Tañer Vihuela
Según Juan Bermudo
~ Polifonía Vocal Y Tablaturas Instrumentales ~
John Griffiths
Institución 'Fernando El Católico' (CSIC), Zaragoza
2003
I was sent this book by Professor John Griffiths, researcher and performer of the vihuela. It is a collaboration between himself and Juan Bermudo, who in his 'Declaración de instrumentos musicales' of 1555, suggested a path of instruction for student vihuelistas to follow. Where Bermudo has been implicit, Griffiths is explicit. The book is full of wonderful vihuela pieces in facsimile, alongside transcriptions in voice parts with texts, which could be performed in ensemble or used for theoretical study. This is a unique tutor, and must be essential reading for any serious vihuela student, but is also of tremendous use for general students of Renaissance period music.
I had intended to give an in-depth review of this publication, but unfortunately I do not speak Spanish. I can make out much of what is being discussed, but the subtleties of the language are beyond me. I wrote to Griffiths about this, asking a few questions with probably glaringly obvious answers. John has been very patient with me, and offers the following by way of an introduction to the book.
John Griffiths: One of the really stupid things I have done in my life was to publish this book only in Spanish. When I discussed a bilingual version with the publishers AFTER it came out, the told me they would have been pleased to do it! So what I am going to do is make myself a website and make an English translation to put up on the web. If the book ever reaches a second edition, it will be bilingual. That being said, let me try to attend to your questions.
Rob MacKillop: Does Bermudo offer a tutor, with these specific pieces, or does he only mention the sort of things one should study in order to play the vihuela, and you have chosen appropriate repertoire to illustrate his points?
JG: Bermudo spends chapters after chapter with intricate detail about how to intabulate vocal music on the vihuela, using his seven tunings, the vihuelas in G, A, B, C,... etc. After page after tedious page, he gets to the end of it and then says: "If you really want to be good at playing the vihuela, here is what you have to do...." This section is the one that I have based the book on. Basically, he says: "go away and find some vocal polyphony, follow the order that I tell you, intabulate it and learn how it works before you try to make your own fantasias, because if you don't your fantasias will all be in bad taste"
RM: Fuenllana mentions learning vocal music before fantasias. Is this the approach adopted in the Taner Vihuela?
JG: Exactly.
RM: Are the pieces chosen in order to learn modes and cadences? And imitation? Is that why you have put boxes around similar phrases?
JG: In short:
Step 1: intabulate 2-part music, especially 2-part villancicos (this teaches basic counterpoint)
Step 2: intabulate homophonic 3-part villancicos (so you learn harmony, chords and chord positions)
Step 3: intabulate more difficult 4 and 5 part music by Josquin, Morales, Gombert, etc.
Step 4: improvise your own fantasiasRM: How much is Bermudo and how much is Griffiths?
JG: My part has been to select pieces from the surviving vihuela books that correspond to this progression, and to arrange them in the order Bermudo suggests as close as possible. There is only one 2-part villancico in all the vihuela books, however, so I have used some of the 2-part mass fragments as well. Similarly, I have interpreted his other steps in a broader way. More substantially, Bermudo asks the student to locate the vocal music and to put it into tablature. Copying the music in this way makes any player intimately aware of the details of musical style. Instead, I have provided transcriptions in which I have analysed the music, marking all the important cadences and points of imitation. The idea is that students should learn each part separately so that they can get to hear each part individually when they play the whole piece. Alternatively, several players can play the pieces as ensemble pieces and get to understand the individuality of the parts. Then, I give some fantasias by vihuela composers I have also written out in separate voices so that players can see how these pieces are exactly modeled on the same techniques both in their formal structure and their inner detail. In other words, showing that these composers actually did exactly the kind of apprenticeship that Bermudo suggests.
RM: The transcriptions invite ensemble performances, much like the Fuenllana disc by Jose Miguel Moreno's group, Orphenica Lyra. Was this your intention?
JG: Partly. I have used these versions for group teaching, and at summer schools with fantastic results both musically, socially and didactically.
RM: Could I scan two pages to put on the website? And where can I put a link to for people who want to buy it?
JG: By all means. That would be great. The publisher's website is: http://ifc.dpz.es/ I think they have an English page. Additionally, there is a fantastic bookshop/distributor in Zaragoza that sells across the internet and has good English pages. They are called Pórtico Librerias and their email address is: portico@zaragoza.net Even better, is the fact that the book is really very cheap, I think the retail price is only 8 Euros!
RM: It's a great little book, and I will certainly be using it for ensemble work in the future.
JG: Good. I'm pleased to hear it, and am pleased to know that my labour has not been altogether in vain. Regards, John
Facsimiles
1. Page 25: Benedictus de la Missa Ave Maris stella - Josquin/Valderrabano