PracticumEighteen: Installingthe Nut, Frets,and Strings
Photo1. The lute nutismade fronbone, ebon),ol other hard m aterial. Iloryhrd beenthc materialof choìcesincethe end oflhe 16thcentury,but is not normallyanacceptablcchoicetod,ìy.Markand cut the nutblanklo length. ForRcnaissancelutesthe rough x5MÌvlx80ríM. blank shoÙldbc approximately5À,lM Photo2. Flattenlwo sideswith I flat sandìngboatd or file and seethat it iìls tjghth into the nut rebate
Photo3. Tracethe shapeof the fingerboarclonto lhe nut usinga 1.2\4Ìúshim or spacel. Photo4. File or sandthe nut down to this traccdllne and rouîd over- Thc nul shoulLlbc ascloseto ar cxacl quartcr roundsectionaspossible.Thisheìpsthestr'ings sìideolcr it. The finallì1cstrokesshouldbealongthe lengthol the blank. 226
Photo5. Sandthc blank with 22i:ìgdt urúil snoorh. The endsshould bc roundedslightli'and alsosandcd smooth. Then sandthe enlire nut wirh dry4ll0 gdr. Photo6. Polishtbe nutwith a har.l cottonbullìng $heel aùdlire compound.Poìishoff ary Nbbing conrpoundresi.lue with a cleanrag. Photo7. Using"voùnutspacing tcÌnplate. markrhc nnngspacingonlo thc nut at the aporofdre radius, Nhereths srooves\\,illbe filed. Thc groovesof a lulc nul. unlikc thosefor agrirar orviolin, do not erirendIo rhebreak ovef poìnt olthe string,but arejust shallo$ notchesmidwayin the curvedsuúììceofrhe nur_The e\hemepegheadîneìe ofthc lute makesa dccp notch on the top of lhe nut unneccssaÌ.r'. Photo8. Wilh averyfine mouserailiìle,cut short, jhallow srovesinto the nul. Iuse nythumb asa gride hefeto makelhcgrovesmatchthe templatccxacdv. hecausee1€nsligbtdistanccs_ which one ùìighrnot nolice,cansignificantlyalterrhe fring spacing. Photos9 and 10. Polishthe grooveswilh a fine liren threadand iìne polishingcompound.Waxrhe nut with n icrocll,slallinewa\ and ir is finishcd. The lute nut is notgluedonto placeb ul held wirh slrirgpressureonlv.
Photo11. Using the fretdistanccconstructionorthe fret faclolsbelow,makea charl oî the fiet distances. Lay out thedistanceson the fiÍgerboard and markthesc locationswitha tily pin prick. Ever illhe lutenistplays in mean-tonetemperamcnttheywill be grîtefillbr thesereièrcncepoints.
Photo 12. Markwithasoft leadpenciltlìelocalionsof the bod],fretsif uscd. Using the ruler erìgeasa guide, placethe outsidemàrh lo locatethe exactpositioDofthe end ofeach fteL thcrcbyassuringalignment.These n1arks,although alhcmaticallt'correct,will ùsuallyìr.lbund a little shoÍ of their tonally coÍect position. ln order not to soundflat,the bodyfretslvilÌ need locatcdby ear. correctedpositions
Determìning Fret Positions luteis, ifproperÌy The neckofthc Renaìssance proportioned,long enoughto be tíe.lwith eightiiets p l - c e L l .. e m io n r i n r c n r l . .O t e r ' h ec e r t t ti t. . t r < r ch - \ e h e e n| " r \ l ' , r m ud . r n d m ( . l n d ' e i \ e l for layingou! fretson lutesand guilars,aÌl involving mu\rbl( lrJrsmrLlelr^r .\, 'rI pi(cesùfgul .l rirg tied aroundtheneck. Sincetheywerc not îi\ed, theycouldbe sljd a little up ordown the neckto changethe tenrperamentofthe insÍument. The authorsolsomc tutors,asin RobertDowland's l/aietie oÍ Lute Lessotls(London, 1610),and some composerssuchasHansGerlcinhist-va ren,n sÀeJ' ldinsîlichsLauîenbuch,(Nìrremberg,1552)give specificiDstruclionson the placingof someor all of the frets. Of à morc scientìficnatureare the instructionsby Juan Bermúdoin Dcckraciónde Instrumentes Musicales,(Osuna,1549,1550).The moderntemperedscalemakesanytotallyaccurate +rPrnl r.em-niimn,ì..ihìP
