Composing for the Theorbo: 5

Compiled by Lynda Sayce

Notation

Notation is a particularly thorny issue. Historical theorbo repertory is written in either tablature (solo music), or figured bass (continuo parts). Present-day composers may not be familiar with either system, these notations may not suit the type of piece composers want to write, and some theorbo players are not fluent readers of other types of notation. If you are writing for a specific player it is worth checking what notations he or she is happy to read. If your composition is one which could be effectively put into tablature, many players will do this anyway for their own convenience, and may be willing to make a tablature part for publication. Intabulation (the process of writing a piece down in tablature) means that fingerboard locations of notes are specified, and players working from tablatures do not have the same freedom to choose their own fingerings that they would have when playing from staff notation. Therefore, if a tablature part is provided, it is useful to provide a staff notation part as well. This will also be useful to any other performers involved in the piece, who may not read tablature.

Historical theorbo parts in staff notation are usually continuo parts which are mostly written on a single staff in the bass clef, with clef changes (typically into tenor or alto clefs) where the bass line is high. Some obbligato parts in operas and oratorios are written entirely in the alto or tenor clefs, using the highest register of the instrument. Today, since many theorbo players have been trained initially on the classical guitar, the octave treble clef is more widely read than the old-fashioned C clefs. A keyboard-style staff with treble and bass clefs is sometimes useful for wide-ranging parts, though a single staff is more compact and thus necessitates fewer page turns, which are awkward for the theorbo player. In general it is wise to avoid unusual clefs or layouts, to make sure that the intended octave is clearly specified, and to add verbal instructions for any unusual techniques which your piece may require.

Continuo accompaniment (which virtually all theorbo players can do) is essentially an improvised art within a fairly confined structure. The composer specifies the bass line and sometimes some or all of the harmonies to be played above it, but the voicings of the chords, sometimes the harmonies themselves, and the entire texture of the accompaniment are decided by the player and will be at least slightly different in every performance. Theorbo players are therefore quite used to taking part in the compositional process to some extent, but generally within the framework of musical language from around 1600 to around 1750. A modern aleatoric or partly aleatoric work may require detailed verbal explanation, and theorbo players may be quite unused to improvising in a modern idiom.

It is helpful to the player to indicate the required tuning of the diapasons at the head of the piece. Cues to other parts, verbal instructions regarding tempi and other essential performance information, are all welcome and helpful.If you are using the theorbo to accompany song, it is extremely helpful for the player to have the full text of the song and the singer's part, with a translation into a widely-known language, if it is not already in one.

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