Welcome

Welcome to the Fretwork blog, and our new website. These unusual circumstances have given all of us time to think about things that we put off in ‘normal’ times, and we’ve been wanting to update our website for a while now. Many thanks to Sam, our resident techie, for making it happen and quickly.

Being isolated means that we can’t give concerts, and can’t even meet to rehearse; so we have virtual meetings on zoom and spend the rest of the time worrying about money - ha, ha!

But there’s a 17th century precedence for this: the plague - a far more virulent epidemic - forced the closure of theatres and the movement of the royal court outside London, and gave artists lots of time to do other things. Shakespeare wrote and published his sonnets during such a time, and in that same year, 1609, Alfonso Ferrabosco published his monumental book of pieces for lyra viol. There’s a further link to Shakespeare in that it is dedicated to Henry Wriothsley, (Call-Me) the 3rd Earl of Southampton, and a major contender for the identity as the ‘onlie begetter’ of the Sonnets.

Lyra viol music is perfectly suited to isolation because it attempts to create a whole musical experience with (mostly) a single instrument; and I have been using these solitary days exploring Ferrabosco’s extraordinary publication.

It’s huge, with over 100 piece in three different tunings, and it’s all very difficult - perfect for endless days of practicing.

We’re going to have a Friends of Fretwork page, and one of the benefits of joining this exclusive club will be some pages of lyra viol music. But as this is a special first post in our new website, I offer a little piece from the Manchester Lyra Viola Book in the viol’s normal tuning (click on the orange button at the top of this post to download).

Have fun with it, stay at home, and stay safe.

Richard