Reconstructing a lute by Sixtus Rauwolf
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Santa Maria Bouquet2017.docx (65.24Mb)
Date
28/11/2017Author
Santa Maria Bouquet, Jonathan
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Abstract
The focus of this project is to reconstruct a lute as originally made by Sixtus
Rauwolf. Rauwolf was a lute maker active in Augsburg from 1577 until ca.1625;
only six of his lutes are known at the present time, and all of them have been
altered to keep up with musical trends throughout the last four centuries. These
six instruments encompass the entire extant corpus of the lute making tradition
of the late Renaissance in Augsburg.
The reconstruction of this lute strives to achieve a conceivable historical
correctness. Yet, without any Rauwolf lute in original condition available, or
any other lute made in the same city as a means of comparison, and due to the
lack of tangible evidence of how he conceived and constructed his instruments,
the enterprise of reconstructing an archetypical Rauwolf lute in its intended
shape and style is essentially a combination of historical research and creative
process.
To understand Sixtus Rauwolf and his work, part of this research aimed to
gather biographical, archival and published material, as well as an in-depth
study of the documentation of the known extant lutes by Rauwolf held in
public and private collections: The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York,
Musikmuseet in Copenhagen, The Fugger Museum in Babenhausen,
Scenkonstmuseet in Stockholm, and two more in private collections in London.
In addition, the research process is solidly based on a thorough study of the
lute, its characteristics and construction, during the late Renaissance in Europe
through printed music and treatises, iconography, and the extant lutes of that
period. Nevertheless, none of these resources suffice individually; the separate
pieces of information gathered through research underwent a cross
examination, and the unanswered questions were solved by means of a creative
process reliant also in lute-making experience and ergonomics. The final result
of this project is materialized in the construction of a fully functional lute, as
newly-made by Sixtus Rauwolf.
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