17 August 2011

de Visée, "Chaconne"

Played on the 14-course theorbo by Xavier Díaz-Latorre ...



A theorbo, also sometimes called a chitarrone, is a lute with a long neck extension. A theorbo has two pegboxes, one at the top of the fingerboard and the other at the end of the extension. The extended neck is necessary because, before the invention of wire-wound strings, increasing the length was the only way to obtain a clear and sustained sound from low bass strings.

Discover more at The Lute Society of America.

I came across Xavier Díaz-Latorre through his collaborations with another musical hero of mine, Jordi Savall. Together they seem to be at the top of the heap of early-music musicians. Xavier Díaz-Latorre's website is worth a look.

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