the lute instructions of jean-baptiste besard.pdf

The Lute Instructions of Jean-Baptiste BesardAuthor(s): Julia SuttonSource: The Musical Quarterly, Vol. 51, No. 2 (Apr., 1965), pp. 345-362Published by: Oxford University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/741275 .

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THE LUTE INSTRUCTIONS OF JEAN-BAPTISTE BESARD

By JULIA SUTTON

J EAN-BAPTISTE BESARD (c. 1567-c. 1625), a peripatetic Bur- gundian gentleman educated in Italy who worked in Germany, was

a man of wide interests; he seems to have been at once a jurist, a physician, and a lutenist. He was responsible for five books, two published in Cologne in 1603 and 1604, and three published in Augsburg in 1617. The volume of 1604 was part of a series of collected historical documents: Mercurii Gallobelgici, sive rerum in Gallia et Belgio potis- simum Hungaria quoque: Germania, Polonia, Hispania, Italia, Anglia, alijsqu [sic]; Christiani orbis Regnis, & Provincijs ab Anno 1598 usq; ad Annum gestarum.' One of the volumes of 1617, the Antrum philosophicum, was a large compendium of medical knowledge of the time. The other three publications concern us here.

The first is Besard's Thesaurus harmonicus divini Laurencini Romani, nec non praestantissimorum musicorum, qui hoc secolo . . . excellunt, selectissima omnis generis cantus in testudine modulamina continens

... (Cologne, 1603).2 It is a major collection of lute music in French tablature containing 403 compositions divided into ten books according to genre. The music is for solo lute, or lute and voice (three compositions are for two lutes), and represents twenty-one different composers. In addition to the ten books of music, Besard appended to the Thesaurus a set of instructions on how to play the lute, the De Modo in testudine

1 This collection of European treaties and international legal documents enacted between 1598 and 1604 was one of a series brought out by Gerhard Grevenbruch, the most prominent printer of his time in Cologne. Grevenbruch had printed Besard's Thesaurus harmonicus in 1603 at Besard's expense, and one may speculate that Besard, acting on the basis of his training as a lawyer (he had been granted a Licentiate and Doctor of Laws by the University of D1le in 1578), undertook the editing of these historical documents in order to pay for the Thesaurus.

2 Joseph Garton, J. B. Besard's Thesaurus harmonicus (unpublished doctoral dis- sertation, University of Indiana, 1952), has transcribed a portion of the contents and made a study of the Thesaurus.

345



346 The Musical Quarterly

libellus. As might be expected, the music from the Thesaurus found its way into many other collections of the period, both printed and manu- script. What is rather unusual is that the lute instructions also attained considerable importance. In 1610 Robert Dowland included an English translation of them in his Varietie of Lute-Lessons.3 The instructions also appeared in various MSS, e.g. Hainhofer's collection for lute of 1603 and 1604, with the examples transcribed into Italian tablature.4

The success of the Thesaurus and its instructions apparently led Besard to publish another collection of lute music with instructions, the Novus partus, siue concertationes mvsicae . . . (Augsburg, 1617).5 The collection, in French tablature using the G tuning, consists of only 59 compositions, but it is of considerable interest because 24 of them are for lute ensemble (twelve for three lutes and two voices or viols, twelve for lute duet), forming a major contribution to this rather unusual medium. The lute instructions are also significant: they are an emendation and expansion of Besard's instructions in the Thesaurus, under a different title: Ad artem Testudinis breui, citraque magnum fastidium capescendam, facilem & methodicam institutionem hisce subiecit."

The Novus partus, with the Ad artem, was published in September 1617. Earlier in the same year, in June, Besard had brought out a

pamphlet called Isagoge in artem testudinariam. Das ist: Griindtlicher Underricht/uber [sic] das Kiinstliche Saitenspil der Lauten.7 Despite

3 Facsimile ed. published by Schott, London, 1958. Dowland entitled his translation "Necessarie Observations Belonging to the Lute, and Lute-playing." This is a good translation of the De modo, with very minor changes, but its floridity follows the original to such an extent that it remains difficult to understand.

