Introducing the Baroque Theorbo

[ProudLib72]

If you are looking for a long, unwieldy instrument, try out this... Lot's of historical information about its development.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. I know a guy, a professional lutenist

who has one of those. I've seen it up close. It is pretty unwieldy, and when in a group the player has to be careful about turning quickly and accidentally smacking somebody with it. It has a beautiful sound, though.

[ProudLib72]

2. She said it was developed to compete with the noise of opera

The delicate sound of the regular lute would have been drowned out.

They needed a Les Paul to come along and amplify the lute!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

5. Yes, that's what I was told - opera and larger instrumental ensembles.

And in the nineteenth century (long after the lute and theorbo had become obsolete), as orchestras became larger opera singers' vocal techniques developed and changed so they could be heard over the instrumentalists. Until the invention of microphones and electrified instruments there's been a steady war of decibels - to compete with loud instruments other instruments got louder, and so forth.

[JudyM]

4. This was very interesting.