23 String Harp-Lute That I Have Made

Antique_Guitars

Right I tried to post this yesterday and everything went wrong and it deleted everything I wrote so I wil just post the pics now.

This instrument was built for my research MA the title of which is:

The Harp-Lute In Michael Praetorius's Theatrum Instrumentroum: Interpretation and Reconstruction

If you have any questions about who Michael Praetorius was and what the Theatrum Instrumentorum is feel free to ask away.

The instrument itself is a bit rough in places, but to be fair it was bloody difficult to make and I have no prior experience of lute making (for which the instrument is at the high end difficulty level in regards to construction) so for a first attempt it is a fair go.

The instrument was made using a woodcut from 1620, there was no scale information or anything else for that matter other than a brief description stating that it is 'A unique lute played in the manner of a harp'. There was a 200 page dissertation that accompanied the reconstruction so feel free to ask any questions you like.


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ddlooping

Very impressive, Sheldon.

steamabacus

I think a 'wow' is deserved! Do you have any recordings?

Antique_Guitars

No recordings yet as it is still settling in, it may actually destroy itself at full pitch. This is one of the things discussed in the disseration, having an unsupported neck with 23 strings is pretty crazy really and something you just don't see. In reality the original instrument probably destroyed itself after a period of time.

However im hoping it will survive long enough to be played as I am doing a presentation for the Lute Society in November and they want a lutenist to do a performance on it.

If this is succesful then I shall have a video of that performance :-)

JookyChap

Wow indeed - think we need an awesome button.

Clearly needs a Bigsby, but other than that...

Antique_Guitars

Oh and I made everything apart from the strings and strap button.

I turned the pegs myself on a wood lathe.

The string are real animal gut hence they cost about £170.

Antique_Guitars

JookyChap said:

Wow indeed - think we need an awesome button.

Clearly needs a Bigsby, but other than that...

That would probably hold it together properly so I'm game!

axisus

That looks incredible. Amazing bowl back. Have a wow from me!

TTony

This post has a fair chance of being the most "wow"ed post on the forum.

And deservedly so!

Megii

That is incredible - I can't believe how many strips of wood there are to make that beautiful bowl back shape. How does it sound?

octatonic

Good work Sheldon!

fatherjack

Very impressive.

Does your dissertation consider the accuracy of the original woodcut?  Drawings from that time could sometimes be a fairly loose representation.

VimFuego

wow, that is all

Jalapeno

Awe inspiring !

RocknRollDave

"What are you guys tuning, a harp?!"

I don't think my Boss TU-2 has a setting for 23 string lute-harp. It'd take me until your presentation in November just to tune the thing.


Great work though, "impressive" doesn't come close.

Antique_Guitars

fatherjack said:

Very impressive.

Does your dissertation consider the accuracy of the original woodcut?  Drawings from that time could sometimes be a fairly loose representation.

Right this is a bit rushed and all over the place as it is complicated but basically............


Of course :-), there was an entire chapter titled 'The Art of the Woodcut' which discussed the process and also the relationship between artist, block cutter, publisher and customer/patron. It was also mentioned in several other chapters as well. In fact I was even able to put forward a viable theory for the identity of he individual responsible for the cutting of the woodcuts as it is not stated in the publication (this also explored his reputation and quality of work).

In regards to this particular publication we can be fairly sure of its accuracy because of several factors that I shall explain below.

The Theatrum Instrumentorum is a collection of 42 woodcut plates depicting musical instruments its was published in 1620. It is the appendix publication to Praetorius's Syntagma Musicum Volume II  which discusses instruments of the time in great detail.

The two publications combined are probably the most important and accurate sources regarding 17th Century musical instruments and musical practice known to exist.

What makes the Theatrum Instrumentorum special is that it is the oldest known treatise on musical instruments to contain an accurate scale bar (Brunswick feet and inches). Of the 42 plates 16 do not contain the scale bars, this includes the plate containing the instrument I reconstructed (the reason for this is discussed in detail in my dissertation) the other plates without a scale bar are depictions of ancient instruments or organs and they are in the publication just for completions sake.

Praetorius states in the introduction to this publication that it is:

Including all musical instruments old and new, foreign, barbarian, primitive, and obscure, as well as native, artistic, pleasant, and familiar. Their nomenclature,  intonation, and characteristics, their correct representations and precise reproduction, useful, necessary, and essential not only for organists, instrumentalists, organ and instrument makers, but also entertaining and delightful to read for philosophers, philologists, and historians.

This statement that representations are precise is backed up by the fact that there are extant examples of many of the instruments depicted in this publication in museums around the world. Using the scale bar on the depictions of instruments and cross referencing the measurements with extant instruments have proved that the vast majority of the woodcuts are accurate to within very small tolerances in many cases

unfortunately there in no extant Harp-Lute and there has never been any period mention of the instrument other than in this publication  so really at the moment there is no way to prove how accurate the woodcut is other than relying on the accuracy of the other plates.

The other thing to bear in mind is that Praetorius was a very strict Lutheran, in fact his father was a Lutheran pastor and a direct pupil of Martin Luther!!!

From what is written at the beginning of many of his publications, Praetorius believed it was his duty to God to produce accurate and detailed work and it was his calling to work as hard as possible. This is reflected by his enormous output of compositions, something in the region of 5,000 during his life. He also was extremely busy serving various courts and doing other work, he was in reality a kind of minor polymath.

Antique_Guitars

RocknRollDave said:

"What are you guys tuning, a harp?!"

I don't think my Boss TU-2 has a setting for 23 string lute-harp. It'd take me until your presentation in November just to tune the thing.


Great work though, "impressive" doesn't come close.

Funny you should say that as I had to buy a Korg OT-120 orchestral tuner to be able to get it to the correct pitch for the period and cover the range.

GuitarMonkey

A Wow! from me, that looks like an incredible piece of workmanship.

Is it wireless? I can't see a lead.

Phil_aka_Pip

wowsers!

would you use baroque tuning ie A=415 Hz to save stress on the neck?

ChrisMusic

What can I say - amazing , just amazing !

sinbaadi

It's a thing which looks almost as beautiful as it appears ungainly!

It looks like a great project and you have something which, I'm assuming, is completely unique?