4 Philipp Hainhofer, a prominent citizen of Augsburg, a European diplomat, and an indefatigable diarist and correspondent to whom we are indebted for much information on this period, wrote (or more probably had someone write for him) a large and beautifully illustrated collection of lute music which was never printed. The title of the collection is Lautenbiicher, darinnen begriffen gaystl. Hymni, Psalmen, Kirchengesting und Lieder so von vilen gueten Maistern in italienischer tabulatur auf der lauten zu spielen. It consisted of twelve books of varying sizes in two volumes (564 pp.), in Italian tablature. Wilhelm Tappert, Philipp Hainhofer's Lautenbiicher, in Monatshefte fur Musikgeschichte, IV (1885), 29-34, reviews the collection very critically; its chief claim to fame was apparently over two hundred fine copper engravings which by the time of his writing had been removed and placed in various museums. Hainhofer may have had Besard's instructions copied into his collection because of friendship with their author. In the dedication of the Antrum philosophicum Besard states that he left Cologne for

Augsburg to be with Hainhofer, his friend and former fellow-student in the arts. 5 New Volume, or, Musical Concerts ... 6 Short and Methodical Instructions in the Art of Lute-playing: Brief, and to Be

Learned Without Great Weariness. 7 Method in the Art of the Lute. That is: Basic Instruction in the Art of Playing

the Lute.



The Lute Instructions of Jean-Baptiste Besard 347

the Latin in the title, it is a set of lute instructions in German. Although it has an earlier publication date than the Novus partus, it is a free translation and emendation of the instructions therein (the translator, known to us only as "I. N.," was obviously also a lutenist, and added some of his own comments to Besard's).

Many inaccurate statements have been made with regard to the two Augsburg lute publications, e.g. that the Isagoge is a second edition of the entire Thesaurus harmonicus;s that the Isagoge is Besard's second treatise on lute pedagogy;9 that Robert Dowland's Necessarie Observa- tions is a translation of the Isagoge;`o and that the Isagoge was published in 1614.11 The exact musical contents of the Novus partus have been known to a few scholars (Chilesotti among them),12 but even here we can still find errors in recent publications-e.g. Boetticher is wrong in his comparison between the composers in the Novus partus and the Thesaurus13-while in older articles the errors are legion.

To recapitulate briefly: Besard included in his Thesaurus of 1603 a set of lute instructions, the De modo in testudine libellus. This was translated into English, with minor changes, by Robert Dowland in 1610 as "Necessarie Observations Belonging to the Lute, and Lute-

playing," which appeared in his Varietie of Lute-Lessons. In 1617 Besard included in his Novus partus a revision of the De Modo, the Ad artem, which also appeared at the same time as a separate pamphlet in German, the Isagoge.

Since the instructions of the Novus partus may be considered to represent Besard's final thinking on lute techniques, they will form the basis of our discussion here.14 As we read them today, we discover that their applicability to modern lute and guitar playing is still fresh, and their comments on the foibles of teachers and students are universal.

8 Auguste Castan, Note sur Jean-Baptiste B&sard de Besangon cdlebre luthiste, in

Mdmoires de la socidtd d'dmulation de Doubs, Ser. 5, I (1876), 27 f.

9 L. de la Laurencie, Les Luthistes, Paris, 1926, p. 96. 10 Gustave Reese, Music in the Renaissance, New York, 1954, p. 844.

11 Wolfgang Boetticher, Besardus, in MGG, I (1949-51), 1815. 12 Oscar Chilesotti, Musiciens frangais: Jean-Baptiste Besard, et les luthistes du

XVle sidcle, in Congras international d'histoire de la musique, Paris, 1900: Documents, memoires et zoeux, Solesmes, 1901, pp. 179-90.

13 Boetticher, op. cit., col. 1816.

14 This article is based on a modern English translation by Dr. Virginia Moscrip (University of Rochester) and the author. Every attempt was made in the translation to simplify the florid Baroque style of the original in favor of clarity.




They are of course by no means unique,15 and like many of the other sets of instructions of the Renaissance and Baroque they constitute pri- marily a fingering manual. Nevertheless, they are the most extensive instructions to appear on the Continent in the first two decades of the 17th century, and they represent the only instructions to appear in

England between Thomas Robinson's Schoole of Musicke (1603) and Richard Mathew's The Lutes [sic] Apology for her Excellency (1652) ."

