder, cornet, and crumhorn.

Including music by Rossi, Schein, Handel and Mozart

For more information call (508) 674-6128.

Reply-To: lconrad@cvbnet.Prime.COM

			Laura
Newsgroups: rec.music.early
Subject: RE: recorder care tips
From: NOREEN@UOTTAWA.BITNET
Date: 07 Nov 1992 18:06:09 -0500 (EST)
In-reply-to: Message of Fri, 6 Nov 1992 23:44:29 GMT from <GONTER@AWIWUW11>
Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT

I am a clarinet player - I just read the part of your post where you state that
you purchased the type of clarinet swab with chamais at one end with a brass
weight attached to the string. I used to use these also at first but I was
warned by my teacher and repair man that I should not use this type of swab on
my clarinets (a pair of wooden buffets) because the weight could scar the wood.
And that would alter the bore of the instruments.  I now use a cloth swab which
has a fabric "string" with the weight enclosed in the fabric.  This type of
swab is probably much to large to fit through the bore of your recorder.
However maybe it would be worth your while to see if you could cover the weight
of your current swab to keep it from scarring the bore of your instrument.
 
With regards to oiling:  When my clarinets were new I needed to oil them
pretty regularly.  You can judge this by the look of the instrument.  If it
the wood starts to look dry then it probably time to oil it.  Oil it lightly
inside and out.  I use my finger to distribute the oil and a soft cloth to
wipe it off I have an old swab for use when my instrument is freshly oiled
since the first couple of days there is some residue when I play.
 
I have a special bore oil and a special key oil.  Use caution with oiling! I
 over oiled my first wooden clarinet (a selmer) and had to have all the pads
replaced!  One learns.  I also keep a dampit in my case.
 
I use cork grease on the cork joints as needed.  Another note here: when I
first got my Bb clarinet the lower joint used to swell a lot making it  almost
impossible to disassemble the instrument after playing.  The joint had to be
reamed out by my repair man.  This may be something to watch out for on your re
corder while it is new.
 
I just clean my mouthpiece (although clarinet mouthpieces are not made of wood)
by letting water run through it without wetting the cork and wipe it out with a
 soft cloth.  I never pull a swab through it.  I would think that this is the
 same on the recorder.  Good luck.  Noreen
Newsgroups: rec.music.early
Newsgroups: rec.music.early

> 
> Zuckermann makes an Italian harpsichord kit -- in fact, if I recall correctly
> it is one of their cheaper kits.  I thought about it quite a while before I 
> got my Flemish Double kit.
> 

Does Zuckermann still sell kits? I was under the impression that
they stopped because poorly-made kits were bad for their reputation.

Tom

Newsgroups: rec.music.early
From: M10615@mwvm.mitre.org
Subject: Tous les Matins du Monde
Organization: The MITRE Corporation, McLean VA 22102
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1992 16:16:43 GMT

A Washington, DC preview showing of "Tous les Matins du
Monde" will be held on Monday, December 14 at 7 pm, under the
patronage of the Ambassador of France and Madame Andreani, at
La Maison Francaise, as a benefit for the Folger Consort.
 
The movie is about Marin Marais, the celebrated French viol player
and composer.  The music director is Jordi Savall, and the movie
stars Gerard Depardieu.
 
The evening will include an introduction to the film by Robert
Eisenstein, viol player and program director of the Folger Consort,
and a reception of champagne and canapes following the film.  The
cost is $60 per person, of which $50 is tax-deductible.
 
If you would like more information about the event, or you would
like an invitation, please call the Folger Consort office at (202)
544-7077.  Please mention that you saw this notice.
 
-Neal Plotkin
From: JIMMONTY@delphi.com (Jim Monty)
Newsgroups: rec.music.early
Subject: Text of Bach's Coffee Cantata
Date: 5 Nov 1992 16:30:41 -0600
Organization: UTexas Mail-to-News Gateway
NNTP-Posting-Host: cs.utexas.edu

I'm hoping to find the complete text of Bach's Coffee Cantata, BWV 211,
in English as an ASCII text file.  If anyone has it, I'd appreciate
receiving a "copy" by e-mail.  (I don't have access to USENET news.  I
posted this message via a USENET e-mail server.)
 
Thank you.
 
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Jim Monty              jimmonty@delphi.com               Tempe, AZ (USA)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Newsgroups: rec.music.early

> 
> I suppose the left hand is the problem.  My copy (Edition Henle) suggests:
> 
> 	1   3 1 2 1 2 1
> 	5       4   5
> -- 

This is a typical fingering that one finds in 'piano' editions. Here
they are implying that both lines be played in a single phrase instead
of applying any articluations (breaks in the phrase). It is natural to
break the phrase between the quarter note in the bass and the first two
eigth notes, for example. Then the fingering naturally becomes 5   5 4
for the bass part (or for wimps like me, 5  5 5).

Why do pianist insist on playing everything connected, even between bar
lines, as evidenced by the fingerings marked in the editions? It simply
doesn't make sense for this kind of music. Once one learns the historic
performance practises appropriate to the harpsichord, the fingerings for
this and other harpsichord music fall into much more natural and logical
patterns. 

Tom

Newsgroups: rec.music.early
From: scott@fido.cs.jhu.edu (Scott Smith)
Subject: Re: vibrato in singing early music
Organization: Johns Hopkins Computer Science Department, Baltimore, MD
Date: Mon, 9 Nov 1992 21:02:19 GMT

ST402808@BROWNVM.BITNET (Kim Plofker) writes:

> Different people
>naturally have different amounts of vibrato in their voices; a physics
>professor I know habitually does an amusing illustration of frequency
>fluctuations in waves using an oscilloscope and recordings of Joan Baez and
>Barbara Streisand, an excellent example of the variation possible in amounts
>of natural vibrato.

