LSA Quarterly - Summer, 2010 31

Wire-Strung Instruments in the 17th Century Nearly all of thewire-strung instruments developed inthe16thcenturycontinuedtobeusedthroughoutthe17thcentury,thoughsomeofthemhadfallenintodisusebythecloseofthecen-tury.Insomecases,aswiththecittern,newtuningsand/orchangestobodydesign(bothsizeandshape)kepttheinstrumentevolvingandincontinualuse,whileinothers(suchasforthe orpharion)changesinstringtechnologyoravailabilitymadeolddesignsob-solete.Changesinmusicaltastesandstylesbuiltupontrendsfoundinthelatterpartofthe16thcentury––continuedexperimentationininstrumentsize,theadditionofcoursestoextendthebassrange,andtheuseofchordaltunings––andstronglyinfluencedthede-velopmentandevolutionofnewinstruments.

“With deepest sympathy…” Ratherthanwirestringingsoundingadeathknellforgutstrunginstruments,wirestringingwasembracednotonlyforitsuseonall-wireinstrumentsbutforenrichingthesoundofexistinggut-strunginstrumentsintheformofsympatheticstringing.In1609,forexample,amonopolywasgrantedtoPeterEdneyandGeorgeGillforthe“makingofviolsviolinsandLuteswithanadditionofwyerstringesbesidetheordinarystringesforthebetteringofthesoundbeinganinventionoftheirsnotformerlypractisedorknowne.”1Itisuncertainwhatbecameofthismonopoly,buttenyearslaterPraetoriusgivesusaclueandaptlydescribedthispracticeofsym-patheticstringing:

Now inEnglandsomethingnewandstrangehasbeen in-ventedthat,totheeffectthatundertheusual6stringsanother8stringsmadeofsteelortwistedbrassarelyingonabridge,whichhavetobeaccuratelytunedtothesamepitchastheupperstrings.Ifoneoftheuppergutstringsistouchedbythefingerorbow,thelowerbrassorsteelstringsresonateper consensum,tremblingandquaveringsothattherebythesweetnessoftheharmonyisincreasedandenlarged.2

Thismethodofstringingthe lyra violwasalsodescribedbySirFrancisBacon(1626)andJohnPlayford(1661),butbyPlayford’stime, “Time andDisuse [had] set themaside.”3Other formsofsympatheticstringingwithwirefoundtheirwayintotheuseoftheNorwegianHardanger fiddle(thefirstinstanceofwhichiscontro-versiallydated1651)4andthebaryton,atypeofbassviolplayedsolo(“lyrastyle”)withsixbowedgutstringsandninediatonicallytunedmetalsympatheticstrings.Thebaryton,however,isuniquein

A Brief Survey of Plucked Wire-Strung Instruments, 15th-18th Centuries - Part Three

The

Wire Connection By Andrew Hartig

thatthemetalstringscouldalsobepluckedfrombehindwiththelefthandinordertoaddharmonyorcreateanadditionalindependentline.

Wire-Strung Lutes Inadditiontowirestringsbeingusedsympa-theticallyongut-strunginstruments,somegut-strunginstrumentswere completely restrung inwire. Forinstance, somebowed instrumentsweregiven all-wirestringing,suchasthe violen-cythaer developedbyMichaelVreedmanearlyinthecentury5andtheviola d’amore laterinthecentury.6Lutes,aswell,werenotimmunetothistransformation. The four lutes found in the hands ofstatuesofangelsinFreibergCathedral(placedtherebetween1585and1594)werestrungwithmetal strings, indicating a possiblepracticeofstringingluteswithwiredat-ingbacktothelastquarterofthe16thcentury.7Praetorius mentions thattwo-necked lutes and regular lutescould be restrungwith a combina-tion of iron and brass. Included inhiswoodcuts is an illustration of awire-strungtheorbo.Similarly,Ales-sandroPiccinini(1623)mentionedatypeof theorbo or chitarronewith silverstrings.However,despitetheserefer-ences,thepracticeofstringingpluckedgut-strunginstrumentsinwiredoesnotseemtohavebeenthatcommonnorlong-lived.

Citara Tiorbata / Arch-Cittern Attheturnofthe17thcentury,anewunderstandingofmusicwastakingplacewiththedevelopmentoftheseconda pratica,whichgaveprecedencetothetextovercounterpointandrhythm(followingwhatcomposersofthetimebelievedwasancientGreekpractice).Withthisemphasisonthetext,insteadofpolyphonyagreateremphasiswasplacedonharmonytoaccompanythesinglevoice.Thismayormaynothavebeenthecauseforthecreationofaccompanimentinstrumentslikethetheorboandchitarrone,butitcertainlyallowedthemtoflourishinthisnewmusicalenvironment.Wire-strunginstrumentswerenotexemptfromthischange.Therearenumerous references toextendedbass-rangecitterns, though

Woodcut from Michael Prae-torius’s Syntagma Musicum,

1619.

