Daniel Shoskes, aka Kidney Kutter (he’s a Urologist) plays Fantasia #1 Quarto Tono & Duo Pleni Sun from Silva de Sirenas (1547) by Enríquez de Valderrábano (c. 1500-1557) on a gut strung renaissance Vihuela by Dan Larson. This comes via his great channel on YouTube.
I love Valderrábano and especially on Vihuela. Having arranged tons of vocal music for vihuela, Valderrábano’s music sounds very rich in polyphonic lines and phrasing and yet the plucky sound really brings out dance qualities as well. Beautiful. Shoskes has tons of videos on his channel and deserves many many more subscribers so head on over to his YouTube and subscribe. I love people that post these casual at home videos of repertoire for our exploration and enjoyment.
The vihuela sounds very beautiful indeed. A lot like a mandolin….only better. If only mandolin players would use gut strings, that instrument could perhaps be rescued from the oblivion which is alas its present state. Those metal strings used on modern mandolins, have very poor decay characteristics and hence the sound is thus deeply flawed.