Surelythe mostelegantofthe ancientmethods fo1detemining ftet locationis "The Ruleof -lb Eighteen." constructùis, onc drawsthe IineAB, lhe lengthofwhich is the opcn srjng lengthofthe lute. ,Aperyendicularis constructedat A whichwill
be the nut position.An arc,with a radius1is of AB is drawnfrom 4 andwill intersectAB at D nndtlre pcryendicularatC. AD is thc dislancefrom the nut to the iìrst ÍÌet. Lìne BC isthen drawncreating triangleABC. ConstructDE perpendicularto AB. An arcis dftwn fiom Dwith a radiusequalto DE. Thiswill interscclAB at F,whichis the positior of thesecondlrcl. This confruction is repeaicduntil the numbcroilietpositions neecledaremadc The fbllowingftet factorsfor equaltemperament are givenby Stanle],Buclensin hìsexcellentarhcle "On Frctling a Lute,"/LS,4 III, 1970,pp.53 63. To usethis methoLl,shlply multiply the stringlengthb) ( î c \ a c t n rt , a r r i \ ( : , ct : r . hf i e lp o \ t i o n .T \ e semitoneswill,in all probabiiiry,be alittle sharp. A tor descriptionof what is happ€ningand suggestions i . L 1 F t t g . n e a d j r . r i n rgh ( . . . r . a . c u r J i - g e n e t 1 Domboisin his article"CoÍect and EasyFrel Placement"l|.S:M,1973, pp.30 32. 1) .05613 7).3325E
13) .52806 19) .66629
2).10910 3).15910 ,r) .20630 5) .2s084 6) .29289
1,r).ss45s 1s).5795s 16) .6iì3i5 1',7) .62542 18) .64615
8).37004 9) .40539 10) .43876 11) .47027 12) .s0000
20).68s02 21).70270 22) .71e38 23) .13514 24) .75000
The eightfrets on a Rcnaissance lute are gencÌallv arrangedso thal theydescendin diametertowardsthe body. I would qpicallyusethe follolviDgdiamereÍsl i) 1.00NrÌvi 2) .90Mr{ i) .85MM ,l).82MNr
5).79NrM 6).76NiM 7).73NrM 8).70MM
I lolvever,gú1vades,so don'tworry abo tbeingrea11y e\act.ThemiinpointstoconsidcrarethaftheIstiicr sho!ìldbe large,the 2ndfretshould drop considerablvin dìameter,and oachofthe restshouklbe about.03NlM sn1allerthan thcprecedìnglf the lutehas avery high action,that is, if thc hoight ofthc strirgsabovethe fingcrboardat theneckòorly join is,lbr eÌample,ìn tlìe vicinityof 5N[,! then itwould be better to tie onlìetsofa more constantsizeor cvcn rhesaùìesize.lI. or the other hand,the actionis low. thena larger1l fret together$'iú a biggerdrop betweenliets and endingwitha.66MMmight help. The ultm-sirìplefret knot I usewasshownto úe by Jacob\andc Geest,who presumablyfirstusedit. Photo l3. tseginbyburningthe cnd ofthe pieceofgur shich you intend for thc lst liet. This fuscsrhe strands of sut togetherso theywon tuntwist, and swellsup the end so the knotwoÍ'l slip. Iuse a soldcringifon but a matchoralcoholflamowill alsowork.Trf a 1.10M\a for the 1l iict. Photo14. With thc lute standingon irs trebìeside facingawayfrcm you,passthebumed end ol rhe iier ùnderthe sldngs(if it hasstdngson it) and pull it free ofthe neck. Tie an overhandknor (sinply rhc iilsr half oi a "gran , knoC'or a "squareknor") and run the knot out to near tho erd of the ùel cut. Passihe olhcr end of îhelengthol frct g tthroughthcoverhandknot.
Photosl5 and 16. Slidetheîrerto theplaceor rhcneck shere the nexthigherfret will bc. Pinch rhe frer lighrty to the neckand pull down on thc lengthofgur unril rhe knottightensup. Continuetopulluntilyou thinkthe gut mjght bÌeîk and rhenreleaseit. lt shoukl.lraw slightll,backth rough the knot. Clip rhc extra lenglhot cùt olllcavinp a stub abouttwo diancters in lergth. 229
Photo 17. Bur'Ìlthe little stub endsuntil lhcy swellup and are brown. Thiswill preventthe end iiom slipping backlhroughthe knot. Phofo18. w}ìen they are cool,about rwominutes,the liets canbe slidinto thcircorrect positions.