LSA Quarterly - Summer, 201032

Orfeo,a termwhich,untilnotthat longago,manyhadbelievedreferred to the gut-strung chitarrone.One surviving instrumentbyGiralamoCampiintheMuseoBardiniinFlorencepossesses7fingeredcoursesand5diapasons.Itisnotablethatthediapasonsofthisinstrumentarenearlytwicethelengthofthefingerboardstrings. CeteroniofsometypewerealsoknowninareasbeyondItaly.Mersennecomparesthe“Cisteron,ouGuiterron”tothetheorboanddescribesthemashavingflatbacksandpossessingeither14or15coursesofstrings.17Praetoriusalsomentionsaninstrumentof12coursesplayedbyDominiciofPrague,andhegivesanillustra-tion––thoughgivenitsslantednutandbridgeandslightlyshorterdiapasons,itishardtosaywhetherthisshouldbecategorizedasacitaratiorbataoraceterone.Ineithercase,Praetoriusalsoprovidesusatuningof(lowtohigh)eb-Bb-f-c-g-d-a-e-b-g-d’-e’.18Noknownmusicintablatureforceteronesurvives.

Gittern / Bell Gittern Onthesmallerscaleofthings,instrumentslikethecitterncontinuedtobeusedthroughoutthecentury,thoughsometimeswithalteredtunings.Whilethetermgittern(alsosometimesquinternandguitterne)wasusedforbothasmall15thcenturygut-strungbowl-backedinstrumentandthesmall16thcenturywaistedflat-backedinstrument(i.e.“Renaissanceguitar”),inhisarticleonthe17thcenturygittern19DonaldGillhasshownthatbythemiddleofthe17thcenturythetermhadcometomeanasmallwire-strungcitterntunedafterthemannerofthe4-courseguitar.Inthisform,itappearstohavecontinuedtohavebeenplayedwithaplectrumlikethecittern,anditisthisinstrumentforwhichJohnPlayfordpublishedhiscollectionofpiecesinthesecondpartofA Booke of New Lessons for the Cithern & Gitternin1652.Atleastonemid-centurywoodcut and twowritten descriptions of the instrumentindicatethatthegitternmayalsohavecomeina“bell”ortriangularshape.20

Cithrinchen Ithasnotbeencompletely substantiated,but it appearsthatthereissomesortofarelationbetweenthebellgitternandtheHamburg cithrinchen,an instrumentoffivecourseswith threesoundholes, a bell-shapedbody, chromatic fretting, and a stringlengthofabout36-38cm.Thecithrinchenwasplayed from themiddleofthe17thcenturythroughmiddleofthe18thcenturyandappearstohavebeenverypopularbasedonthenumberofsurvivinginstruments,themostnumerousofwhichcomefromtheworkshop

Title page of the gittern section of John Playford’s Booke of New Lessons for the Cithern & Gittern, 1652.

whatdifferentiates thetypesfromoneanother isnotentirelyclearandisripeforfurtherresearch. InItaly,itappearsthattherewereanumberof types of standard-sized citternswith a secondpegboxandextendedbassstrings,thoughexactlyhowtheseinstrumentsweretunedandhowmanycoursestheyhadisuncertain.MersennementionsthattheItalianswouldaddstringstotheircitternstototal9or10courses.8Severalpaintings9andpossiblyanalteredinstrument10survive,buthowmanycoursesandhowthesewere tunedisnotknown.Thescantsurvivingiconographysuggeststheirusetoaccompanysolovoice,andoneofthetwosurvivingprintssuggestsuseinensembles. PietroPaoloMelii’s Intavolatura di Liuto Attiorbato, Libro Quartoof1616containsaBalletto for nine instruments,11 including aCitara Tiorbata ofatleastninecourses,thefirstsevenofwhichwerefrettedandtunedG-d-f-b-g-d’-e’.12ThatMeliimakesthepointoflabelingtheCitaraTiorbatapartas“CordaturadelSignorPaoloVirgo”indicatesthatPaoloVirchi’stunings13werewellknownandthatothertuningsforthecitaratiorbatawerealsopossible. Perhapstheexampleofanarch-citternwithwhichpeopletodayaremostfamiliaristhe“Citharenwithfourteenecourseofstrings”fromThomasRobinson’sNew Citharen Lessonsof1609.