They are eminently practical and fairly complete within their genre, and reflect a period of changing styles in lute music."7

Besard's instructions are organized in a somewhat pyramidal manner into eight sections:"

1) Purely introductory remarks 2) How to choose a lute 3) Practice techniques 4) Left-hand techniques 5) Right-hand techniques 6) Tempo and body carriage 7) Ornaments 8) Concluding remarks

Sections 1-3 are essentially introductory in character; sections 4 and 5 contain the main matter of the text, and are of considerable length; sections 6-8 again are short. Besard wastes no time discussing fundamentals of music. It is assumed that the reader understands rhythmic principles and notation, and such things as dotted rhythms and "diminutions"

(i.e. sixteenth-note passages) appear from the start. 1) Introductory remarks. Here Besard explains that his reason for

bringing out another edition of the original instructions is the success of the first edition of 1603. He forestalls his critics by explaining that he does not intend these instructions to take the place of a live instructor, nor are they meant for anyone but beginners, nor indeed are they

15 M. W. Prynne, in Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed., London,

1954, V, 437-38, gives a selected list of eighteen instruction books, beginning with Vir-

dung's Musica getutscht (1511) and ending with Baron's Historisch-theoretische und

praktische Untersuchung (1727). According to Daniel Heartz, Les premieres 'Instruc- tions' pour le luth, in Jean Jacquot, ed., Le Luth et sa musique, Paris, 1958, p. 77, most lute collections published up to 1550 contained instructions.

16 Thurston Dart, La Methode de luth de Miss Mary Burwell, in Jacquot, op. cit.,

p. 121. 17 Karl Scheit, Ce que nous enseignent les traites de luth des environs de 1600, in

Jacquot, op. cit., pp. 93-105, compares the De modo with Robinson (op. cit.), Waissel

(1592), and Le Roy (1574), finding Besard's work in general agreement with the others.

He does not, however, discuss the Besard in detail. 18 These divisions are mine, but are based upon the major subheads of the original.




intended to represent the one-and-only lute method: "Do not think ... that I wish to detract in any way from different approaches to the lute than mine, which many players may use with considerable skill." He then proceeds to list the requisites for success in lute study-youth and healthy physical characteristics, talent, practice ("not the unlimited practice by which many torture themselves, but within limits and without much intermission"), and patience.

2) How to choose a lute. Besard recommends a ten-course lute suited to the student's hand, but larger rather than smaller in order to force the stretching of the hand."' He goes on to discuss various exercises for increasing the flexibility of the hand; although he fails to specify which hand he means, it is obviously the left.

Many players often pull and lengthen the fingers forcibly, even without the lute; some of them spread individual fingers sideways while resting the hand on a table or similar support; or they may anoint the fingers with oil of tartar. In Italy I saw many players wearing rather thick and heavy leaden rings while practicing the lute. And some apply gloves,20 even while playing. Though I do not disapprove of all this, I should rather urge you to wash your hands often and keep them as clean as possible; besides the good looks which please everybody, the repeated moistening is a great help to the strength of the muscles and, as a result, to the agility of the hand. Take care, however, never to become involved in violent exercises requiring the use of the hand. Here we see some popular and fairly extreme methods of developing the strength and extension necessary to cope with a polyphonic style of playing on an instrument with a wide fingerboard. Besard's strong recommendation for frequent hand-washing quaintly reflects rather different customs of physical hygiene from ours. By "violent exercises" Besard probably means such gentlemanly games as fencing, as we learn from the Isagoge, where it is spelled out by the translator.2'

3) Practice techniques. Besard's discussion is quite pragmatic here, and would strike a familiar note for any instrumental student. He recommends frequent and regular practice, "especially before going to bed at night and after arising in the morning," but only when one is in the mood, for then one can capitalize on the inclination for hard work. He suggests that the student stick to one composition until it is mastered, instead of "running through the whole book or skipping about here and there." One should not practice by "going through the

19 The instructions in the Thesaurus are for an eight-course lute, as is all the music.

20 Original: chyrotecae. 21 "But you must also make sure that you refrain as much as possible from all such

exercise by which the hands are exercised too much (as for example fencing or any other such hard work)."




