Lutes, Viols and Other Ancient Instruments
Blog URL http://lutesandviols.blogspot.com/
Located St Paul, Minnesota USA
Tags instruments, music, ancient instruments, unusual instruments, early music, lutes, viols, renaissance, medieval
Information on early music and instruments from around the world.
Latest Blog Posts
- The Tromba Marina (Trumpet Marine) on Aug 6, 2009 in Trumpet Marine
"I cannot help but laugh at this unearthly instrument" -Heinrich GlareanThe trumpet marine isn't very trumpetlike in appearance. It's a long instrument with only one string. It's not even blown like a trumpet, yet it sounds kind like a trumpet. This...
- Theorbo on Aug 5, 2009 in Lutes Paintings Theorbo
Lady with a Theorbo by John Michael Wright (from the Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts, Ohio)The Theorbo is a type of lute with a long neck extension and two pegboxes. It was developed in the late sixteenth century to provide an extended bass range and a...
- Very Ancient Flutes Found in Germany on Aug 4, 2009 in Flutes Archaeology
Archaeologists say they have discovered the world's oldest undisputed musical instruments, four flutes made from vulture bone and mammoth tusks. They are estimated to be around 35,000 to 40,000 years old and were found in a cave in southwestern Germa...
- Quick Links About Unusual Instruments on Aug 3, 2009 in Quick Links
Here are just a few items that caught my attention lately.Visit the Symphonic House.Play the virtual Hapi drum. (Just click the notes to play.)See The Saw Lady. Take a tour of this collection of unusual instruments.Read about Five Intriguingly Unique...
- A Small Gallery of Lute Artwork on Aug 3, 2009 in Lutes Paintings
The Lute Player by Orazio GentileschiThe Ambassadors by Hans Holbein the YoungerJester With a Lute by Frans HalsThe Lute Player by CaravaggioWoman Playing the Lute by Johannes MijtensDie fünf Sinne by Lubin BauginThe above pictures are all believed...
- Unusual Keyboard Layouts on Aug 2, 2009 in Harpsichords Alternative Keyboards
The modern piano keyboard, with twelve keys per octave, has become so commonplace that we aren't used to seeing alternative versions. The modern keyboard is simple and efficient, but it is far from the only possibility. Imagine practicing scales on t...
- Bach's Forgotten Horn, the Lituus on Jul 31, 2009 in Lituus
What in the world is a lituus? Apparently, it's an instrument, but we don't have any surviving examples of it. We don't even have any pictures of it. About all we know is that Johann Sebastian Back called for two of them in his cantata, “O Jesu Chr...
