Yes, over the course of constructing a number of vihuelas with different soundboard and rib materials, I found that somewhat larger unbarred areas made the vihuela sound better. This certainly goes against the conventional thinking about guitar bracing. The choice of material and its thickness has a lot to do with offsetting the need for bars. The idea is to let the wood do the work. My theory is that this looseness contributes to the individual strings' sounding more distinct and this fits well with the contrapuntal character of the music. Thank you for watching!
@@EarlyMusicStudio1 I remember back in the 90s people were having trouble making baroque guitars with historical bracing and thicknesses, they just weren't holding up. Thank you for your blog with details of your building process. Much of interest there. The sound you get with the thickness you used is a revelation. I am reminded of an early 20th century Spanish guitar by a well known maker that has no top bracing and yet is reasonably successful. The relationship between soundboard design and sound is ever-unfolding.
I had to make 12 vihuelas before I figured out how to do it right, but with 19th century guitars that I made I pretty much followed well-established precedent. To me the success of the instrument remains in the choice of the model. With vihuelas there are hardly any examples but with 17th century guitars and 19th century guitars there is a wealth of details. Even so, each maker has to work this out by empirical means. I appreciate your kind words, and thanks for watching! @@AndSendMe
The sound comes right through my computer. This is a superb presentation. I always suspected that the ornamentation (parquetry, rosace etc.) was symbolic.
Thank you so much for the kind words. Indeed, the vihuela is an art object as well as an instrument, and this genre of music is still relatively little known. Though the music is now often played on the guitar, nothing conveys the flavour of the Gothic, Catholic and Moorish influences like the music itself. I'm glad I made this union of music and instrument clear for you.
@@EarlyMusicStudio1You are obviously more than a musician, but also a man of civilization; for, one cannot understand the Siglo de Oro except through the lens of its essential spirituality...
The Spanish music of this period is a departure from the northern European traditions. The writing is very spare and is always classified by the number of voices (Fuellana) rather than the way we would classify it as in dance, choral or singing style, so we tend to see this music through our own traditions. The music of the vihuela is a strangely isolated thread which began and then ended in a relatively short period. The number of instruments can be counted on the fingers of one hand so there is quite a bit of interpolation as a result. I really appreciate your understanding!
@@EarlyMusicStudio1 Could we say that, precisely because the vihuela is so idiomatically Iberian and it's existence of such brief duration, the interest it is garnering in our century speaks to its actual power and charm?
![เปิดบ้าน โคตรสวย ป๋องกพล รู้จักตั้งนาน เพิ่งรู้ว่ารวย!!! l [Nickynachat]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/tmgCF_2HfYI/mqdefault.jpg)
Hello! Susan and Clive! Thank you for your video.❤.💞.
Loved it.. the timbre, the playing, the music of the period and the wonderful lecture...
Stay blessed sir..
Thanks very much!
Over the years I've listened to a good many vihuela recreations and this seems by far the most convincing. It seems less barring is the way to go!
Yes, over the course of constructing a number of vihuelas with different soundboard and rib materials, I found that somewhat larger unbarred areas made the vihuela sound better. This certainly goes against the conventional thinking about guitar bracing. The choice of material and its thickness has a lot to do with offsetting the need for bars. The idea is to let the wood do the work. My theory is that this looseness contributes to the individual strings' sounding more distinct and this fits well with the contrapuntal character of the music. Thank you for watching!
@@EarlyMusicStudio1 I remember back in the 90s people were having trouble making baroque guitars with historical bracing and thicknesses, they just weren't holding up. Thank you for your blog with details of your building process. Much of interest there. The sound you get with the thickness you used is a revelation. I am reminded of an early 20th century Spanish guitar by a well known maker that has no top bracing and yet is reasonably successful. The relationship between soundboard design and sound is ever-unfolding.
I had to make 12 vihuelas before I figured out how to do it right, but with 19th century guitars that I made I pretty much followed well-established precedent. To me the success of the instrument remains in the choice of the model. With vihuelas there are hardly any examples but with 17th century guitars and 19th century guitars there is a wealth of details. Even so, each maker has to work this out by empirical means. I appreciate your kind words, and thanks for watching! @@AndSendMe
Thank you!
illuminating video Clive, thank you
I'm happy that you like it!
Clive , thats a very nice sounding instrument
Thank you for saying that, I really appreciate your comment!
The sound comes right through my computer. This is a superb presentation. I always suspected that the ornamentation (parquetry, rosace etc.) was symbolic.
Thank you so much for the kind words. Indeed, the vihuela is an art object as well as an instrument, and this genre of music is still relatively little known. Though the music is now often played on the guitar, nothing conveys the flavour of the Gothic, Catholic and Moorish influences like the music itself. I'm glad I made this union of music and instrument clear for you.
@@EarlyMusicStudio1You are obviously more than a musician, but also a man of civilization; for, one cannot understand the Siglo de Oro except through the lens of its essential spirituality...
The Spanish music of this period is a departure from the northern European traditions. The writing is very spare and is always classified by the number of voices (Fuellana) rather than the way we would classify it as in dance, choral or singing style, so we tend to see this music through our own traditions. The music of the vihuela is a strangely isolated thread which began and then ended in a relatively short period. The number of instruments can be counted on the fingers of one hand so there is quite a bit of interpolation as a result. I really appreciate your understanding!
@@EarlyMusicStudio1 Could we say that, precisely because the vihuela is so idiomatically Iberian and it's existence of such brief duration, the interest it is garnering in our century speaks to its actual power and charm?