Jono Oud N.Z
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The Oud and Qanun and Other Instruments in Byzantine Art.
[file]26498[/file] [file]26500[/file] [file]26502[/file] [file]26496[/file] [file]26494[/file] [file]26504[/file] [file]26506[/file]
[file]26508[/file]
The one on the far right is from Varlaam Byzantine Monastery, Central Greece, 17th century.
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bulerias1981
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Interesting
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Guldeste
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These are great. Where are they taken from?
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Jono Oud N.Z
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Hey.
I just looked up Byzantine musicians on Google (images).
I found out about the one on the far right from my friend Leonardis (also on this forum).
Byzantine sources (music, art etc) are new to me and I have just began to learn more about them.
I will see if I can find out more about the sources of the paintings.
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spartan
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this is a very interesting post, unfortunately we cant find many details on the net.
the theme of a band of musicians and choir are gathering looking up and praising the Lord is a common theme in byzantine icons.
I guess its hard to identified if its oud or lavta or laouto (the 4 string instrument that was more on trend than the oud during the byzantine and
ottoman empire in this region)
The qanun was known as psaltiri in medieval times in Greece.
There are many old manuscripts in various Libraries that represent pictures from the daily life , such as the lute player and the acrobat above.
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on the 1st rank the 1st picture from left to right is a detail from an Icon from 1548 in Stavronikita Monastery in Mount Athos, North Greece. Its
worth to mention that the lute or oud player here is left -handed. The painter is one of the greatest painters of Byzantine art, called Theofanis from
Creta.
on the 1st rank the 3rd picture from left to right is from a 1760-1780 byzantine temple Saint Nikolaos at Tsepelovo, Hepirus, North Greece. These
Icons are considered as great piece of byzantine art and is a result of the prosperity of the region that era.
funny thing this picture is also included in the history book of Primary school now in greece!
the fifth picture from left to right is from Varlaam Monastery in Meteora, Central Greece. It might be from the 16th century.
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Jono Oud N.Z
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Thanks!
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reminore
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the art from varlaam is certainly from the early 1500's...
the 5th one over is from the philanthropinon monastery in yannina and also dates to the early 1500's - the painters most probably had been trained by
iconographers who left constantinople after it's fall...
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rootsguitar
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It must be possible that ouds made it to North America in the 1500's.
So much sailing back and forth from parts of the world where they were played.
Enjoying the great archives here...
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DavidJE
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It's also interesting to me that most of the players in the paintings were standing rather than sitting. I always thought of the oud as in instrument
best suited for sitting. It seems to fit so perfectly on the "lap".
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bulerias1981
Oud Junkie
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Mood: John Vergara Luthier Lord of the Strings instrument making and repair
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The Cuban laud must have been an oud that reached the shores of Cuba either during one of Colombus' voyages or during the early colonization of Cuba.
As an alternative to history which I accept, Colombus used Moorish sailors for navigation, since they had the knowledge of that, and supposedly had
sailed far into the Atlantic already. Either way, the Cuban laud seems like a replication of an oud to a civilization cut off from the old world. http://www.fernandezmusic.com/Images/SanchisLaudandcase.gif
I attended a violin making convention for the VSA (Violin Society of America) probably back in 2007 in Delaware. There was a special program about
early American violins. The early American violins were rough, because they were cut off from Europe, and they were copying them to the best of their
knowledge. As time went on and better instruments as well as know how came to America and they began reproducing better instruments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qX9utpiyXI
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mavrothis
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There is also the theory that Columbus either lived on or used sailors from the island of Chios, specifically the town of Pyrgi, which was a fort town
either founded or at the very least ruled by Genoa for 2.5 centuries.
It's very interesting that in every clear photo I remember having ever seen of medieval oud/lute instruments, the bam telli is always on the bottom
next to the highest treble pair. And this matches the stringing and tuning used by players at the turn of the 20th century (Bacanos, Targan) and was
continued by the Bashir brothers' legacy too.
There are plenty of ideas of why this might have been, but anyone have any clues as to why it remained a characteristic for so long, especially since
the lavta of the mid-19th century already had the bam telli on top, as we would expect to see it today?
Regarding playing standing up, if you ever find the need to do it and have trouble keeping the oud from sliding, by chance I discovered these "lute
stabilizers" that are reusable and removable: Lute Stabilizer Pads
They actually help a lot for playing while standing!
mav
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