Visitors, from the knowledgeable professional to the curious music lover, shall find here everything they need to work with the musical in Accords Nouveaux. Furthermore, the website shall sum up and document on a regular basis the current research on the subject.
This means that any collaboration of the visitors is welcome. Please communicate your commentaries and supplements via the contact page!
The introductory pages comprise the following subjects:
• The wider context of Accords Nouveaux
• Thoughts on the question “Why Accords Nouveaux?” This includes the subject of musical temperament, especially in fretted instruments.
• Organology, particularly of the Lute, Lyra viol, Mandore, and Baroque Guitar
In the research pages (menu ”Thesis F.-P. Goy“ with sub pages) you will find:
Studies in and research data relating to Accords Nouveaux:
- François-Pierre Goy’s 500 pages strong thesis from 1988/89 on the manuscript transmission of music in Accords Nouveaux contains among other things the description and classificaton of all known manuscripts which contain music in Accords Nouveaux.
- The database PAN (= Pièces en Accords Nouveaux) lists all the known pieces in Accords Nouveaux, including the print versions, and concordant versions in other tunings or for other than lute instruments.
- A Guide pratique, which is presently work in progress, collects the most important information on working with the sources.
- The list of sources with music in Accords Nouveaux, supplemented by reproductions of many sources, for instance BERN, state archive, HA Spiez 123 (5-CH BEa 123), or BASEL, university library, Ms. F IX 53 (2-CH-Bu 53), which both can be downloaded.
- The tunings database records all known tunings for Lute, Lyra viol, Mandore, and Baroque Guitar.
- A detailed representation of the Accords Nouveaux.
- A database listing the signs used in the music (in progress), differentiated according to contents layers of the sources in which they were used.
- A database listing writer’s hands (in progress), supplemented by an article on Bullen Reymes by François-Pierre Goy.
Up to now, names for the different tunings were derived from the tables of the researchers (Goy 2a / Radke 12 / Rave 12 / Schulze-Kurz 15). Instead of this we propose a slightly modified contemporary system, which is already in use in the field of Gamba research, were unisons are indicated by the letters of the French tablature (the Traficante-system, augmented for lute by F.-P. Goy and A. Schlegel). You will find further information about this here.
Additional contents
- The Book The Lute in Europe 2. Lutes, Guitars, Mandolins, and Citterns offers an introduction into the world of plucked strings in European cultures. Please note also the sub-menus “Reviews of the 2nd edition”, “Material, addenda, errata”, “Reviews of the 1st edition”, and “1st edition”.
- A presentation of the CD-book "The Von Erlach Lute Book" (=BERN, Staatsarchiv, HA Spiez 123, respectively 5-CH-BEa 123 in Goy's thesis): This CD-book shows exemplarily that a lute book is much more than "only" lute music. A manuscript leads in the biography of the involved persons, in their network, in the historical context and not least in the music beyond the specific lute music, written in tablature notation.
- A facsimile of the Baroque-lute manuscript B-Bc FA VI 10.
- An overview and facsimiles of all lute and cittern sources which have Swiss connections.
- Information about the authors, and access to their individual projects is to be found under “Authors”, or here for
François-Pierre Goy
Andreas Schlegel
Remarks about the background and origin of informations
Especially in texts by Andreas Schlegel which sum up knowledge both of a general as of a special kind, information gleaned through diverse communications over the past 35 years can be found. Wherever possible the sources of this information are cited. Sometimes the lack of any publication which might be referred to makes this difficult. In other cases it has shown that what a researcher thought to have newly discovered, others knew before him and think of it as common knowledge.
There is no intention here to present what is in reality the result of other people’s work as if it were based on one’s own discoveries. The overview articles about types of instruments in particular can not be seen as one individual’s achievement, but as collections and condensed accounts of many sources. References to literature are given, whereever this is possible.