RICORDI . . 7 Antologia di musiche rinascimentali e barocche per chitarra Anthology of Renaissance and Baroque Music for Guitar Anthologie der Renaissance- und Barockmusik fur Gitarre Fascicolo I - Volume I - I Heft (Eliot Fisk) RICORDIPREFACE This anthology includes 3 Fantasies (originally for vibuela) from the Spanish Siglo de Oro and 3 lute Fantasies by 100 of the greatest masters of the lute, Francesco da Milano (aptly dubbed "il divino® by bis contemporaries) and Jobn Dowland, in whose work several centuries of lute playing found their culmination. ‘Any modern edition of 16th century music for plucked stings must address the problem: of translating the tablature into modern notation, It's not just that the modern editor bas to reconstruct the voice leading; be also needs to be sensitive to the actual sound of the old instruments. For example, in Luis Milan’s Fantasia XXII from El Maestro, 'm. 98, itis impossible to physically sustain the low G. Still, the vibuela with its double strings seems to sustain this note “sympathetically”, For this reason and because t makes more sense musically I have notated the passage like this: =T F In such cases my notation tends to be idealistic. One confronts a related problem when transcribing the lute music of the last decades of the 16th century. We know that the extra courses or diapasons that were added as renaissance style gave way to early baroque were generally tuned in octaves. However, in some places the otber bass courses were tuned in octaves as well. As John Dowland says in bis forward to The Varietie of Lute Lessons: "Tt hath become a generall custome (although not so much tied any whereas bere in England) to seta small and a great string ogetber. Neverteless, Doveland bimselfis clearly opposed to this: “Amongst learned musicians that custome ts left, ax irregular to the rules of Musicke...” or as he puts it earlier “The Bases must be both of one bignes..” Despite Dowland’s preference, some people were clearly using octaves, and in one place (m. 3 of the Fancy transcribed here) I couldn't resist simulating this effec: oT Sixteenth century lute books often contained compositions by a variety of composers - Robert Dowland’s Varietie ‘of Lute Lessons, which begins with seven Fantasies by seven different composers is a case in point, Although the present collection is historically a bit improbable, I've found it to work well in performance. Finally, the use of a capo at the second or third fret seems to transform the sonority of the modern guitar into something resembling the ethereal sound of the old instruments: thus the paradox that by slightly altering the “original” one comes closer to the composer's intentions. Eliot FiskLuis Milan FANTASIA XXII (1535) ‘Ni may aespacio ny muy espriesa* dtd yy 2 134827i 1 Samim i ami Oe amimimy a 4 5 iF , pami img gid 6 134827@ cm 92 = = 4 4 Free T ® Lg 4 “al 184827134827Alonso Mudarra FANTASIA (1546) 134827134827134827Desda aqui hasta agerca del final ay Algunas 122 falsas tafiendo se bien no paregen mal * “Da questo punto fino ala fine ein, incontiano alcune false relazion we ben suonate, non ssutano male. From bere ntl near to the end thore areca few crs relations. Played well, they don? seen bad. ‘Yon hier an bis em Ene stot man au einige false Verbindungen: en sk gut Resp werden, Klingen se cht schlecht 134827Luys de Narbaez FANTASIA DEL PRIMER TONO (1538)Francesco da Milano FANTASIA 2 a 4 3 d Ore: 134827John Dowland FORLORNE HOPE FANCY +e 134827cr ev or 2, J a : aes Ee See eer ost + Pipi P mipi pi 134827134827John Dowland FANCY To sote® o4134827134827RICORDI . . . Antologia di musiche rinascimentali e barocche per chitarra Anthology of Renaissance and Baroque Music for Guitar Anthologie der Renaissance- und Barockmusik fiir Gitarre Fascicolo IT - Volume I - IT Heft (Eliot Fisk) RICORDIPREFACE The present anthology picks up where the first volume left off. Not only is the thente of Molinaro’s Fantasia prima the same as that of the Fancy of Dowland that closed the first Anthology, ane confronts an extension of the difficulties in transcribing lute music for the modern