Kapsberger Toccata

[kkallebb]

Is that a copy of the Venere 1611 theorbo?

[TheCrazyLutenist]

what type of theorbo are you playing there? It looks a bit smaller than some theorbos I've seen, and it looks quite practical (as practical as a theorbo can be...)

[Gealach74]

really beautiful piece and played!!!

bravo!

do you know where can i find it with standard notation?? i would like to play it on baroque harp

thanks

Vicente

[TheCrazyLutenist]

This has to be my favourite theorbo piece. Are there any adaptations for the lute?

[craigalake]

Not that I'm aware of but I,m sure it can be done.

[chapmaninthemoon]

Very nice playing and beautifully phrased. There's definately something to be said for this kind of sound, especially for continuo, though it's really the opposite of what I go for in my playing.

Did you also try this piece using the arpeggio pattern Kapsberger prescribes?

[craigalake]

I have played with Kapsberger's pattern as well but only after I had posted this. I hardly play any solo stuff at all, mostly continuo. I really enjoyed your Scottish lute piece. I have a long to go to be as accomplished a player as you on theorbo.

[chapmaninthemoon]

Thanks!

[LutenistDeMari]

Hey craig! tis Oskar here. Nice to hear you on the theorbo. Mine is arriving tomorrow, an Italian one made by Marcello Armond-Pilon. I've got no nails though!

[craigalake]

Hi Oskar, good to hear from you. You must be looking forward to that! Are choosing to play with no nails or you just haven't got any at the moment? What does Tommie Anderson use? Hey, I'd like to hear your comments on my BWV 998 that I just posted. It's the set work for Tokyo guitar comp. this year so I'm interested in your feedback.

[LutenistDeMari]

I've switched completely so yes I'm on the no nails diet. Tommie uses no nails, you can hear him if you search youtube for 'tommie anderson' or if you search 'theorbo' (he is the moustachioed guy on a monteverdi vid.). I will certainly check out bwv998.

[craigalake]

I met Tommie last week at the "Fire and Water" Brandenberg concert in Perth. He's a really nice guy.

[lucisuciu]

...superbe ... and Kapsberger sounds incredible modern ... actually I composed recently a Toccata which is quite in the same "tone" ...lol ... I remember when I saw the opera " Divizione del mondo "by Legrenzi at Innsbruck Early Music Festival in 2000 and I had the same impression , which is that some of the pieces where so close to what we name today "cult - pop music "...great Craig !

[craigalake]

Thanks. I played this recently in a concert here in Perth and a colleague of mine commented that it's strange that the classical period actually came after the baroque (of course it was partly a reaction to it). The harmonies were far more interesting and experimental and dissonant in the baroque. There are actually major 7 chords in this which perhaps give it the "modern" feel. Was the piece you mentioned "Bluff Tone Toccata"? If it is I hear what you mean. I like it.

[lucisuciu]

yes , it was about " Bluff Tone Toccata " ...I live in a small town in South Carolina named Bluffton ... so it was a great opportunity to give her such a title ...I'm also happy ( and quite proud ...lol ) that you like it ...as you mentioned , after a long while I realised how great musicians were the ones who lived in Renaissance & Baroque era :Dowland , Narvaez ,Francesco da Milano ,Mudarra, Luis Milan , Corbetta , de Visee, etc were so incredible inventive and modern in their art ...

[lucisuciu]

.. in 2003, after I completed my master in musicology with my disertation in the field of Early Music (about the life & creation of Francesco da Milano ) I realised also how difficult it was then to improvise for example( "in a minute" ) a fantasia like da Milano or for instance to write better music than Dowland , using in harmony only dissonant chords of suspended 4th 's and so on ... they were giants !

[harmonicusdivini]

It sounds as a simple Guitar .... I'm afraid you are a guitarrist rather than a Theorbo player. so why to use this instrument??...

[craigalake]

You are right, I am just a guitarist. Why use this instrument? Because I enjoy its rich sonority!

Perhaps you can enlighten me on what I can do to improve my Theorbo playing (and avoid sounding like a crude and vulgar guitarist) as the nearest Theorbo teacher to my city is more than 3000km away in Sydney.

[craigalake]

Nothing constructive to add? I wait with anticipation...

