Hans Gerle (c. 1500,

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

– 1570, Nuremberg) was a German

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck (music), neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lu ...

nist and arranger of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

. Little concrete information is available regarding Gerle's life. His father was probably

Conrad Gerle Conrad may refer to: People * Conrad (name) * Saint Conrad (disambiguation) Places United States * Conrad, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Conrad, Iowa, a city * Conrad, Montana, a city * Conrad Glacier, Washington Elsewhere * ...

(died 1521), one of the city's better-known lute makers. Gerle likely spent his entire life in Nuremberg.

Biography

Gerle published three volumes of lute music through Hieronymus Formschneider, a Nuremberg publisher. The first two were issued in 1532-33, and the last in 1552; this third volume refers to Gerle as "the elder" on the title page, so it is presumed that Gerle had either a son or another relative with the same name. The first publication contains an introduction to the performance of lute,

viola da gamba The viola da gamba (), or viol, or informally gamba, is a bowed and fretted string instrument that is played (i.e. "on the leg"). It is distinct from the later violin family, violin, or ; and it is any one of the earlier viol family of bow (m ...

(''Grossgeigen''), and

rebec The rebec (sometimes rebecha, rebeckha, and other spellings, pronounced or ) is a bowed stringed instrument of the Medieval era and the early Renaissance. In its most common form, it has a narrow boat-shaped body and one to five strings. Origins ...

(''Kleingeigen''), as well as an explanation of

musical notation Musical notation is any system used to visually represent music. Systems of notation generally represent the elements of a piece of music that are considered important for its performance in the context of a given musical tradition. The proce ...

, and is a significant source of information on

performance practice Historically informed performance (also referred to as period performance, authentic performance, or HIP) is an approach to the performance of classical music which aims to be faithful to the approach, manner and style of the musical era in which ...

. The book is primarily made up of

intabulation Intabulation, from the Italian word ''intavolatura'', refers to an arrangement of a vocal or ensemble piece for keyboard, lute, or other plucked string instrument, written in tablature. History Intabulation was a common practice in 14th–16th c ...

s of German composers such as

Ludwig Senfl Ludwig Senfl (born around 1486, died between December 2, 1542 and August 10, 1543) was a Swiss composer of the Renaissance, active in Germany. He was the most famous pupil of Heinrich Isaac, was music director to the court of Maximilian I, Holy ...

Johann Walter Johann Walter, also known as ''Johann Walther'' or ''Johannes Walter'' (original name: ''Johann Blankenmüller'') (1496 – 25 March 1570), was a Lutheran composer and poet during the Reformation period. Life Walter was born in Kahla, in present- ...

Heinrich Isaac Heinrich Isaac (ca. 1450 – 26 March 1517) was a Netherlandish composer of south Netherlandish origin during the Renaissance era. He wrote masses, motets, songs (in French, German and Italian), and instrumental music. A significant contemporar ...

Thomas Stoltzer Thomas Stoltzer, also Stolczer, Scholczer (c.1480–1526) was a German composer of the Renaissance. Life Nothing is known of Stoltzer's early life, though he is thought to have come from the same family as Clemens Stoltzer, who was a town clerk in ...

, and

Paul Hofhaimer Paul Hofhaimer (25 January 1459 – 1537) was an Austrian organist and composer. He was particularly gifted at improvisation, and was regarded as the finest organist of his age by many writers, including Joachim Vadian, Vadian and Paracelsus; in a ...

. His second volume, for solo lute, features works from many older composers, such as

Hayne van Ghizeghem Hayne van Ghizeghem ( 1445 – from 1472 to 1497) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the early Renaissance Burgundian School. While many of his works have survived, little is known about his life. He was probably born in Gijzegem (near Aalst, i ...

Josquin des Prez Josquin Lebloitte dit des Prez ( – 27 August 1521) was a composer of High Renaissance music, who is variously described as French or Franco-Flemish. Considered one of the greatest composers of the Renaissance, he was a central figure of the ...

, Isaac, and

Jacob Obrecht Jacob Obrecht (also Hobrecht; 1457/8

Claudin de Sermisy Claudin de Sermisy (c. 1490 – 13 October 1562) was a French composer of the Renaissance.Isabelle Cazeaux, "Claudin d Sermisy", "The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians", ed. Stanley Sadie. 20 vol. (London, Macmillan Publishers Ltd., ...

Adrian Willaert Adrian Willaert ( – 7 December 1562) was a Flemish composer of High Renaissance music. Mainly active in Italy, he was the founder of the Venetian School. He was one of the most representative members of the generation of northern composers ...

Jean Mouton Jean Mouton (c. 1459 – 30 October 1522) was a French composer of the Renaissance music, Renaissance. He was famous both for his motets, which are among the most refined of the time, and for being the teacher of Adrian Willaert, one of the f ...

, and Senfl. The third volume was a transcription into German tablature of pieces previously only available in Italian tablature, including works of

Giovanni Maria da Crema Giovanni may refer to: * Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname * Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data * ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...

, Domenico Bianchini,

Simon Gintzler Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

Francesco Canova da Milano Francesco Canova da Milano (Francesco da Milano, also known as ''Il divino'', ''Francesco da Parigi'', etc.) (18 August 1497 – 2 January 1543) was an Italian lutenist and composer. He was born in Monza, near Milan, and worked for the papal co ...

Pietro Paolo Borrono Pietro Paolo Borrono, or Petro Paulo da Milano or Petter Paul Borrono (born about 1490, Milan - died 1563) was an Italian composer and lutenist of the renaissance.Douglas A. Smith: ''A history of the lute from antiquity to the Renaissance'', Lute S ...

, and

Alberto da Ripa Albert de Rippe (''Alberto da Ripa da Mantova'') (–1551) was an Italian lutenist and composer. He was born in Mantua and worked there before 1528, when he left for France. There, he joined the court of Francis I in 1529. De Rippe was evidently h ...

Publications

*''Musica teusch, auf die Instrument der grossen unnd kleinen Geygen, auch Lautten'' (1532) *''Tabulatur auff die Laudten'' (1533) *''Eyn newes sehr künstlichs Lautenbuch'' (1552)

References

Howard Mayer Brown Howard Mayer Brown (April 13, 1930 – February 20, 1993) was an American musicologist. Brown obtained his BA from Harvard in 1951 and his Ph.D. in 1959, studying under Walter Piston and Otto Gombosi among others. He conducted and performed o ...

and

Lynda Sayce Lynda Sayce is a British lutenist and theorbo player, known also as a scholar of musical history and a writer on the history of the lute and theorbo. Brought up in Sandwell where she trained in the youth orchestra Originally trained as a flautist, ...

, "Hans Gerle". ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and t ...

'' online. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gerle, Hans 1500s births 1570 deaths Composers for lute Lutenists from the Holy Roman Empire German Renaissance composers German male classical composers