Unbekannte genuine Instrumentalsätze aus der Lautentabulatur des Stephan Craus (A-Wn, Mus. Hs. 18688): schriftlos – skizziert – gedruckt

The article concerns a rarely explored lute manuscript from the Viennese region (1526–40) and focuses on the “pure” instrumental settings (mainly entitled “Preambulum”) that have been discovered recently. The article contains a new index of the manuscript, allowing better orientation for modern musicians or researchers. The analysis of the instrumental settings in the context of lute teaching and learning techniques in the first third of the sixteenth century shows that the scribes, on one hand, follow these techniques, but, on the other, still reflect the non-written practices. The “Preambula” are formulated as pieces and are related to Latin spoken verse, formulaic sententiae-exercises, dance interludes, or even improvised dances. The manuscript was a handwritten educational lute book based on printed prototypes. Its sources are international: They can be found both in Northern Italy (Petrucci prints) and in the Southern German-speaking region (Judenkünig, Gerle, Neusidler). This is considered to be one of the characteristics of the musical life of the Viennese region in the early sixteenth century.