Newsgroup: it.arti.musica.classica.mod
Titolo: l'arciliuto, questo sconosciuto......

Archlute
(Fr. archiluth; Ger. Erzlaute; It. arciliuto, arcileuto).
A generic term for lutes with fretted courses tuned like the Renaissance
lute, and with extended, unfretted bass courses (diapasons). The archlute
differs from the THEORBO mainly in that the body is smaller and the first
and second courses are at lute pitch rather than an octave lower (this was
possible because the string length was shorter). The term 'arciliuto' was in
use in Italy before 1590; it is not known precisely what form of instrument
the term then implied, but the prefix 'arci-' indicates some form of
enhanced lute, the extension of the bass courses (for greater volume as much
as for additional notes) being the most probable enhancement. The various
early archlutes preserved the tuning, double stringing, octave bass courses,
and musical role of the Renaissance lute; consequently they were often
simply called 'liuto'. Contemporary paintings show some lutes with a short
neck extension bearing a second bent-back pegbox, and some with extended
diapasons attached to the bass side of a single, straight pegbox. By the
second decade of the 17th century some archlutes bore a short form of
theorbo-like extension with its characteristic shepherd's-crook head
carrying double-strung,
octaved diapasons about one-and-a-half times the length of the fretted
courses. This development coincides with the first appearance of the term
'liuto attiorbato' (theorboed lute) which is the normal modern term for
archlutes of this kind, following Spencer's classification (1976). Both the
term and this form of the instrument gradually disappeared in Italy around
the mid-17th century.
1. Types. 2. Repertory.
1. Types.
Alessandro Piccinini, in his Intavolatura di liuto of 1623, claimed to be
the inventor of the arciliuto, and objected to the term 'liuto attiorbato'
because it falsely implied a derivation from the theorbo. A ten-course
archlute of 1595, by Wendelio Venere of Padua (probably Wendelin Heberle;
see TIEFFENBRUCKER), and now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna,
matches the experimental instrument described by Piccinini. It is radically
different from the liuto attiorbato in that its diapasons were extended by
lengthening the body rather than the neck, and fitting them to a second,
independent bridge placed some distance back from the main bridge carrying
the fingerboard strings. Finding this design unsatisfactory, Piccinini and
his luthier made subsequent instruments with a neck extension; he did not
describe its form, but it is likely to have incorporated either a second
bent-back pegbox or a modified single pegbox, either of which can be fitted
without compromising the design of the lute's body. The liuto attiorbato
with its theorbo-style extension co-existed with alternative types of
archlute during the 1620s and 30s, but gradually became dominant as the
number of courses increased, because the alternative designs could not
accommodate extra courses so readily.
Until the 1620s archlutes usually had up to 11 double courses, six or seven
of which were fretted. Further diapasons were added between 1610 and 1615
but were not widely adopted until a generation later. By the 1630s liuti
attiorbati with seven stopped courses plus six or seven diapasons were
usual, although P.F. Valentini, writing in the 1640s (Il leuto anatomizzato,
MS, I-Rvat), still mentioned the 11-course type. Surviving liuti attiorbati
range in size from alto to large tenor. Typical stopped string lengths are
58-9 cm (alto), and 66-7 cm (average tenor), with diapasons of approximately
85 cm and 95 cm respectively. The lower neck is relatively long, joining the
body at the tenth fret or higher, and the body is short, and also wide to
accommodate the long bridge. The resulting round, squat body is
characteristic, especially of the alto size, making it possible to identify
specimens that have been rebuilt into other forms. Most surviving examples
were made by Matteo Sellas in Venice between 1637 and 1649; these may owe
their survival to their atypically elaborate decoration.
Archlutes were known outside Italy, but were never common. Mersenne
(Harmonie universelle, 1636-7) illustrated an 11-course luth à double manche
or arci liuto, erroneously labelling it tuorbe in the main text, and
correcting himself in the errata. The terms 'luth en tuorbe' or 'luth en
théorbe' are found in several 17th-century French inventories, some of which
specify the instruments' Italian provenance. Evidence from luthiers'
inventories shows that many Italian lutes were rebuilt in Paris in the
French fashion (with a backward-curving upper head, chantarelle rider, and
long, open-backed lower pegbox). These were long in use; a manuscript
(Suonate di celebri auttori; I-Bc EE.155.I) compiled by Filippo Dalla Casa
in 1757 illustrated one and included music for 'arcileuto francese'.
Mersenne suggested a single re-entrant course on very large archlutes, and
such instruments were influential in the development of the French theorbo
in France. In Germany, Praetorius (Theatrum instrumentorum, 1620)
illustrated a ten-course Laute mit Abzugen: oder Testudo Theorbata with six
stopped courses and four diapasons, all double; the strings pass over the
bridge and are anchored at the base of the body, suggesting metal stringing.
Although many surviving liuti attiorbati have been converted to this by
shortening the neck and sometimes canting the soundboard, none appear to
have been purpose-built.
Another form of archlute, developed by adding a longer, single-strung
extension to a tenor lute, had proportions similar to the Italian theorbo
but was smaller overall. This development is impossible to date accurately;
most, perhaps all, surviving specimens are conversions from earlier lute
forms. They have six rather than seven double stopped courses; their
diapasons are approximately twice the length of the stopped strings and are
always single (their length precludes the use of octave strings and renders