Photo19. Anachronific thoughtheybe.bodyftetsate usuallyrequestedby contempoÌaryllrtenists. Tò completethe octavein aRenaissance lute wouldrequire lbur. If used,theseftcts shouldbe narrow and tlin and madeofavery hardwoodsuchasebonyor boxwood. Photo20. Beginby planinga pieceofebony to.68MM thick. Then. holding it in the benchvise,planeone edgeÍuc, thatis,flatand sqLrare. Photo21. Using a kdfe an.l straightedge. cut offa strip about l.5N{Mwidc.Replanethe edgcaùdcut another strip. Continueuntil a dozenorso stdpsare made-
230
Photo22. llind that itworks bestto cul lhlj srip partialry'.with the kdfe. saytwo or threecuts.and thon !o breakil thc restof the wayoff- The cul cdec tcndsrc) be straightcltlis wal'. Photo23. Holcl the stdpscdgewisein ashallovcroove salvninto a srxx)th, hardmapÌeboard. Thc groove mrìstbeeriactly1.20MN{ dcep and.70\4Nr u'ide. One of the ebonystripsisplaccdin the groove.cut sideúp. Planeit dowll until theplînejust glidesover the block. Photo24. Thenlile il to cxactlyl.20NrM.
Phofo25. Bevelthe end with i'our knife and cut the iicl io length. Photo26. tseveltheolhcr cnLìandthen,withaven sharpscraper,round the lop edgcofthe fret. Photo27. Prepareall the iiclsÌou are goingto use. I decrease the lengthftol11sixcourseswideat the 9thlicl downtojust lhrce courseswideat the 12thlìct. These hìgherfretsaremost oftenneededîorthciiÉtrwo
231
Photo28. Hold eachiier in placeand rrl, it, with rhe chantrelletuned up topitch, to checklhe intonation. AJ'u he ^.J(.uIrntrrk T ] ì c n u. . i rq . thinnrier asa gúidelbrìocation and to ensure str.ìightness, glue the ftets down to lhebelly. Hold thc fret firmlv agairsttheruler and downonto thebcllylor aboutfifteenseconds. Photo29. Then lift the ruler ancl,placingir overthe liet, pressdownfor an additionalfift-vto si\ty seconds.
Photo30. Immediatelycìeanofftheglue squeeze-oul with the end ofthc ruler.
Photo31. Thelinishedfreh shoukìberelarivelvorderh lookingandmoreorlessflat. Someheightadjustmenl or levelingto eliminateanybuzzingis to be cripectedin the final adjustmentsatìer lhe lute hasbecnstrungup andtuned.
l'Ìn sureTdon't needto tcllyou that historìcallLrtes wereoricinalì! strungwirh gut Strings-From arcient aîdmcdievaì timesup urtjlthe Rcrîissanccperiftl the compassof strirgedinstrumerì!s wasljmited to five oi si\courses,àndyou canbe sure that thc lastìrasscoursecouldn'thîr,e souùdcLìàswell asthe othe^l During tho Latc Renaissance periodscveraltechniques lveretried to makelhcweak soundofrhe bassstrjngsstronger.Plain gul. cvenhigh Íristgul, which is a little nore llc\ible for itscliamelcr thanlow twist,jusldocsn,t wofk r€rJ wcll by oLLtsrandards. Catlinesare conjcctured10havebeen sonc lhing of an answer. 