[DuoContinuo]

oops - so sorry - the best theorbo player did move some years ago from Perth to Berlin - (what a luck for me) !!!

i guess you know him, he now had developed a high level of perfection, his live-interpretations, cannot be compared with anybody else, espec. at the most complicated kaps/picci/cast masterpieces.

but, YOU have a great feeling for the music in general you will learn it also, ignore unqualified comments from people never tryed to play the beautiful instrument!

regards from Berlin

[craigalake]

Was that Matthew Jones perhaps?

[baroqueworm]

not perhaps ;-))

[craigalake]

Not perhaps...???

[DuoContinuo]

hi craig, M. is pretty known in our ancient music scene, thus, the worm was faster with his respond...

[craigalake]

I see, I thought baroqueworm may have been Matthew himself. I have never met him but it was partly hearing about his success with theorbo that led me to try it.

[DuoContinuo]

by the way, Nigel North`s book should be citated very carefully today, because he has some distance to many of his earlier statements.

it was recomended to me for theorbo playing, to have the nails only for supporting the fingertips. the string should mark into the fingertip, slipping over this, and the nail gives only a very fine (or nearly non) final action. finding of this optimum nail length for an individuum is a process of seveal weeks, and the nails have to be corrected every day. - S.

[harmonicusdivini]

Dear Craig, I'm sorry if I offended you with my last comment. But I would advice you to change the position of the right hand by placing the little finger on the soundboard and then cut your nails. The choise of tuning, pitch, and the set-up of stringed instruments could all be seen as part of the Renaissance and Baroque performance practice, but even if appropiate instruments are selected, wrongly applied techniques can mar the sense of decorum.

[craigalake]

For practicality I must stay at A=440 and I am first and foremost a guitarist therefore cutting the nails is not an option but on the theorbo nails are acceptable. However Nigel North says "Nails. As already mentioned nails were often used, and can give a sound which has good attack and clarity... ...Modern guitarists should note that the theorbo is an ideal instrument for them to attempt as it has none of the problems caused by the double courses of the lute."

[ThisDream]

If you play meet with anti nail criticism just say: piccinini!!! and hold up the sign of the cross and the fiendish early music vampires will hiss and back away.

[craigalake]

And please do not judge my tone in this performance from the video camera audio. It is not a harsh naily tone.

[ThisDream]

Hey Nice to hear you met Tommie. He is cool. I played his vihuela the other day and I'm having my own made soon! Gotta Looove the vihuela! Hopkinson smith comming soon to melbourne and I'm playing for him in a masterclass. Weiss suite in D minor

[craigalake]

Great! I have been listening a lot to his recordings of Gaultier. It is an awesome recording. I am doing my research project for uni on Gaultier and have been transcribing some of his pieces for guitar.

[kpcart]

you played it much slower at uni today. the sound quality on your recordings is very good.

[DuoContinuo]

however, HERE is the meditative character of this masterpiece worked out very impressive and NOT blown away by to fast changes of the harmonies - as some other "virtuosos" like to do ... THANK YOU ... i like this version very much!

i feel a great lack for easy (and interesting) pieces for beginners at the theorbe like me. i play mainly chaconnes and bergamascas, any recommendations are welcome ;-)) best regards from Berlin - Siegfried

[craigalake]

Thank you! I'm sorry, I can't recommend much as I have only been playing the theorbo for a very short period and this is the only solo work that I have played (although I did play the prelude from the Bach cello suite in G which I thought worked well on theorbo). Mostly I have been playing continuo from figured bass in small baroque ensembles and a few songs by Caccini as part of my studies at university. Anyway, thank you for your postive comments.

Regards from Perth, Australia,

Craig

[DuoContinuo]

ok Craig,

as you are a specialist for continuo playing - you may explore some of our contributions here on youtube (DuoContinuo), kindly considering, that we are bloody amateurs. especially i did not learn anything on classical guitar techniques - almost from the beginning i tried only continuo playing and have been staying happy with this for many years now ;-))) .

[Kerintune]

Beautiful, Craig! is your CD out, yet?

[craigalake]

Not yet but before the end of the year. I'll post a video promoting it when it does.

[crudosoy1]

WOW Craig!!

Lovely lute and great plying!

Keep posting

All the best

Santiago

[BbMinor]

Hey Craig!

Wonderful playing! :)