composition from beginning to end without repeating anything," but should "examine each section carefully and practice it, if necessary repeating it a thousand times." Obviously students' bad practice habits were much the same in 1617 as they are now! Practicing by memory is recommended, "for while the mind is intent on investigating what is on the printed page the hand is less ready to perform its duties." Our

accepted custom of proceeding from easier to more difficult pieces is

suggested, but Besard's passage here reveals that this method was not

accepted by everyone in his day:

Though there are many who practice the more difficult passages first in order to have an easier time with the rest, I do not recommend this to beginners for fear that such difficulty may cause them to feel disgusted and in consequence to give up the study; I should prefer, instead, to prescribe an easy piece of music at first in which there are not so many grifs [i.e. chords] . . . , so that the finger does not have to be stretched frequently across the neck. Also in this first composition there should not be many complicated or changing rhythms. For if rhythmic changes are not strictly adhered to, the learner cannot have a good understanding of the melody, and if he does not have this he cannot derive

any pleasure from the study - and it is pleasure which must first of all attract and arouse the beginner.

4) Left-hand techniques. In this section Besard first takes up the

fingering of running passages, including those that require moving into

higher positions-i.e. placing the first finger across the second fret or

higher, in order to be able to reach the fifth fret ("f") or more (in the Novus partus the twelfth fret, "n," is required at one point). The

following examples illustrate a) fingering for passages with low frets

(Ex. 1) and b) fingering for passages with high frets (Ex. 2). When Ex. 1

a bi d4 a b a d4 bl d4 a b! a

d3 b!d3l b c2d3 a2 a d3 c2Gd aa62 a c2

d13

AA

1 112 3 2 3 3 2 3 2

frets higher than "d" are used, and no open string is required, the first




finger may be placed across several courses,22 as in Example 2, or across the entire fingerboard (Ex. 3). Ex. 2

h~ f2 01 e1 f2 ha 1 f2 e1 hi hi f2 e1 f2 h 01l f2 e1 h4 f2 1 f2 ha- eh f2

h4.Q.. .h4 . . . . . ..:v221

4

22 v2 ol2Q

fA d2 f4 11 d2 1 e3 cl p3 cl

f4 ft c2 es c1 f44 o fi c1 I3

IT2 r

4.4 2

1311 1342341

4 _3_4_2_3 4 1

The complicated matter of fingering chords is handled by dividing this subject into sections for chords containing the first fret ("b"), the second fret ("c"), and the third fret ("d"). In each case the fingering, carefully worked out, is designed to make possible the polyphonic realiza- tion of the tablature. Besard makes a specific plea for this kind of

performance at the end of this section:

there is nothing more pleasant and tasteful than for the parts which create the

harmony to be maintained, keeping a balanced proportion. This cannot be done if the fingers are removed from the strings, since the voice is lost as soon as it ceases to be

fingered . .. Hold your fingers down whenever possible, therefore, especially when

playing a bass note, which should be held while the other fingers are busy on other

strings, until another bass note occurs. Also, hold both bass and treble notes, if possible, while there is motion in the inner voices. If this is impossible, owing to lack of fingers, it is preferable to release the finger that is playing the treble note, for it is usually better to lose this voice than the bass . . . In short, consider it as a basic

"French: barrie.




rule that the fingers ought not to be released from the strings unless necessary.23

With regard to chords containing the first fret, Besard states first, that when a chord contains two "b's" on neighboring high courses, the tip of the first finger should be placed on both "b's" at the same time; if they occur on neighboring bass courses the whole finger should be laid across the entire fret, or they should be played by the first and second fingers. Second, if the two "b's" have open strings between them, they must be played by two fingers rather than one. Third, fingering of these chords should be so planned that a note or notes (other than open strings) that follow can be played without removing the fingers from the chord-again a provision for a polyphonic sound (Ex. 4; an S means that the first finger must be placed across the strings). Ex. 4

[d]] U] DJ1 E [] c2 bi

b....k h d

bl a

., ,.e 4bbIb hd d3 3i "2 . .b bi hi bi bih d

L I I "