'Iòday.rhesearc ìnàdebytwistingthree(somerimestwo or n)url separatcwer gut srdngstogelherinto a ropelikc string$'hiclìcanel]d Lrpwirh quitelargcdiameters. Theyseem to have beenusedbeginnlnglarein lhe 1órlìcenrùry. lor. asexample, the 1581Venele 7 course haslring boìesvhichwoukl accepr catlincs (it is.ofcourse, possibìe rhallhe stringholcswereddllcd out largcrata liìler date). Dudrìgthe earlyBaroqueoÌ ìry Ló1iì 1620allcasr,catlincswefecertainl)ìn 1rvor.anclespociallyirFraÌrce.renlainedso urtil the end oflute plaling there. Clurrent researchbyVlimlno Perutlo (AquilaUS^ PO. Box8276l.Ponland.OR 97282)suggcsrs thar"loadedlrrings mighr alsohavebcona possibilit_!. Finl usedìn rhe late l6th orearly 17thcentul1.theseloadc.l frinqs hale beenchsmicalhrcared !obc hea\'jer(a net gahh nìass).ftììs rsdonebI ioakrrethemin a bathoflerw meral rrhìrions\!lìichwouldatach nólccularlvlo rheprolcin fibers. Thjs acldilionat .r\, eiÈht (massperunitlcngth) wouldalkrwrhcsame Lli.rÌnete r slrircs to be 1une.1ìo$rer. By thc middleofthe l7ú century, insÌÍumcntswerobeingbuilt with srring lenglhandconlpîsscombin!rions\\,hjch rolrld onll solrndusingovclspunst ngs. Ihesencw stliìgs rvouldlìarc beennrado wilh a coreofsilk fbss overspunwjth iine coPpcr,srh€r.oÌ gold$irc. These ovefspunstftngsrernaincdrhe tavoriteof lì1oststringplaversunlil and includingthe prcsenttime. Usualll,.lhecorel1l:rterialot nodorn stringsis nvlonflossard tlìe co! crìnp$,ire is silver,plaredcoppcr. Ihcre is considerablecontroversr coùcerningthe useofsul\,crsus pla;tic 1n)'.lor)strir gsor histoticaìli'-based influments which.uniìfiLrnately,often ovorshadows the realproblen which is thc \,aryingDecdsofdi crentplaycrsplayingir divel1se siluations.Conve.rionLìt $ isdonr
Dcrcrmi ing Srring Tension Thefollowingformulalion Dr. I lclmut Hemrinshausis useflrl t t".In\,,r, gr' .-,,r. . de nr Ii grlìe(n.i..r.,T rt. c,r. .nb''cter.r^).t,rer.pu .lri-j.i..r.,,rfl(\ mathematicaìoperatiù andwill rotbe coYcredlere.) fxlxd=cxlÈ c=constant(1orgutuse 49 and for nylon use54) f=frequeùc,-in Hefiz (H, l=vibratinglengrholstring in mclers (N,r) d=diametcr ofstrìngir millimerers (À,rNr) k=ten\ion' of string in kihgrams (KG) E-Ìamplc:What $ould be the con.eddianeter of a nvlon c ' r " - r . . v l ì i c -r \ t . \ e l ! - ( ! r , , c t . . ' 2 r . . . u l r q l r i . h . , . à stmg lensù of62.Nr(.62ju)and a proposeclrensionof.l.0Kct fx lxd = c: ':1,rk 392x.62!,:ì= 54: ra?
- 1:lzxo:y a =1s+''],r+1
'l'he iollowingtàctors.alsoiìom Dr. I{ermirghaus.areuscful lbr deterntiningtensionclìrnges\thenpìtchcrargc! arc maoe.
Intenal lìrst mìl1or third majorthird louúh
lncrease 1.000 1.122 1.26L793 l.415 r.-5EE 1.780
Decr€ase 1.000 .891 .701 .630
Example:A sfiùg hasa tensionof p=2.000K.r ar D'. What is the tcDsionìlthe pitch ìs raisedro f'? As rhe tore F is a mjnor third higherthànrhe torìcD', the tìctor. accordingto tho table abovc,is 1.:115. Pr - 2.000((; = 2.ti0(c Ì', = 1.000r(cx1.415 E-\ample:The tensionofrhe entire stringirg is 6[ìKG.What is the increasein tcùsionif thc runineis raisedby a se itone? Pr = 60(.ì = 67.300r.c P. = 6f)KGxl.222 .\ìother rNclul formulalionl t|c good Dr. Herminglìaustejls us lhe changcìn tensionwhenrhc st ng lengthchangcs. P.= P:(L.1Lr)l Eranplc: Wha! is the changein tersion ofar idcnricatsring \\'hrchat a lengthof62.iNr(.62M)hasa tensionof2.000KG? P,=Pr!(.rjs\J1.ó2M)l P. = 2.00[ìKGx 1.2-- ].,100Kc The tensionhasincreasecl i.om 2.000KG to 2.400KG with thc changein strìnglcngrhto 6.qcNr (.68Àr). \
