Geometry, proportion, and the art of lutherie : a study of the use and aesthetic significance of geometry and numerical proportion in the design of European bowed and plucked string instruments in the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries
A study of the use and aesthetic significance of geometry and numerical proportion in the design of European string instruments in the 16th to 18th centuries.
viii, 178 pages : illustrations ; 32 cm
9780198161394, 9780198162469, 0198161395, 0198162464
10277402
1. Introduction
2. A mathematical background
3. Geometry, a short history
4. Proportion : Types of proportion ; Rational and irrational numbers ; Golden section, and the Fibonacci numbers ; The root proportional ; The vesica piscis ; The ionic volute in the geometry of the head ; Systems of measurement
5. The instruments : The drawings ; The analyses ; Categorization ; Selection of examples
6. Analysis of instrument examples : Viols : Bass viol, Pelegrino di Zanetto (c. 1550) ; Treble viol, Giovanni Maria da Brescia (c. 1575) ; Bass viol, Battista Ciciliano (c. 1590) ; Tenor viol, Henry Jaye (1667) ; Bass viol, Joachim Tielke (c. 1700) ; Pardessus de viole, Louis Guersan (1759). Liras da braccio : Lira da braccio, Giovanni Maria da Brescia (c. 1575) ; Lira da braccio, Gasparo da Salò (c. 1585) ; Lira da braccio (maker unkown) (c. 1570). Violins (viola, violoncello) : Violin (small model), Andrea Amati (1564) ; Violin, Nicola Amati (c. 1670) ; Violin, Antonio Stradivari (1666) ; Violin, Antonio Stradivari (1703) ; Viola, Giovanni Paolo Maggini (c. 1610) ; violoncello, Barak Norman (1718). Violas d'amore : Viola d'amore (maker unkown) (c. 1750) ; English violet, Paulus Alletsee (1724). Kits or pochettes : Pochette, Gaspar Borbon (1686) ; Pochette d'amour, Battista Genova (c. 1760). Lutes : Lute (drawings), Henricus Arnault (c. 1460) ; Tenor lute, Hans Frei (c. 1550) ; Alto lute, Giovanni Hieber (c. 1580) ; Chitarrone, Matteo Buechenberg (1614) ; Theorbo, Jacobus Henricus Goldt (1734) ; Theorbo, Michael Rauche (1762). Mandore and mandolines : Mandore (maker unknown) (c. 1640) ; Milanese mandoline, attr. Antonio Stradivari (c. 1710) ; Neapolitan mandoline, Johannes Vinaccia (1753). Citterns : Cittern (maker unknown) (c. 1650?) ; Bell cittern, Joachim Tielke (1676). Guitars : Guitar, Belchio Diaz (1582) ; Guitar, Christopho Cocho (1602) ; Chitarra battente/guitar, Mango Longo (1624)
7. Summary of analyses
8. Observations
9. Conclusions