-

S S S

S S S S S

In the next set of examples Besard shows us the complicated acro- 23 Besard is careful to point out here that it is not appropriate to hold fingers down in

running passages ("diminutions") or where improper dissonances would result; here he cites the example of major or minor seconds, xhich, he says, are not allowed to sound simultaneously except "in certain cases, such as at cadences, etc." (obviously a reference to cadential suspension figures). Cf. Mace, Musick's Monument, London, 1676, II, 85, "take notice of This, for a General Rule (both in Lute, and Viol-Play) That you never take up any Stopt Finger, (after you have struck it) till you have some necessary Use of It or that your holding of it so Stopt, may be inconvenient for some other performance . ."




batics necessary to the fingering of the early-17th-century chordal vocabulary. These examples, he says, illustrate cases of chords with the first fret for which there can be no formal rules (Ex. 5). Ex. 5

U] d!

Hh bi bi bi bi l

d31 .

d 1db1 l bi bi 4 1 1 d d d be

: @4

ca2 -2 d3 d2 Q3 d3 c2 d2 S d3 d3 d3 d2 03 bi bi bi ea

bl bl- bi S S S S S S S

bi d4 f c 3 rc 3 hi b b1 a a b1 h l d4 a 2 62 c2 -e2 z2 bi bi d2 hi a a

d3 d4 a d2 a bl,, s4 d3 42 bb

"& el d3 c3 bo bl S S S S S

r" Is s I s S S

SS S SSS S S

SSS-

Besard then enunciates the principle that chords should be so fingered that single notes before or after the chords may also be played easily; thus identical chords may be fingered differently, depending upon what precedes or follows them.

In discussing the fret "c," Besard points out the differences of opinion on fingering chords that involve two or more "c's" and open strings. As ever, he is courteous to those with whom he disagrees (those who use second and third fingers on two "c's"), while recommending his own method of using first and second fingers for such chords. In this, and in other matters, Besard consistently favois moving up into higher positions wherever possible, so that the first finger is usually on the




lowest fret called for in a chord, leaving the other fingers free for higher frets (Ex. 6). Ex. 6

d] Ui] ]i c2 c3 a a a c2 a c2 a a a a a d d3 c2 d3 d c

e2 c3 a o e2- a bi bI d3 d2 d3 c2 a b2 c- cI cl c2 b: c1 bm 42 c2 a 4d c1

cl cl c2 c2 a cl c2 e3 a a

a c f f4 g4 1d e2 d2 cl el el dl r1 :1 d2 2 fI f2 ci M l d4 c2 3 d2 d2 d2 Gl f4 f fa3 d2 ar1 Q a Eb 8A

cl cl f4 f4 c1 S S S S S S

2 1 1 3 1

,S S P R E S

,

i A

S s s s s s

As for the fret "d," Besard's examples are clearer than his words, and follow the principles he has laid out before. One point is emphasized, however: that when two "d"'frets are to be played simultaneously, "the 'd' on the lower string is played by the fourth finger, and . . . the

'd' on the upper string is played by the third finger." It is obvious from his examples that Besard is referring to the actual, physical position of the strings, his "upper string" actually being the lower in pitch (Ex. 7). Besard is also consistent in this matter with fingerings for the "b" or "c" frets, but had previously not called attention to this point (see Ex. 4). For chords involving the "lower letters," as he calls them, by which he means those closer to the bridge (higher in terms of pitch on each course, lower physically), Besard advocates the same methods; he states, however, that in most cases these chords will require placing



The Lute Instructions of Jean-Baptiste Besard 355 Ex. 7

d4 M d d i di dA l l l d1 Al

d3 r

1 b1 bl 37 AJ fA ft gi gi - A

- d3 d -d a a a-Q f3 f2 a d3 d3 f2 dl dl a d3 bl d d3 dl dl dl

a S

[J] [d] h4 , b

a bl bl blI

d H1 1 1J IM 1 d! b l d.1 hi h3 dl dl dl dl fi4d3 & . d3

-da3 4

dl 02 dl 3 f2 d2 d2 d2 f2 uel 3 fQ f2 e2 cl br

S S S S S S

I .

I: ,_LA. ,

t -. 1_W.

the first finger across the fret. The section on the left hand is closed by a reminder to readers that

when laying a finger across a fret, the gut itself24 should not be touched by that finger or the others, as an "unclear and unpleasing sound will be produced."

