Bakfark Problems I. (Lasso-Bakfark "Veni in hortum meum")

Abstract

I am trying to find traces of the Bakfarkian style in the tablature; because by analysing the work in further detail, we find embedded in the musical material those traits which are so typical of Bakfark's interpretive style. It is worth examining those stylistic traits which distinguish Bakfark both as a composer and as a "renovator" from the rest of the equally famous sixteenth-century composers. Concisely one might say that the style of his composition is hall-marked by the noninstrumental usage of the lute. While his contemporaries and predecessors tried to fully exploit the technical possibilities offered by the instrument, he, on the other hand, was investigating its potential for musical expression; when the rest were primarily engaged in producing dance music, Bakfark