This is not a good example of "natural" vibrato, because both of these
people are professional singers.  A better example is next time you
are singing christmas carols or whatever with your friends and family,
listen to how the untrained singers sing.  Even better is to study
people from different cultures.  My interepretation of the data is:

1) In NA/Europe, untrained singers generally use less vibrato than
trained classical singers.

2) "Traditional" professional singers of other cultures use less
vibrato.  It is not constant as with western singers, it is more an
ornament.  Listen to recordings of classical Chinese, Indian,
Middle-Eastern singers and you will see.  Its a bit hard to tell with
Indian singers because there is so much ornamentation.  Modern music
in these cultures often has extensive vibrato.  Some Chinese "pop"
singers in particular use a lot of vibrato.

Other related observations are

3) Traditional Irish/Scottish folk singers I have heard don't use much
vibrato, neither do many country singers in the US, country comes from
folk music.  A somewhat unrelated point, country fiddlers use no
vibrato.  

4) Most historians agree that as little as 75 years ago much less
vibrato was in use in western classical music.  I think there are old
recordings that document this.

5) All of the earliest music still extent is sung with little vibrato.
Gregorian chant, Muslim prayer chant, Tibetan buddhist chant all have
very little vibrato in all recordings I have ever heard.

So, I conclude different people may have different amounts of natural
vibrato, but this natural vibrato is never of the degree exhibited by
modern classical singers.

>Personally,
>I think the prettiest sound for almost any voice is one that uses the natural
>amount of vibrato; why not focus on the style and repertoire that best suits
>your own tone?
>

I think the real question is what kind of training you have had.  If
you have been trained to sing with a wide vibrato, it might be
difficult to learn to sing early music.  Early music sounds ugly with
a big vibrato.  And, it also sounds ugly when the singer is
cousciously attempting to "purge" vibrato from their voice.  I have
played early music with numerous "modern-trained" singers, some learn
how to lessen their vibrato and still sing with a natural tone, and
others don't.


Scott
--

------------------------------
Scott Smith, scott@cs.jhu.edu
------------------------------
From: efosbroo@axion.bt.co.uk (Elisabeth Fosbrooke)
Newsgroups: rec.music.early
Subject: Re: vibrato in singing early music
Date: 9 Nov 92 15:35:19 GMT
Reply-To: efosbroo@zaphod.axion.bt.co.uk
Organization: British Telecom Labs

From article <1dkdapINN6u5@calvin.usc.edu>, by alves@calvin.usc.edu (William Alves):
>
> Part of my posting was questioning the "naturalness" of vibrato in the first
> place.
	...
> But what IS one's "natural amount" of vibrato? I think one's vibrato is
> the result of one's culture, listening from childhood, and training. (At
> least, I haven't yet seen any evidence to contradict this.) If we took
> all 18-year-old singers from around the United States and Europe virtually
> all would have a sizable vibrato, not because it's natural, but because
> that's what they've learned - consciously or unconsciously.
> 
> Bill

I find this all a bit puzzling. I'm not the only singer I know who has 
had to try to develop a little vibrato for when it's necessary (one of 
my friends has given up on the grounds that the only way she could do 
it was by shaking). Consequently, I've always assumed that vibrato was 
learned rather than natural. I've heard several boy trebles who have 
vibrato, but it's not common, and it's usually the very-trained.

It does seem, though, that even young American singers have quite a 
wobble - but then, over here we only hear the ones who are in fashion, 
and it could have been the fashion rather than the voices. Judging by 
this newsthread, either the fashion is more prevalent than I realised, 
or it is basic to `American style' - and there can't be only one style 
of solo singing in the US, can there?

Elisabeth
From: rags@triples.math.mcgill.ca (Robert A. G. Seely)
Newsgroups: rec.music.early
Subject: Re: Tous les Matins du Monde
Date: 14 Nov 92 05:48:01 GMT
Organization: /etc/organization


Tous les Matins du Monde was a BIG hit here last spring/summer - the record
was a best seller, and there were long lineups at the movies.  This for a
film about Marin Marais, featuring a score almost entirely of gamba music!
Well - apart from a few quibbles (the lack of realistic fingering on the
part of many of the actors was very distracting, eg) - this film is worth
it. (Worth $60? - well I don't know about that.  I paid (translating to
foreign currency roughly) $US 6 for the ticket and $US15 for the disk - and
that was fair.)  Certainly this is the best music video I've ever seen.
(Plot? - a trifle sacharine perhaps, but give yourself over to the filming
and the acting and you'll not regret it.)  Of course, the soundtrack is
excellent - Savall performs most and directs all, and is up to his usual
standard.  Highly recommended. 

- rags
From: craig@THINK.COM (Craig Stanfill)
Newsgroups: rec.music.early
Subject: RE: lute construction
Date: 12 Nov 92 03:52:04 GMT
Article-I.D.: clarence.9211121352.AA25149
In-reply-to: Your message of "Thu, 12 Nov 92 06:11:13 GMT."<9211121343.AA02876@Early-Bird.Think.COM>
Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT

>>         I am interested in constructing a seven-course lute from scratch.
>> I would appreciate any information/recommendations regarding a mail-order
>> wood supplier.(curly maple, yew and German spruce in particular).Any other
>> tips will be warmly received.
>>
>>                 dumky@jesus.questor.wimsey.bc.ca
 
I believe that I once saw an advertisement from Martin Guitar Company in
which they were selling instrument-quality wood.
 
- Craig Stanfill