5) Right-hand techniques. Besard begins his instructions on the use of the right hand with a vivid description of the way it should be held: First of all, rest the little finger firmly on the belly of the lute, not very close to the rose (as they call it), but a little below it, and extend the thumb with all the strength of the hand, especially if your hand is a little too short. Do this in such a way that the rest of the fingers are carried below the thumb in the manner of a fist. This will per. haps be a strain at first, and somewhat difficult. Those who have a very short thumb may imitate those who pluck the strings while hiding the thumb under the fingers;

24 Original: ligamina seu zonas, i.e. the fret itself.




if not an elegant position, it will at least be easier. Having chosen one of these two methods, accustom yourself to plucking the strings, whether one or more, quite strongly and clearly.25

Two-note chords are to be plucked by the thumb and second finger, leaving the first finger free for the following note; three- and four-note chords are to be plucked by three and four fingers respectively; here the thumb is included as one of the fingers, unless it has been used just prior to a three-note chord for a single bass note of the same time value (no reason is given for this rule). Chords on more than four courses require that the thumb and index fingers pluck two strings apiece, although occasionally plucking a large chord with the index finger alone is permissible-i.e. arpeggiating the chord with one finger. It must be "done properly, fittingly, and infrequently" ('Ex. 8).'2

Ex. 8

Z2 3 r. z2 Q 3 3 12 2 p di d2I 2. 2iI d 62 p

dp dl 1 l d ap 1 1 aI

rp ap ap ap

. ..

3w f j p r4 147 ;2 GP

Right-hand fingering for single notes is dependent upon the time values to be played: the thumb and first finger are to be used in alternation, and the gist of the two rules and two exceptions given in the instructions at considerable length is that fingering is to be so arranged that the thumb (the strongest finger) is always available to play the accented notes (Ex. 9).

Besard then states that the first and second fingers in alternation may be used in running passages on the higher courses (rather than the thumb and first finger), when the thumb is required to play accompanying bass notes. Indeed, "many follow this procedure even outside of

25 Scheit, op. cit., p. 104, states that Besard is the only author of this period to describe two possible positions for the right hand.

26 The "p" in the examples signifies pollice, or thumb.




Rx. X

eg a c p d c c

AA

12 1p 1 1 p 1 d cil

b.

3 a c d3 82 a p I a2 cI Iga I zp r p

A P- I

=!

1-- I-m I

diminutions" [i.e. even in slow passages] so that while the thumb is

busy plucking single bass notes, a greater facility is given to the hand, and that unseemly motion of the whole arm, which we cannot guard against too carefully, will be most easily avoided." Rapid passages without accompanying bass notes, however, should always be played by the thumb and first finger (Ex. 10).

Successive single notes on bass courses should be played by the thumb alone, unless they are sixteenth notes, when alternating the fingers is permitted.28

27 The word "diminutions" has been retained in the translation because it implies variations on a basic melody, and this meaning is in accord with much of the music in the Novus partus.

28 Thomas E. Binkley, Le Luth et sa technique, in Jacquot, op. cit., pp. 25-36, sums

up the development of fingering patterns for rapid passages. The alternation of the thumb and index finger was first mentioned by Spinacino (Intabolatura de Lauto, I,



358 The Musical Quarterly Ex. 10

'A

21212d. dca dc ld 21212121212d21212

1 2 2 1 2 1 2 1

P P P P P P P P

ap 2p p p p p p p [P]

6) Tempo and body carriage. The two short paragraphs in this section constitute not so much instruction as exhortation. First our teacher begs the beginner, in the interests of accuracy, to play slowly at first, to be extremely careful to follow the tactus, and to play all the rhythms correctly. If you are a beginner,.., do not be in a hurry to play more quickly than is right and

proper. I promise you sincerely and without pretense that nothing is more profitable in this activity than to be patient and unhurried from the beginning, for it is impossible for you to play your compositions correctly on first reading. Do not be eager, therefore, to do more than to play all the chords and intervening notes well and

clearly, even though [you play them] slowly; for after a short time, though you may not expect it, you will be able to play more quickly. You will surely not play accu-

rately unless you become accustomed to doing so from the beginning. This accuracy no one, unless he is averse to reasonable thought, would fail to prefer to all speed and unrestrained noise. Next Besard emphasizes the need for a relaxed and graceful appearance