guitar. By tuning the sixth string to D one ts able to do justice to the two sunny fantasias of Molinaro as well as to the magnificent arch of the Fantasia of Gregorio Howett whom Jobn Dowland commends in bis First Booke of Songes... (1597) fr his “love to me as for (bis) faculties’. With the compositions of Piccinini and Weiss the use of the lower courses becomes considerably more extensive as do the changes necessary to adapt these works to the six strings of the modern guitar. Piccinini’s 10 course lute til had an accordatura whose intervals resembled those of the guitar; by the end of the 17th century the lute had acquired 3 additional courses and the tuning of the upper courses had evolved into the so- called D-minor tuning which remained standard until the end of the Baroque era. This és also the instrument that inspired Jobann Mattheson’s famous satirical remark: "If a lutenist lives to be 80, he bas surely spent 60 years tuning the lute and fixing broken strings!”. However, Ernst Gottlieb Baron offers quite another picture when he says that the lute in Wetss's hands achieved full parity with any keyboard instrument: “He [Weiss] bas ant uncomt- ‘mon fullness of sound in arpeggios, in expressing the alfeti he is incomparable, he bas a stupendous facility (Fertigheit’), a rare delicacy and singing spirit; be i great improviser who can in a minute if be so chooses play the most beautiful themes and even read vtolin concertos at sight... either on the lute or the theorbo, and can also ‘accompany from the basso continuo.” To more clearly approximate the sound of Weiss’s lute I have transposed both pieces published here from C to D-major ‘Ass invariably the case when adapting Weiss’s music to the guitar, a number ofthe low bass notes so idiomatic to the lute have been raised an octave. Occasionally, where musically justified and technically possible, I have transcribed both notes of a bass course (i.e. in cases where Weiss would bave played one course with the right band thumb but have obtained the fundamental and the octave above). Ix addition, I bave tried to find a fingering that preserves the feel of the original especially as regards the styl brisé (arpeggiated style). Sometimes the only way to really simulate this effect is by means of harmonics. Of course, these harmonies should be played very delicately, imitating the sound of the lute. I have also written out some possible ornamentation. The player is, however, urged to develop bis own, using other pieces of Weiss and his contemporaries as inspiration. It is entirely within the aesthetic of the baroque that no 2 performances be alike. This is clearly exemplified by the ‘mostly unmeasured Fantasie, which gives us an idea of what Weiss sounded lke when improvising. The beaming of the notes here is only my suggesiion based on the harmonic structure. There exist other groupings which are equally valid, The player might start with my suggestions and then experiment on bis own. ey Eliot FiSimone Molinaro ( FANTASIA PRIMA (1603) por pre zaory 1 a) 1848552 $cen eoGregorio Howett FANTASIA (1610) PI 2 11, , ¢——_—_—_, J ?1348557 OF zo os a0 tos, ? ° TA IIA 4 3 7 mn] —II}) PIII ° 2028 4340 34020 445 of 10 2 = i ? ° ? o240 Mo, D340 ZA 20 2042 Laois ors AD s04804 im 1403Simone Molinaro FANTASIA NONA (1603) @ Fat @Rke oh sot sors %tso Hl HI HI 7 oto ° 5, 3 ato Tire Pte ete CET Pay mao TRO RA ORS taors 4 © 326 134855re) 184855Pioraot ? ; —y! hil) liAlessandro Piccinini TOCCATA UNDICESIMA (1623) Ont @ke iit —wH —a8 FH sniff ft ul aI |S 134855 71s 0 ipi Pimimimi ey 3 P @xve oP Pom pee ® Pipi pimi i alll eeeesuenaee eee 134855Silvius Leopoldus Weiss FANTASIA E FUGA (1720) J . ay pe amit» “eps ee OF ar SE F yg ooeo at a > O® a2 ws tae pepe Z2 aida = S FO 000000 F Te lalal ee Set es ® a 2 ‘ae Ty “eee ee T + 7 re ¥ foor® 00 184855= ©@OOOF aie OF @ 03 5 cv “ $ "= 5 cr 4 = ee a TT, ‘a eel Ppl va 8 =O 0 ov w 3° OF t @®@ OO a ggiomy y Ith eet ye 7 fo @0® oer Fe 3% pple fi ee ‘a 3090 Beet! oer ne = ie) == oi ‘Fo © @O0 ® A. e SP <5 200. putts meee? “Fe ae4 ae é0 ; Pa ei FRR oe eis . 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