Lautenwerk by Keith Hill
Built in 2000
Click here for a Sound Sample of this instrument*
Click here for another Sound Sample of this instrument*
Click here for yet another new Sound Sample*
Click here for still another new Sound Sample of this Lautenwerk*
There are no extant (still existing) 17th or 18th century lautenwerks known. The Gut Strung Harpsichord or LuteHarpsichord was a source of great interest to Johann Sebastian Bach, who designed and had made for him three such instruments. He specified on one of his instruments that it should have two 8 foot registers in gut and one 4 foot register strung in brass and be a two manual instrument. That is how this instrument is disposed.
The sound of this particular instrument is very intense, resonant, focused, sweet, singing, and heady in tone. I had this instrument strung in real gut for many years and recently learned that there was a substitute gut available that supposedly will go out of tune less and break much less than real gut. I have tried the substitute and am convinced by it because it is actually more focused in sound than the original real gut. So I have restung this instrument in synthetic gut, to great improvement in the fact that I don't have to constantly replace broken gut strings...a real nuisance. Also, the bass is strung in overspun synthetic gut which is vastly superior to the previous gimped gut strings which were extremely expensive and not very good sounding, by comparison
The reason the photo of this instrument shows only the soundboard is because the instrument is not finished. It would take about 3 months to complete the action installation (of the upper manual) and to build the 8 legged double frame platform stand as well as to gesso and decorate the instrument, as planned, in Chinoiserie over vermillion (on the inside of the lid) and black on the exterior.
This lautenwerk has a compass of GG - e''' (without the low GG#) and will transpose from A-415 to A-440. The case of this instrument is built very lightly to be as much like a lute as possible, yet is framed strongly enough to withstand the tension of all those strings. Those who have played and heard this instrument say it sounds more like a lute than most modern lutes...interesting, since it clearly is not a lute. Yet, I would not disagree since the sound very much captures the nature of the sound of well restored antique lutes.
for the Price of this instrument, please inquire.
*(Here's a trick to hear the sound sample and view the site at the same time. 1.Click on the sound sample to download it. 2.Then, download one of my other sites on your browser, in effect, opening a new window. 3.Click on the SITE button, at that site, relating to this site. 4. Once you have this site accessed from the new page and window, you can to view the site and listen to the downloading sound sample for it.)