Venice, 1507), and thirty years later by Newsidler (Ein Newgeordnet Kiinstlich Lau- tenbuch, Nuremberg, 1536). The alternation of first and second fingers, with the thumb plucking accompanying bass notes, is mentioned by Le Roy in his instructions (English translations 1568 and 1574). Diana Poulton, La Technique du jeu du luth en France et en Angleterre, in Jacquot, op. cit., p. 115, states that the second method gradually replaces the first during this period.




while playing, even to the extent of binding the right arm in such a way that only the fingers appear to move. Here we see a concern with the look of the performer, not merely with his sound or technique, reflecting an age in which costume and carriage revealed the rank of a man.

7) Ornaments. Besard completely begs the question at this point: "If it were possible to prescribe how to play sweet ornaments and trills on the lute, I would make some remarks about this here; since they cannot be explained, however, either orally or in writing, it will have to suffice for you to imitate someone who can play them well, or to learn them by yourself." The fine art of improvisation had apparently so strong an influence as to prevent Besard from codifying his orna- mental technique. Later in the century, as we know, the clavecinists provided lists of ornaments, although they always emphasized their improvisatory nature. Besard is like them, however, in stressing the need for good taste when adding ornaments.

8) Concluding remarks. Besard first asks the student to treat this "divine art . . . cultivated by men of the highest position" with proper respect. One should try to learn to play well enough to please others; if, however, one develops professional skill, be sure to charge adequately for one's performance in order not to cheapen the art! He asks teachers to be accurate, and to be sure that the student has mastered all the fundamentals before allowing him to go ahead (again the good peda- gogue). He finally explains that he has not covered the principles of intabulation from white notation because there is so much material

already available in tablature books: We have, for example, the book by Antonius Franciscus of Paris,2 the Psalmodia by Matthaeus Reymann,30 the two books of Flores musicae by Adrian Densius,31 the

Florilegium and Deliciae musicae by Joachim von dem Hoffe,32 a man very distin-

guished in this art, the preludes and fantasias of Joachim, Georg, and Leopold Fuhr-

mann,33 and Martellius,34 the Pratum musicum by Emanuel Hadrian,35 and my own 29 Antoine Francisque, La Tr'sor d'Orphie, Paris, 1600. 30 Probably Matthaeus Reymann, Cythara sacra, sive psalmodiae Davidis, Cologne,

1613. This was published by Grevenbruch, Besard's publisher for the Thesaurus. Rey- mann also brought out an earlier collection, the Noctes musicae, Leipzig, 1598.

31 Adrianus Denss, Florilegium, Cologne, 1594. This is the only publication by this author we know of today. Also printed by Grevenbruch.

32 Joachim van den Hove, Florida, Utrecht, 1601; Delitiae musicae, Utrecht, 1612. 33 Original: "item eiusdem Joachimi, Georgij, item Lepoldi Fhurmanni [sic]."

Who Joachim or Georg, or Joachim Georg, were or was remains a mystery. It seems more than likely that Besard was referring to Georg Leopold Fuhrmann and his Testudo Gallo-Germanica, Nuremberg, 1615.

34 Probably Elias Mertel, Hortus musicalis novus, Strasbourg, 1615. 35 Emanuel Hadrianus, Pratum musicum, Antwerp, 1584 and 1592; Copenhagen,

1600.




Thesaurus harmonicus ... These works by different composers should suffice for our new students until they have had ample training and [can] plan independently to bring out new compositions in lute tablature.3"

It might now be pertinent to observe that Boetticher's brief summary in Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart of the contents of Besard's instructions is incorrect in several important respects. According to Boetticher:

In his instructions for playing he [Besard] takes up the consequences of too large a number of courses, which can be overcome only by exercises in spreading the fingers at wide fret intervals (similar to Waissel, 1592); by laying a finger across the strings (French, barree); by avoiding the use of the ring finger (similar to Fuhrmann's table of chords, 1615); by using firm bass slurring in triplets; and by developing the

technique of finger placement (ability in sliding, length, and agility of each finger)."s

