there are some interesting old ouds to see here, including Qasabji's oud.
Sadly, they don't seem to be played at all (they are not even stringed)...
Danjdowning - 6-21-2009 at 04:45 PM
At some point, the fine (and now fragile) old instruments should be retired from service and conserved, untouched, for posterity - serving as a model
for future study and the making of replicas. Playing instruments 'into the ground' is one reason why no ouds survive prior to the late 18th C. A
tragic loss.Danielo - 6-21-2009 at 11:18 PM
Hi John,
I read often, concerning violins, that they should be played in order to stay in good shape. Is it a myth? Or does it apply only to the violin family
and not to lute/ouds, whose structure is less stiff?
Danjdowning - 6-22-2009 at 05:04 AM
Hi Dan - no doubt that violins - due to their smaller size and more robust structure (particularly of the varnished sound board or belly) than ouds or
lutes - should have a longer working life. There are after all violins from the 17th and 18th C still very much in use (and demand - not to mention
their value!). Interestingly, few of those early violins (the Strads. etc) are in their original state having, for example, been re-necked - the necks
reset to a steeper angle in order to withstand modern higher string tensions and having been revarnished etc.
The reason that some lutes have survived over four centuries is not only because they were valuable, presentation instruments in their own time and
preserved for that reason but also because the lute had become obsolete as an instrument by the mid 18th C so was no longer played and not subject to
destructive wear and tear as a consequence.
The situation with the oud is different as the playing tradition has continued, unbroken over centuries, until the present day. So, presumably, the
ouds of earlier times, were played until worn out and beyond further repair and then just thrown away. New ouds for old!
The earliest surviving oud that I know of is in the collection of the Cite de la Musique Museum in Paris, cat E 1779, reputed to date to the late 18th
C. Oud Freak - 6-22-2009 at 05:29 AM