them unnecessary because of the longer strings' powerful sound). This type
corresponds most closely to the modern archlute, many of which are copied
from an example dated 1610 (the extension may be later) by Magno
Tieffenbrucker (iii), now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. This has
six double courses at 67 cm, and eight single bass courses at 145 cm, and is
tenor-sized with a ten-fret neck. A final type of archlute was developed in
Rome in the late 17th century, characterized by a larger body, relatively
shorter lower neck and longer extension than the types described above. The
few surviving examples, clearly in original form, are as large as the tuning
permits, solidly built with relatively thick soundboards and often hardwood
backs, to produce a powerful, penetrating sound. A fine, late specimen is
that by David Tecchler (Rome, 1725), now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art,
New York (fig.2). Purpose-built and converted archlutes with long single
diapasons were predominantly used for playing bass lines and continuo.
All archlutes shared the same relative tuning of the stopped courses as the
Renaissance lute (unlike the theorbo which had a re-entrant tuning), and
were used for solo music and, to a lesser extent, for bass lines and
continuo. A tenor-sized 14-course instrument was tuned
F'-G'-A'-B'-C-D-E-F-G-c-f-a-d'-g'. A 13-course instrument lacked the lowest
note. Sometimes the bottom courses would be re-tuned to supply missing
chromatic notes to suit individual pieces. Alto-sized instruments were tuned
a tone higher overall (G'-A'-B'-C-D-E-F-G-A-d-g-b-e'-a').
2. Repertory.
In the first half of the 17th century, solo music for the archlute was
printed in tablature by GIOVANNI GIROLAMO KAPSPERGER, PIETRO PAULO MELLI,
CLAUDIO SARACINI, ALESSANDRO PICCININI and Bernardo Gianoncelli (Il liuto,
1650/R). Archlutes were intensely cultivated in Rome, fulfilling a wider
range of musical roles there than elsewhere in Italy. Payment records from
many Roman institutions, especially churches, frequently mention arcileuto,
liuto, leuto, liuto attiorbato throughout the 17th century and for at least
the first decade of the 18th. Archlutes accompanied voices in conjunction
with an organ and violone, and were also used as solo instruments or in
ensembles, to provide short instrumental interludes during church services.
In Rome, references to the archlute outnumber those to the theorbo, although
both were sometimes used simultaneously to support different choirs of a
polychoral work. Not surprisingly much of the archlute's repertory is linked
to Rome; the instrument was used for bass parts and continuo in cantatas,
operas, oratorios and various instrumental genres, by Marazzoli, Virgilio
Mazzocchi, Colista, Stradella, Corelli, A. Scarlatti, Handel and others. Its
ability to play full chords in a high tessitura was exploited in continuo
arias with a high bass line, e.g. A. Scarlatti's Tigrane (1715). Obbligato
parts occur in Handel's aria 'Cor fedele' (Clori, Tirsi e Fileno; 1707) and
in oratorios by the Roman archlutenist and composer Nicola Francesco Haym. A
small repertory of concertante works with archlute parts includes two trios
and a concerto by Vivaldi. An anonymous Italian manuscript of about 1720 in
the Robert Spencer Collection contains a Sinfonia a solo di arciliuto and
two Concertini per cammera con arciliuto obligato, violini e basso, in which
the archlute part is written in staff notation, use treble clef for solo
passages (written an octave higher than sounding pitch) and figured bass for
tutti sections (fig.3). Giovanni Zamboni's collection of Sonate
d'intavolatura di leuto (1718), written in tablature, is the last published
solo music for the instrument.
Outside Rome, references to the archlute as a continuo instrument are
uncommon until the 1680s, when the rise of the trio sonata boosted the
instrument's popularity. Corelli's collections of Sonate da chiesa (opp.1
and 3) specified 'arcileuto' for the bass part (not the continuo); his many
imitators copied this detail. Non-Roman reprints often substituted the
theorbo, and foreign reprints sometimes blurred the distinction between bass
and continuo instrumentation. Borgir argued that Corelli's instrumentation
is evidence for the archlute being primarily a single-line instrument rather
than a chordal one. This is true of many obbligato parts, but trio sonata
bass parts are figured as comprehensively as the continuo. Contemporary
descriptions and surviving archlute parts suggests that the bass line, like
the top part, would have been embellished, either chordally or melodically.
Although the archlute was frequently specified in trio sonatas and related
genres of instrumental chamber music during the 1680s and 90s, it is rarely
mentioned in print outside this repertory. Contrary to some authorities, it
never supplanted the theorbo, which was more widespread geographically and
chronologically, and had a broader repertory. Corelli's works were partly
responsible for assisting the archlute's spread across Europe. References to
it appear in France and the Low Countries in the wake of Corellian fashions,
and it acquired a short-lived popularity in England around 1700.
articolo a cura di LYNDA SAYCE

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Int.mo, Ale: da dove e' tratto?
LUX

 ha scritto nel messaggio
news:aojqg0$6a0$1...@attila.bofh.it...


da un celebre diz. che sarebbe meglio non citassi, sennò mi fanno sospendere
dalla lista degli abbonati.
L'autrice è riportata in fondo.
Ad ogni modo, peccato che non si possano postare immagini.
Una riproduzione dello strumento ci sarebbe stata bene.
'ao
A.

 wrote:
ehm.
ho appena scritto un post nel quale mi lamentavo di non poter postare
immagini.
Eccole qui: 
http://www.vanedwar.macunlimited.net/spencer/html/
arciliuto, tiorba, chitarrone e anche articoli: una manna di link!
A.

Eccole qui: 
http://www.vanedwar.macunlimited.net/spencer/html/
Cmq io, o anke tu o voi..., posso aprire un gruppo in Yahoo dove si
possono pubblicare foto e file...
1 giorno o l' altro lo faccio...
LUX