6-course lute after Gerle

6-course lute after Gerle
SOLD

string length 56.5 cm, lightly-figured Swiss elder with rosewood spacers, and the neck is also solid elder, boxwood pegs, Engelmann soundboard, pear bridge, spalted holly fingerboard trimmed with ebony, laminated plum pegbox, reinforced case with brass hardware.

(Click for larger image)

Sound sample for the six course lute : Piva by Joan Ambrosio Dalza

The back is old-growth elder from Switzerland, and the neck is the same. The pegs are boxwood, modelled on a painting from 1500. The pegbox is laminated from plum wood and holly. The bridge is Swiss pearwood. The fingerboard and peg-box backing are both spalted holly. The top is Englemann spruce from Revelstoke, B.C, a beautiful piece of wood, whose fine grain enabled me to cut a very small rose with a lot of details. The rose pattern is found in a 19th Century French book of Arabic ornaments, and it closely resembles the ones used by the Fussen lute makers of Germany.

The case is custom made for this instrument, from birch plywood which is heavily re-inforced with hardwood barring, lined with foam and red velvet, with matching hardware. The case is made with a special piece of wood that enables you to hang it on the wall easily, and simply open the case, withdraw the lute, play and replace it. You simply lift it from the wall to carry it anywhere.

Only I have played this instrument, it is nearly new, and I removed and replaced the soundboard once to improve the action. It’s now perfect for easy playing, and this simple instrument can be played very fast and easily. It’s ultra-light and responsive and would suit a student very well. There is a wealth, thousands of pieces by English, French, German, Italian and Dutch composers of the 1500’s. You may play the many folksong-like pieces by Dowland on this instrument. It makes playing many of the most demanding passages much easier than on a larger tenor lute. The music of Capirola and Dalza has a particularly good sound on this lute.

The price is 3800 CAD, there is no tax and the shipping and insurance are specific to the destination. I ship in a heavy cardboard box, double walled and lined with packing material.

 

All instruments built by Clive Titmuss come with custom-fitted cases.
Prices do not include shipping and insurance.

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If you have any questions about the instruments, please contact me.

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