Talk:Lyra viol

I'm just getting started with things Wiki so please bear with me.

Here are some changes that I believe ought to be considered for the Lyra viol article. I can rewrite some of them as they appear below or would invite someone else to cut up and adapt some of the following ideas:

The picture ought to be updated to replace Marin Marais with someone or thing more related to the lyra viol. The diagram that is now posted of the instrument from Playford is good, something I myself often use but if an additional more colorful, high quality image is needed, maybe an actual photograph of an instrument would be on O.K. alternative or if the picture of Marais remains, perhaps his name should be connected to that of his son Roland Marais who did compose in music in tablature for the conventionally tuned instrument (ffeff). For this information I am indebted to Jonathan Dunford, a viol player who not only frequently performs and records and lyra viol music but has engaged in a great deal of unusual, useful research in this field. If a picture is needed of someone holding an instrument, ie maybe a shot of Jonathan or someone else like him could be substituted for Marin Marais who is not even holding the viol in proper playing positon in the image that is currently posted (probably not this one,   though!)

Primarily, however, I am interested in adding other composers and wonder how many other composers could be added to the current list:

"Some of the best English composers of the seventeenth century wrote pieces for the lyra viol, or even entire anthologies. These composers include John Cooper, John Jenkins, Christopher Simpson, Charles Coleman, and William Lawes."

These may have been mentioned because they are bigger names than some of the other composers who are best known for the

I would immediately suggest:

Alfonso Ferrabosco II, John Moss, Simon Ives, William Corkine, William Byrd, Thomas Ford, Thomas Mace, and John Playford. Alfonso Ferrabosco is the composer of some of the most advanced music and is also somewhat well-known outside of lyra viol music. John Moss is someone who ought to be far better known as a lyra viol composer and is at the opposite end of the lyra viol's time period, getting into baroque as opposed to the earlier group from lyra viol's "high" period: Ferrabosco, Corkine and Ford, Robert Jones and Robert Johnson. William Byrd, another very well-know name composed music in tablature, important viol duets found in the John Merro (Bodleian Library 245-247) collection that might be considered in with other lyra viol literature. Thomas Mace is well known for having authored the treatise Musick's Monument. The lyra viol examples Mace includes at the back of the book are highly innovative yet neglected models that are begging for some exposure.

Thanks for bearing with my newness to Wiki. One of the first things that I learned just now from my 15 year old daughter (who hasn't yet yet actually actively particpated in Wiki yet either) is that I should NOT insert my own site's link into the article so I'd be obliged if at some point someone else might consider doing so ... maybe after I've finally updated it a little. One of the main things I want to do on that site is post PDF files of some of the more important collections of lyra viol literature such as: The Manchester Lyra Viol Manuscript, Peter Leicester, and one of my personal favorites, John Moss, all in their entirety. All this music should and can be made available so that that a wide variety of literature can easily be tried out first hand, and because electronic storage of lyra viol music can also aid in organizing tunings and planning out performances in a variety of tunings. Dave Saphra / http://www.newtunings.com/research Dsaphra 18:00, 19 August 2007 (UTC)