Of this type,Robinson says itwas an“invention[that]wasfirstbegunbyanItalian inItaly,butaltered,andstringsaugmentedbyme.”14Robinson’sinstru-menthad7fingeredcoursesand7dia-pasons,ascanbeseeninhiswoodcut,buthadtohavebeenofasmallsizeduetothetypesofstretchesrequiredofthelefthand.ThetuningisacombinationofdiatonicbassescombinedwithPaoloVirchi’s 7-course cittern tuning, butmodified(“altered”)forthe4thcoursefor a nominal tuning, low to high, ofG1-A1-Bb 1-C-D-E-F-G-d-f-bb-g-d’-e’.15

Ceterone In addition to the standard-sizedcitternswithextendedbassstrings,instrumentsinimitationofthechitarronewere invented,with largebodies, longstopped-string lengths, and extendedbass stringson a secondpegbox.Thistypeof instrument isprobablywhat isreferredtoinsurvivingdocumentsasaceterone.Thefirstrecordedreferenceinprinttotheextended-rangeinstrumentislikelytohavebeenAgostinoAgazzari’s1607citationoftheceteroneasausefulinstrument for a continuo ensemble.16Monteverdialsointhesameyearcalledfor two ceteroni for his production of

From Thomas Rob-inson’s New Cithar-en Lessons, 1609.

Ceterone by Gieronimo Campi or Canpi, Museo Bardini, Florence. Photo courtesy of Stephen Got-tlieb.

LSA Quarterly - Summer, 2010 33

Notes1Ward,John."SprightlyandCheerfulMusick:notesonthecittern,gitternandguitarin16th-and17th-centuryEngland." Lute Society Journal XXI(1979-81),p.25,note97.2TranslationasprovidedinHarryDanks,The viola d’amore.TheodoreFrontMusic(1979),p.12.3Ibid.,p.13.4Formoreinformation,seetheNew Groveentry“Hardangerfiddle[Hard-ingfiddle].”5MichaelVreedmanwas the sonof citternistSebastianVreedman andpublishedanowlostworkin1612,Der Violen-Cythaer mit vyf Snaaren, en niewe Sorte melodieuse inventie, twe Naturen hebbende, vier Parthyen spelende, licht de leeren, half Violens half Cyther... FormoreinformationabouttheVreedmansandthispublication,seetheentryforDer Violen-Cythaerathttp://cittern.theaterofmusic.com/printed/index.html6Theviola d’amore of the 18th centurywas strungwith sympatheticwirestrings,butin1679thediaristJohnEvelynreportedseeing“theviold’Amoreof5wyre-strings,plaiedonwithabow,beingbutanordinaryViolinplay’donLyraway.”Ibid.,note2,above,p.14.7PeterForresterhassuggestedthatonepossibleexplanationforthewirestringingofthelutesissothatthestringscouldsurvivethroughouttheages,giventheirdifficult-to-reachlocationwithinthecathedral.However,accord-ingtoVeitHellerattheUniversityofLeipzig,“Webelieveorareconvincedthatthemetalstringsareoriginalandthattheyindicateapracticeofplaying.Themetalstringsaremadewithcareandalsoallfourcitternsarestrungin

ofJoachimTielke.ThoughevidencepointstoithavingbeenplayedmostlyinGermanicregions,itsinfluencemayhaveextendedtobothEnglandandtheNetherlands.Theci-thrinchenwasprobablytunedinthechordaltuning f–a–c′–e′–a′, though several othertuningsaredocumented21 andat leastonesource indicates that the instrument couldbetunedlikethe5-courseguitarandplayedwiththefingers.22Therearecurrentlyonlyfoursurvivingsourcesofmusic,all intheformofmanuscripts.23

Polyphont SirFrancisPrujeaneinhislettertotheCountessofRutlandin1655describestheunusualinstrumentknownasthepolyphont orpolyphon,whichappears tohavebeenanattempttocombinequalitiesofthelute,cittern,bandora,andharp:

Thepolyphon is an instrument of sodifferentastringingandtuningthatit’simpossibletoplaywhatissetttoiton

anyotherhandinstrument.Therearethreerowsofstringsoneunderanother,eightortensmallshorttrebleswhichlyunder the frets, there areonelyfive strings stopped,andthereareonitabovefortysinglestrings.Nothingcanresembletheharpsomuchasit.24

