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Johannes Hieronymus (or Giovanni Girolamo) Kapsberger was an
eminent lute/theorbo player and composer of the late Renaissance-early
Baroque era. His instrumental works are characterized by improvisory style
sometimes lack of well defined structures. Nevertheless they often are very
innovative and are full of stunning
virtuosity . This is the first time
Kapsberger's compositions are extensively explored for
guitar.
Theorbo (or chitarrone, tiobo, archlute)
is an ancient lute-like plucked instrument, with larger size, even more bass strings (total
14-16) and a very long neck. It has an incredible sonority, but you can
imagine it's very bulky to carry, store and cumbersome to get it tuned. Kapsberger
was a famous composer for this instrument. Many of the theorbo
pieces are (unduly) considered non-playable for standard guitar. However, they are quite
playable on 10 or 11-string guitar, and many even can be suitable for standard
6-string guitar, as manifested by the transcriptions on this
page.
Kapsberger's
lute/theorbo music is best represented by Paul O'Dette's fine CD: Kapsberger "Il
Tedesco della Tioba" (Harmonia Mundi). You can find transcriptions
of many pieces on this CD in this page. during transcription, I have made
liberal editorial changes of the tablature according to Paul O'Dette's
interpretation.
Unless otherwise noted, most pieces are transposed
to a minor third lower than the original keys. So it is recommended to use
Alto-guitar, or apply a capo over the 3rd fret on the regular guitar.
* All
the transcriptions are my original and
independent works, with exception that many enthusiastic and supportive readers
provided suggestions, corrections, etc. My aim is to promote neglected music and
multi-string guitars, and I don't claim to be scholarly. Readers are
encouraged to refer to other sources in this field.
** Fingerings are only
suggestive. Readers are welcome to try and explore other options.
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Downloads |
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Works: |
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Titles: |
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Libro I d'intavolatura di Chitarrone, 1604 |
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Toccata Arpeggiata (in original key)---for
6-string guitar |
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Toccata Arpeggiata ---for
Alto-guitar |
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Air di Fiorenza |
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Partita 1 |
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Partita 2 |
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Partita 3 |
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Partita 4 |
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Partita 5 |
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Partita 6 |
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Partita 7 |
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Partita 8 |
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Partita 9 |
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Gagliarda 11a---NEW! |
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Toccata 5a---NEW! |
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Libro
I d'Intavolatura di Lauto, 1611 |
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Toccata 1 |
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These Toccatas are very challenging. Repeat listening to Paul O'Dette's CD will be helpful.
They were written for 10-course lute, so it's best to adapt to Alto-guitar.
However, with minor modification they can be played on 6-string guitar. |
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Toccata 3 |
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Toccata 5 |
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Toccata 6 |
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Toccata 7 |
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This one
is not on Paul O'Dette's CD. Please refer to the excellent
YouTube
playing by Chinese lutenist He
Qing. |
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Libro IV d'Intavolatura di Chitarrone, 1640 |
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Bergamasca (in original key)---for
6-string guitar |
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Bergamasca ---for
Alto-guitar |
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Canario
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Kapsberger |
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Colasione |
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Corrente 2a---NEW! |
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Toccata 1a---NEW! |
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These two Toccatas from Volume 4 of the
Chitarrone collections are profound and demanding, but very worthwhile to
explore. |
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Toccata 2a---NEW! |
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This page was last updated
on: 07/15/2008. Contact : leyenda168 at yahoo dot com |
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