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sa_!s that lutessoundberrer\\,hcnslnrngandpl:ì.-edwith gut slrirgs, and nrostlutenists$ ould. I believe.agtee wjth this. There are.ofcourse,exceptionsto thisrulc b r r e \ e r - . r c n ì ^ r r . n r h . r h (e e . r \ c . a l _ . . u l drawìracks to usingor1,!sut fri gs. Cul sldùgserc expensive.Theycanbe hlo to threetimesthe costof plain nllon strings(or more).and callincscof ant$,hereftoln $111oS38caclìl Ar a rule, gut strings doù'1lasl asÌong.crceptingfbr c:ìtiine\,u'lich don't cverseemto losetheir nusìcal qutllitics.lrcccntN heardsomecatìinesI radein l9lJl whichharu ouer constantl,\, in tulìe ard regularlyplayctl,ami horvcver ursightlythet mìght be.the-r'fìll soundLrcat. .Also.$t sldrìgsarc leLTsusceptible to changesin lempcralurc and humidlt\. makingthcn 1ìr more .lifiìcult to keep in Thc choìccofstings for lute! is toda],greatcrthanit lìasìreenfor perhapsthe lasillì0lcar. Cood overspun stings rre nradebr Savarezhon1 f ncc(Savarez,B.P 4356.69212LlonCedex.+.Frincc) and Pyramidffonl Ccrlnan! (Saìtenuîd StìnlmpieilLnidbrikJungel CmbH. PO. Box 6. Il-910ltEBÌtbcmcuthErlangen. German]). I useLa Bella L te nyìontrebleswhìcharc lar superiortuanvotherl've11ic.l anLllcss expensive tool The La Bella o!cÍpun bas\esIfind ratherinfcrior to theS.rlarczrnd P\'r'amid anddon'trecom cndthcm. Asampleofstringingfora 22rV (ói.9c\t 8 course lute alA=:1.10H2. would be aslòllorl,s.Thisis,r medium hìgh tÈnsionwhìchis the lensionI plrn ior $'henI dcsignmy ìutes: l)
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Photos32 and33. I beginbytyingallofthe sldrgs ontothe lutebrìdgc.Makethepegboxasncatîs pos\ible,and be ccrtaintlìLìtnone ofthe strirgsovert:rf anvof the olhers. Cut off rhe lefroversting îrne the lute abouta lìLìlfsteplow for thc ti$r fe\\ lìoursor so-then bdng it up to full rension. I lind thfu thislittleperìodollowertensroIr helpsthc lutefjnd ilt !îice soorer than it otherwisewoukl.
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ErlangenSeriesLute Plans Thc lollowirìgscvcùlule planswcre dmwnbyRoberl Lundbergto accompanythe "Historical Lute serìeswhen it nn inAnaican Lutheie. Clonstruction" Eachofthese plansis avaiiabìefron the Guildof AùcricaÍ Lulhic$ asa Iull sizcblacklhe pinl. Conlacl the CAL ollìcc or wcb pagclbr lull inibrnation. ThcscdÌawingsdo notncccssadlydcpictany ( \ n I r É I r \ r r un i r r . L \ i , . r l \. ú - p J r ( r r . ' n i . . ' n f' n thc originalinstrumcnlsmaybe projcctedùom availablc evidence.Somelatitudehasbeen takent(r makethem practical,workable instrumentssitabletomodern players-Pìeasealsonotetlattle drawjngsareoot presentedhereat anyparlicularscalc,
Theseplansare designe.lto be ùsedin connectron $'ith the inftÌnation containedin thisbook. Each drarvingpresentsthe essentialinformafion neededto makea particularnodcl oÎ lu lc. A nunbcr of details will not appearon the drawings,becausethe]'are develope.tfion principlesandrelationshipswhich are erplaine.lin the text. Someofthesemissirgdeiailsare: the outlineofthe cap,thejunctureofthe ribsandcap. thewa],the ribs flow togeiherat the neck,the patternof the rosette,detailsofthe treble andbassbals,fine pointsof bdclgeconstruction.pegs,consructionof fbrlìls,mat€Ìials-thicknesses, andfinishes.