Othersources25indicatethatitwasaflat-backedinstrumentwithascallopedoutline,possessingtwonecksandpossiblyfoursetsofstrings:onechromaticharp-likesetonthebodytothetreblesideoftheright-mostneck,pluckedbythefingersoftherighthand;asetonthefingerboardofonly3-5courses;alongharp-likesetrunningfromabeambetweenthetwoneckstothebodyandpluckedbythelefthand(muchlikeonthebaryton);andalastsetoflongbassstringsrunningonthesecondneck,pluckedbytherighthandthumb. ThepolyphontdoesnotappeartohavebeenverypopularandmayhavebeenlimitedinusetoEngland.JohnPlayfordinhisIntroduction to the Skill of Musick(1687)claimsthatthepolyphontwasinventedbymusicianandinstrumentmakerDanielFarrant(b.1575)andthatQueenElizabethI“didoftenrecreateherselfuponanexcellentInstrumentcalledthePolyphant.”ThelastdescriptionofthepolyphontcomesfromJamesTalbot(c.1694),thoughdiaristJohnEvelyn’smentionofitin1661suggeststhatevenatthatdateitwassomethingofarareinstrument.26

t Instrumentslikethepolyphontdemonstratetheinventiveingenuitythatmusiciansandinstrumentmakerspossessedandthepossibleopportunitiestheyfeltwirestringingafforded,fromin-tunehighpositionplaying,todeepbassforharmonizationandcontinuo,tosympatheticstringing,toapossibilityofindependentleft-andright-hand parts.While the relative obscurity of the polyphontdoesindicatethatitwasnotanoverallsuccess,theideasbehind

itsconceptionarecharacteristicoftheideasthatdrovewire-strunginstrumentdevelopmentinthe17thcentury.Someoftheseideascontinuedwiththedevelopmentofnewwire-strunginstrumentsinthe18thcentury,butinamoremoderateandconservativeform,whichwillbeaddressedinpartfour,thefinalinstallmentofthisbriefhistoryofwire-strunginstruments.

Special thanks to Viet Heller from the University of Leipzig for information on the stringing of the Freiberg instruments, to Peter Forrester for providing information and sources on the citara tior-bata, to Stephen Gottlieb for permission to publish his pictures of the Campi ceterone, and to Andreas Michel for providing the image of the Tielke cithrinchen.

Sources and Additional Readingu Gill,Donald."Wire-strungPluckedInstrumentsContemporarywiththeLute."Lute Society Booklet No.3(1977)

u Groves Dictionary of Music and Musicians[Availableonline:http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com]u Hartig,Andrew. The Renaissance Cittern Site:http://www.cit-tern.theaterofmusic.comu Michel,Andreas.Studia Instrumentorum Musicae:http://www.studia-instrumentorum.de[SiteinGerman]u Segerman,Ephraim. The Development of Western European Stringed Instruments. [Available for purchase online: http://www.lulu.com]u Ward,John."SprightlyandCheerfulMusick:notesonthecit-tern,gitternandguitarin16th-and17th-centuryEngland." Lute Society Journal XXI(1979-81).

t

Cithrinchen by Joachim Tielke, 1694. University of Leipzig, Inv.Nr. 639 [war loss]. Image cour-tesy of Andreas Michel.

