Lombard mando-lute
David Kilpatrick
be their model 800
Lombard mando-lute - a nylon string, six single course, peg tuned,
scalloped fret soprano
lute. I'm tuning this in an open chord at the moment, rather than in
fourths, simply because
it suits the Scottish lute and mandour MS stuff I am playing.
It's a very bright and versatile little instrument, bigger than a Scots
mandour and a bit close
on the fingerboard (string spacing) so not especially easy to play. The
scalloped frets give
a very clean sound and some scope for pressure vibrato but on this scale
length, string
tension doesn't really allow that.
Anyone know these instruments, or have any idea what the correct normal
use in context
for one would be? I have my own uses which are amusing but not all that
authentic. I'd like
to know what their historic 18th c (so Musikalia say) heritage might be.
I purchased a 1984 litho print in the States last week at an antique
mall. It is signed by
Gottliebe (looks like a modern signature) and is called 'Music for
Strings'. It shows a c1770
Broderip or similar English guittar, incorrectly strung but authentic in
fine detail; a recorder;
a fiddle; some unidentifiable music; and one of these small lutes,
almost identical to mine. I
would guess it is a modern painting, in Dutch still life style (if it is
a repro of a real 18th c
painting I would be over the moon, but that signature does not look 18th
c). Since I own and
play 18th c English guittar (Simpson of London c1770) and now also own a
repro mando-lute
just like the picture, finding this was a strange coincidence. The print
is not too badly faded
for a cheap repro, I threw away the frame to get it back home and will
have it flattened out,
trimmed, laminated and re-framed. I even have a broken old fiddle, but
no baroque recorder!
David in Scotland
Thomas Scharkowski
Thank you,
Thomas
David Kilpatrick
> Could you give the dimensions, string length etc.?
>
The URL for photos of the instrument is:
http://www.musikalia.it/en/catalogue/instrument_card.asp?ID=94
This does not give dimensions but does give a
tuning, in sol-fa:
gbead'g'
which is guitar-lute tuning basically
The dimensions are mandolin scale length - 30cm approx
As far as I can see, there is not much reason to
use a guitar tuning since chording is extremely
cramped and difficult on this instrument (harder
than on a regular mandolin, as the tuning pegs
interfere with the left hand on 1st position
chords). It also seems to respond better as a
plectrum or quill played melody instrument anyway,
and to benefit from the resonance of an open
tuning (which would be totally appropriate for an
18th c instrument anyway).
Just wondered who they normally sell these
instruments to!
David
Thomas Scharkowski
<icon...@btconnect.com> wrote:
>Just wondered who they normally sell these
>instruments to!
>
>David
Hi David!
The instrument looks like an early 19th century 6-string mandolin.
This was popular in northern Italy and Vienna. Its "ancestor" was the
baroque mandolin, which has the same tuning, but double strings and
which is the original instrument for the famous Vivaldi Mandolin
concertos.
Thomas