First, the phrase "the consequences of too large a number of courses" is Boetticher's; nowhere does Besard even imply that the increasing number of courses on the lute of the period is in any way undesirable. In fact, he speaks favorably of the larger number of courses in the edition of 1617: "Take a lute with at least ten strings, or courses, unless

you prefer a larger one (as is the practice in Italy and elsewhere), for

experience will teach us that the closer we come to the perfection of sweet harmony, the closer we will be to the perfection of music." Thus the techniques listed by Boetticher to solve a supposedly undesirable

problem are given by Besard merely as methods for developing a desir- able agility. Second, I have been unable to find any suggestion in Besard for avoiding the ring finger (third finger) of either the left or the right hand; the little finger of the right hand is not to pluck the strings, but to rest on the belly of the lute, but this is certainly not the "Ringfinger," nor is its position anything that would tend to solve the problem of an

increasing number of courses. Third, there is no mention whatsoever

by Besard of slurring in the bass, nor of triplets (Boetticher's "Triolen").38 Fourth, none of Besard's instructions on the left hand

36 Note that all of the publications referred to above are in French tablature. 37 Boetticher, op. cit., col. 1819. 38 Slurring, i.e. plucking once for several successive notes, is used in one piece in

the Novus partus, the Bergamasco I. B. B .... (fol. M4'), and the sign for this (~-~) is explained at that point. There is no mention of this technique in the instructions, however, and its use in the Bergamasco is not for triplets. Diana Poulton, op. cit., p. 118, says with regard to slurring, "L'ancien style, selon lequel chaque de la deuxi6me d6cade du XVIIe siecle, en un style qui se sert librement du Slur et du Slide. C'est probable- ment vers 1617, ou un peu plus tard, qu'on l'introduit en Angleterre pour la premi6re fois." We see, then, that Besard was quite aware of current developments in lute tech-

nique in France.




mention sliding ability; they do, however, discuss the use of higher positions for the left hand, which may be what Boetticher is implying.

The lute instructions in the Novus partus that we have just dis- cussed are, as Besard himself says, a revision of those in the Thesaurus. Despite the fact that the Ad artem is approximately five pages longer than the De modo, however, there are fewer basic changes than one might expect. Some of the increased length of the Ad artem is due, for instance, to Besard's addition of subtitles, or to the introductory paragraphs in which he explains his reasons for undertaking a new edition. Most of the increased length results from purely semantic changes which reflect an attempt to clarify what was said (a not always successful

attempt, it may be added). Significantly, Besard suggests a ten-course lute in the second edition, while the first calls for an eight-course lute. Here Besard is certainly reflecting the general trend of his time towards additional bass courses to increase the harmonic potential of the instrument. He is also considerably more detailed in his second edition when

covering left-hand fingerings for chords using the "d" fret; for right- hand fingerings of chords he aims at greater flexibility of the hand. The concluding remarks-the exhortation to teachers to be as accurate as possible, and the long list of lute tablatures available-are new to the second edition.

If Besard's chief concern in the Ad artem was to clarify and emend the De modo, his translator ("I. N.") seems to have been equally anxious, in the Isagoge, to clarify and emend the Ad artem. The Isagoge is considerably longer than the Ad artem, even when one allows for differences between Latin and Gothic types, or for a somewhat more

colloquial manner, e.g. "what cannot be lifted must be left lying." No new examples are added, however. The major changes occur in the section on right-hand techniques. Here the translator differs markedly from Besard on the position of the right hand: where Besard says the little finger should be placed "on the belly of the lute, not very close to the rose . .. but a little below it," the translator says the little finger should be placed "as close as possible to the bridge." Both positions may be seen in pictures of the period. Also added are explanations of fingerings dependent upon the rhythm of certain dances, e.g. passamezzo, galliard, or courant, which begin with upbeats (the thumb must always be free to play the downbeat). Clarification of rhythmic notation is also

provided here, e.g. dotted rhythms. There is a rather lengthy note on

"Joachim von den Houe's" fingerings, most of which apparently coincide with Besard's rules, but some of which differ; in true pedagogical fashion




"I. N." takes the opportunity to point out some typographical errors in van den Hove. In general, however, the Isagoge is simply a wordier (and occasionally clearer) version of the Ad artem.



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