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8-csBassLute,Dieffopruchar ca.1600 GALInstrumentPlan#19 ErlangenLectureSeriesPlan#3
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10-csRen.Lute, Dieffopruchar1612 GAL lnstrumentPlan#20 ErlangenLectureSeriesPlan#4
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7-csRenaissanceAlto Lute,Venere1592 GALInstrumentPlan#21 ErlangenLectureSeriesPlan#5
13-csBaroqueLute,Dieffopruchar ca.1600 GAL InstrumentPlan#22 ErlangenLectureSeriesPlan#6
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14-csArchlute, M.Sellas1639 GAL lnstrumentPlan#23 ErlangenLectureSeriesPlan#7
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AncientLute Makers LauxBoss(Bosch):Arelativeof LauxMaler. He workedin Maler'sshopin Bolognaabout 1530,but nearFùssen. apparentlylater returnedto Schongau, Several(altered) lutesby him survive;he is mentioned in the Fuggerinventory.
MichielleHarton (MichaelHartung): Padua,flourished at the end of the 16th century. Severalwonderful lutes in original condition survive. Tiained in Veniceby Leonardo Tieffenbrucker,the father of Wendelinus Tieffenbrucker.
Magno Dieffopruchar (MagnusTieffenbrucker): Venice,flourishedin the secondhalf of the 16th century.Dated instrumentsrangefrom L516to 1670. The first known luthier namedMagnusTieffenbrucker settledin Venicein 1519and died there in 1560.His luthier sonMagno died in Venicein1576. At leastone other Magno Dieffopruchar headedthe famous workshopearly in the l7thcentury. Many other family membersby different names(for instancePaolo,the son of Magnojunior, and Moisé,brother of Magnojunior) alsoworked in the shopbut their instrumentsappearto havebeenmadeand soldwith the "Masno Dieffopruchar"label.
Johann ChrÍstian Hoffmann: b. 1683Leipzig, d. 1750. One of the mostimportantviolinmakersof his time. Builder to J.S.Bach. Violins and lutes.
to JosephusJoachimusEdlinger: Sonand successor ThomasEdlingerII. He trainedasaviolin makerin Italy, and rebuilt Renaissancelutes in the Weissstyleas hisfatherhaddone. ThomasEdlingerlI: d.1729. Aviolin makerin Prague who wasperhapsthe most important converterof fine Renaissance lutesto 13-courseconfiguration.He likely wasinspiredby the lutenist SilviusLeopold Weissto createthe bass-riderbox for the 12th and 13th courses of strings,and probablybuilt the first examplefor Weiss in 1718. Hans Frei: Bologna,flourished in the middle of the 16thcentury. Known from severalextant instruments and various authorsincluding John Evelyn in his famousdiary. Recentarchivaldocuments(summaryin the recentbook by PasqualandRegazzi,Le radici del dellaliuteria a Bologna)revealhim to be a successo Germanwhom the Bolognesecalled Giovanni Franchi. His two sonstook over his shopafter his death and madeFrei lutes,aswell asguitarsand theorboes,well into the 17th century.
Martin Hoffmann (father of Johann Christian): b. 1653Leipzig,d.1719. Maker of violins,gambas,and lutes. \ Hans Jordan: Markneukirchen,Saxony.The most prominent 20th-centuryGerman lute maker before the revival of lute making accordingto historicalprinciples in the 1970s. Laux Maler (Luca Maler, Laux Maller, LucasMahler): Alute makerworkingin Bolognabeginningca. 1518, who died thereJune 5th,1552.One of the mostfamous and important lute makersof all time. Built 9-ribbed luteson the "pearl mold" shape.Formedan association of mastersand pupils in 1530which built well over a thousandinstruments. Matteo Sellas(MathàusSeelos):Venice,flourished during the first half of the 17th century. Many extravagantinstrumentssurvive,built of ivory, or ivory and ebony,or snakewoodwithinlaid necksand pegboxes.Theorbos,archlutes,and guitarssurvivefrom this very activeworkshopor association. LeonardoTiefenbrucker: Brother of Magnus Tieffenbruckersenior,father of Wendelin (Vendelio Venere),andfounderofthe greatPaduanVenere workshop. JoachimTielke: Hamburg,b. L64L,d. l7 79. Maker of violins, gambas,lutes, and guitars. Many of his extant instrumentsare made of preciousmaterialssuchasivory and are lavishlyinlaid.
GeorgGerle: Innsbruck,flourishedfrom 1569to 1589. His singleextant instrument is signed(in German), "Georg Gerle,His RoyalHighness'Accountant in Innsbruck." Court recordsshowhe built several instrumentswhile in Innsbruck.
