Meaning of "le luth" in 19th century French piano score

Question

I'm looking at a piano concerto by Henri-Joseph Taskin, from ca. 1800, score here: https://imslp.org/wiki/Piano_Concerto_in_D_major%2C_Op.2_(Taskin%2C_Henri-Joseph)

And I'm seeing a frequent notation in the solo part saying "le luth". Now I'm pretty sure that translates to "the lute", though no lute is called for in the orchestration, so it's clearly not a literal lute. (And even if there was an actual lute, why mention it in the piano part?)

My guess is that this relates to the pedals, as each instance is followed several measures later by "otez le pedalle", which would mean "take off the pedal". But playing it that way on the sustain pedal sounds really messy - generally you only hold the pedal for a measure or two if that, and these statements are often many measures apart.

I don't think it's the soft pedal, that's usually marked "una corde"/"tres cordes" or something to that effect.

Thinking maybe it's that middle pedal? I don't believe I've ever seen any score call that pedal out before. If so, my piano is not equipped to play it, as it has a mandolin rail on the middle pedal instead (That makes it sound kind of like a harpsichord rather than a mandolin, despite the name. But it definitely doesn't sound anything like a lute.) And even when I've played more traditional pianos, I don't recall that middle pedal being at all lute-like in sound.

It's also possible given the age of this score that it refers to some feature not found on most modern pianos for whatever reason.

Edit: For anyone curious to hear this piece, my rendition can be found here:

I opted to change the sound to that of an acoustic guitar when the pedal is in use. You can hear it briefly in the first movement around 6:45 (which is where the passage in the image above is heard), but it is featured most prominently in the third, starting at 13:57.

Answer 1

Érard, a major piano manufacturer of the day, built pianos with four pedals:

From left to right the Erard pedals are: 1. peau de buffle (also known as “jeu de luth” or “jeu de harpe”); 2. damper (also known as “la grande pédale”); 3. céleste (which on Viennese pianos we usually refer to as the “moderator”); and 4. una corda. (Beethoven and His French Piano, Tom Beghin — Liner notes, page 28)¹

The mute pedal (No. 1) brings a batten covered in soft leather to bear on the strings at a point just behind the nut (the nut is the strip of wood glued to the wrest plank across which the strings run). Depressing the pedal causes the batten to slide sideways up a series of triangular, ramp-like guides on the wrest plank, bringing it into contact with all the strings simultaneously. (Ibid., 67)

The lute pedal created a pizzicato-type sound. (Wikipedia)²

Taskin, being French, likely either used an Érard piano, or perhaps one similarly constructed.

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¹ Available at https://static.qobuz.com/goodies/18/000138481.pdf

² All sorts of "novelty" pedals were available as the piano was being developed. A personal favorite is the "Janissary" pedal, which features importantly in the below recording of Mozart's "Rondo alla Turca".