|
|
|
|
Chitarrone
by Christoff Koch
Venice, 1650
|
|
The pre-eminence of the lute in Arabian music theory (especially of the
9th to 11th centuries) is attested to in numerous writings. Celebrated instrument
making families also gave instruction in lute playing in the Oriental style,
a manner of playing which demanded the highest virtuosity from the performer.
The battle of Tours and
Poitiers (732) saw the retreat of the Arabs from the Frankish Empire; Spain
was to remain, however, under Moorish influence for the next 700 years.
Many aspects of artistic activity in western courts came under the sway
of Arab culture. In 832 the lutenist Ziryab fled from Bagdad and founded
an Arabian lute school at the court of the Andalusian emir Abd al Rahman
II at Cordova. The Moorish tradition of lute playing preserved its esoteric
character well into the 14th century. Only with Europe's growing awareness
of its own musical traditions was interest awakened in the musical possibilities
of the lute. As an instrument of the nobility the lute occupied a prominent
place among contemporary musical instruments between around 1500 and 1700.
Many German instrument makers settled in the prosperous and music-loving
North-Italian cities and founded the first lute-making schools. Among many
other fine craftsmen, Laux Maler (d. 1528), his son Sigismond and Hans Frei
(d. 1523) may be mentioned here; to a later period belong the celebrated
Tieffenbrucker family of instrument makers (notably Wendelin, who died around
1615). Well-known lute makers in Germany in the 17th and 18th century included
Joachim Tielke (Hamburg) and Johann Christian Hoffmann. A rich and varied
repertoire grew up, distinguished by national traditions: Italy, for example,
saw the creation of a purely instrumental style. In Germany, the lute shared
its popularity with another instrument, the organ. |
|
|
|
|
Theorbo Lute
with case
by Matthias Fux
Vienna, 1685
|
|
Unfortunately, no
instrument survives from the earliest period in the history of the European
lute; from around 1500 onwards the typical characteristics of the instrument
are and elegant almond-shaped body constructed from a number of separate
ribs glued together, a flat belly with a carved soundhole or rose, 11 gut
strings (5 paired, 1 single) tuned in thirds and fourths, a transverse bridge,
8 frets and a pegbox set at nearly a right angle to the neck. The
abandonment of the plectrum (used by the Arabs) in favor of the fingers
alone facilitated the playing of polyphonic, virtuosic textures. the high
esteem in which the lute was held is reflected in the costly materials used
in its construction and decoration. the tendency towards a more sonorous
style of music making led, in the 16th century, to the addition of "drone"
strings and--in Italy at first--to the construction of a second head above
or next to the original pegbox. The generic term "archlute" was
given to such instruments, of which three forms were recognised: theorbo,
theorbo-lute (like the one on the left), and chitarrone (top photo). With
these instruments, the normal strings were held by the first pegbox, the
second one holding the "drone" strings which could be plucked
but not fingered. The increasing tendency of composers around 1600 to write
in a "vertical' manner (i.e., from the bass up) meant the beginning
of the end for the esoteric lute, whose musical role was gradually taken
over by technologically complex, and more reliable, plucked string instruments
such as the harpsichord and spinet. A fashion for the guitar around 1700
and the rise of the fortepiano in domestic music-making circles led musicians
to lose interest in this noble and venerable instrument.Dagmar
Droysen-Reber/Gesine Haase |
|
|
|
|
|
Guitar
by Martinus Kaiser
Venice, 1699
|
|
By the end of the
middle ages the guitar had spread, thanks to traveling minstrels, over the
whole of Europe; it was an instrument perfectly suited for the accompaniment
of song and dance. The 16th-century instrument already possessed all the
features of the modern instrument: an elegantly carved body, a bridge which
also acts as a lower fastener for the four strings, frets and a soundhole
rose in the table. Later, under the influence of the lute, the number of
the guitar's strings was increased (now coming in pairs). Guitar
music was the entertainment music of the middle-class amateur and dilettante.
After 1600 the guitar was considered the instrument of the somewhat doubtful
social classes. In Germany the instrument only really became firmly established
by the end of the 17th century. This period, which saw the demise of the
lute, also witnessed the "golden age" of the Spanish Baroque guitar
and the flowering of guitar playing at the court of Louis XIV. The classical
guitar was smaller and more delicate than the present-day instrument. The
museum owns an instrument dating from 1699 by Martinus Kaiser (photo on
left), which gives one an idea of the beauty of the instruments from that
time. Soon after this the guitar experienced another period of unfashionability,
and became again a humble instrument of popular musical culture. Around
1800, however, the guitar appeared again in concerts. To this end the instrument
had undergone a few changes, notably to bring about a stringer and more
sonorous sound. The five double strings were replaced by a set of six single
strings and resonance-enhancing struts were affixed to the inside of the
top. Functional in design and relatively easy to play, it became a favorite
musical instrument of the middle classes.Gesine
Haase |
|
|
|
|
|
Lyre Guitar by J. G. Thielmann,
Berlin, c.1800
|
|
A particular
favorite among female players. This instrument, in the shape of an ancient
kithara, was set up and tuned like the guitar. Several were made in Paris
and Berlin between 1800 and 1830. Despite its popularity, it was not taken
seriously, and faded from existence by the mid 1800's. |
|
|
|
|