34 LSA Quarterly - Spring, 2010

Ken Brodkey Lute Maker

Renaissance & Baroque Lutes Archlutes & Theorbos

831-761-0318 Web: luteworks.com

E-mail: kbrodkey@pacbell.net

Ken Brodkey Lute Maker

Renaissance & Baroque Lutes Archlutes & Theorbos

831-761-0318 Web: luteworks.com

E-mail: kbrodkey@pacbell.net

wireinthesameway.Indeed,thetuningwith[these]stringsisdifferentfromthemostusualtunings.”Additionally,onlyoneinstrumentinthecollectionshowstheremainsofgutstrings:theKleindiskantgeigeorViolinopiccolo.FormoreinformationontheinstrumentsfromtheFreibergCathedral,seehttp://mfm.uni-leipzig.de/_dt/Forschung/ProjektFreiberg.php.8Mersenne,Marin.Harmonie Universelle,1636,Book2,propositionXV,f.98v.9ThereisonepaintingbyEvaristoBaschensisandseveralcopiesofan-other(lost)Baschensispaintingthatshowapartially-hiddencitternwithtwopegboxes,whichcanbeseeninBaschensis, Bettera & Co, Gorlicheditore,Milano(1971)andEvaristo Baschensis,BancaPopularediBer-gamo(1985),bothbyMarcoRosci.Also,apaintingofalargecitternwithacoupleofcoursesrunningoutsideofthemainpegboxtoanextension,attributedtoRutilioManetti(Rome,Spiridoncollection),whichisillustratedinMichaelsteiner Konferenzberichte 66: Gittare und Zister — Bauweise, Spieltechnik und Geschichte bis 1800.(2005).10 InstrumentE.46,Paris,Muséede laMusique. Informationabout thisinstrumentcanalsobefoundinMichaelsteiner Konferenzberichte 66 (seepreviousnote).11Theotherinstrumentsincludethreedifferentsizesoflute,violin,bassviol,flute,doubleharp,andclavicembalo.12The9thcourseisusedonlyonce;the8thcoursenotatall.Basedonthemusicitappearsthatthe9thcourseshouldbetunedtotheAabove the7thcourse,butthisdoesnotmakesenseinlightofthepossibleextendedlengthofthestring(“Tiorbata”),nordoesitallowaconvenientsolutionforthetuningofthe8thcourse.Onepossibilitysuggestedbythemusicisthatthe9thcourseismeanttohavetheFatonebelowthe7thcourse,butthisstillyieldsnosatisfactorysolutionforthetuningofthe8thcourse.Thisproblemunderscoresmuchoftheconfusionandambiguityconcerningthetuninganduseofthecitaratiorbataandtheceterone.13FormoreinformationonPaoloVirchi’stuningsforchromaticcittern,seemyarticle“ABriefSurveyofPluckedWire-StrungInstruments,15th-18thCenturies–PartTwo:Wire-StrungInstrumentsinthe16thCentury,”LSA QuarterlyVolumeXLIV,No.4,Winter2009.14FromRobinson’sstatement“To theReader.”Foracompletemoderneditionwith transcription,see thateditedbyDocRossi,http://www.ce-trapublishing.com.15Atitssmallsize,Robinson’sinstrumentwaslikelystrungeitherafourthoranoctavehigherthanlistedhere.16Agazzari,Agostino.Del Sonare Sopra'l Basso Con Tutti Li Stromenti,1607.Thoughthefirstrecordedreferencetoaninstrumentcalled“ceterone”canbe found inGioseffoZarlino’sLe institutioni harmoniche of 1558("VsaloItaliano,etancoilFrancesegrandementeilLeuto,etloSpagnolovsailCeterone;ancorachevariapocodalLeuto;etaltripopolivsanoilPiffero."),nothingelseisknownabouthisinstrumentinthiscontext,anditisunlikelythatitreferstothelaterinstrument.17Mersenne,Marin.Harmonie Universelle,1636,Book2,propositionXI,f.88andpropositionXII,f.92.18Onemay immediatelynotice that the lower8courses are tuned inaseriesoffourthsandfifths,atuning,PeterForresterhaspointedout,thatwasalsousedonthelirone,indicatingapossibleconnectionbetweenthetwoinstruments.19Gill,Donald.“TheseventeenthcenturygitternandtheEnglishZitterlein.”The Lute,Vol.XXXV(1995).20AwoodcutbyJohnDunstallfromc.1660showsabell-shapedinstrumentwithasinglesoundholeaspartofagarlandofmusicalinstruments.SirPeterLeycesterinhis1667catalogueofhisinstrumentslists“oneGittyrnewithWyre-StringsofaTriangularfforme.”TheTalbot MS(c.1694)hastwoentriesabouta“BellGuittern”with5courses.Formoreinformation,seeGill’sarticle(seepreviousnote).21Othertunings(someofwhichmaybeerroneous)included–g–c′–e′–a′, f–bb–d′–f′–bb, and c–e–g–b–e′ for five courses, and c–f–a–c′–e′–a′, A–d–a–b–e′–a′,andE–G–B–d–f#–b–d′forsixcourses.Forfurtherinforma-

tionandadiscussionofthelegitimacyofthesetunings,seeJamesTyler’sentry“Cithrinchen”intheNew Grove.22Kremberg,Jakob.Musicalische Gemüths-Ergötzung,1689.23Afifthmanuscriptsource,Hamburg,Staats-undUniversitätsbibliothekCarlvonOssietzky,Musiksammlung,Mus.NDVI3241(c.1700), wasdestroyedin1944.24QuotedinWard,“SprightlyandCheerfulMusicke.”(Seenote1,above.)25DescriptionsbyJamesTalbot,ChristChurch(Oxford)MS 1187(c.1694)andRandleHolme,British Library MS Harl. 2034.Formorecompleteinformation, see Segerman’s “Comm. 1821:Notes on the Polyphont”FoMRHINo.110,2008.26Evelynwrites,“thePolyphone,aninstrumenthavingsomethingoftheHarp,Lute,Theorbo&c;itwasasweeteInstrument,bynoneknowninEngland, or describedby anyAuthor.”Quoted in IanHarwood’s entry“Poliphant”intheNew Grove.