Marx Unverdorben: Venice,flourished first half of the 16thcentury. Teacherand relative of Laux Maler. Severalbeautiful lute bodiesby him survive,particularly in London andBarcelona.
Magno Graill: ApprenticedwithRomanluthier MagnusBuchenbergand took over the workshopwhen the elderluthier died after 1600.Severalvery fine, large Romantheorboesbyboth makerssurvive.
WendelioVenere(WendelinTieffenbrucker): Padua, flourished from 1560îo 1620. The first Wendelin Tieffenbrucker-whose namethe Italians apparently couldnot pronounceandthusbecameVendelioVenere - probablyapprenticedand eventuallytook over his fatherLeonardo'sshopin Paduain the middle of the 245
century.He died before1591,but the Venerelabel continuedto appearin lutesmadeby his successors (his nephewChristophoroEberleandgreat-nephew WendelinEberle) until at least1611.More lutes survivefrom this workshop than any other, with many examplesin fine originalcondition;alsotheorbosand bowedinstrumentswere made. An associationof severalmastersandpupils.
A Noteon the Spellingof Makers'Names The text containsa numberof inconsistencies in the spellingof ancientmaker'snames.There are referencesto LeonardoTiefenbruckerand WendelioVenere,but there is alsoa facsimileof a label (p. 28) which saysVvendelio Venerede Leonardo Tiefembrucker,plus there is a Vendelinus Tieffenbrucker,and a Magno Dieffopruchar. The authormentionsaVenere associationseveral times,and alludesto the possibilityof therebeing three Magno Dieffopurchars.What'sgoingon? Sincewe couldnot consultMr. Lundberg,we asked his friend and fellow lute historian DouglasSmith to help us through this tangle. Here is someof what he had to say. Somemakerswerenot consistentin spellins theirownnames.and thisis complicated'by archival documentswhere anotherindividual,perhapsfrom a different country,refers to the lute maker with a different spelling(or misspelling),or a different name altogether. It wasalsocommonfor the lutes of a particular shopor associationto carry the name of the founderof that shopregardlessofwhich builderor buildersmadethem. The reasonis probablythat the founder'sname,like Henry Ford's, had establishedthe imageof the workshop,and it mayhavemadegoodeconomicsenseto continue usingthe namelong after the founderdied. Furthermore,a typicalshopmayhavehad at least one apprenticeor family memberworking alongside the master,doingless-skilled work suchasturning pegsor makingcases,andin somedocumentedcases (VenereandMaler) therewerefour or more,so many luteswere likely to havebeen the result of a collaborativerather than a solo effort. Our examplesaboveare the luthiers of the Tieffenbruckerfamily. Leonardo and Magnus Tieffenbrucker I were brothers,sonsof Ulrich Tieffenbruckerwho emigratedfrom Fússento
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Venicein 1519.Magnusstayedin Venice,probably takingoverdad'sshop- he wasprobablythe older son- and Leonardowent to Padua,whichwas ruled by Venice. Over a periodof abouta
[email protected]), therewere at leastthree different Masno Dieffoprucharsin Venicewho would havecalled themselvesMagnusTieffenbrucker in a German environment. The Italians couldn't pronounce Tieffenbruckersothey createdDieffopruchar. Mang is the Germanname(there'sa monasteryof SaintMang,the patron saintof Fùssen,by the castle on the hill at the top of the town). Magnusis the Latinversionoften usedby Germans,and Magno is the Italian version. As noted in Lundbers'slist of ancientlute makers,other luthiersprobaÉlybuilt under this labelaswell. As for the Tieffenbruckerswho lived and worked in Padua,WendelinTiefenbrucker,son of Leonardo, appearsin one placein the text,with a Latin version of his first name,asVendelinus Tieffenbrucker. The Paduanscreateda different namefor him altogether,VendelioVenere. (This renamingphenomenonwasnot uncommon.In Bologna,for instance,archivalrecordsshowHans Frei to havebecomeGiovanni Franchi.) Lundberg rendersVendelioVenereasWendelioVenere,for the mostpart,but thereis alsoVvendelioVenere, andthe labelwhichreads"VvendelioVenerede Leonardo Tiefembrucker." As it turns out, all of theserefer to one builder,and to an association, or school,of makerswhoproducedinstruments bearinghis name. Rather than trying to tidy up an inherently messyorthographicsituationwehavedecided,for the most part, to usethe namesand versionsof namesastheywerepresentedin the original Am eic an L utherie articles.
