Emergence of the Lute in Europe DC

7/21/2019 Emergence of the Lute in Europe DC

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/emergence-of-the-lute-in-europe-dc 1/24

Scholarly discussions about the true origins of the Lute or lute

like instruments such as the Oud, the Kithara and Gittern have, for a

long time, focused in the area and of the 600 to 700 cultures in

Northern frica! "or the most #art this belief is true! $o%ever, recent

historic scholarshi# has re&directed the 'uestion of the origins of these

chordo#hones beyond the southern (editerranean shores in frica and

the (iddle )ast! *ndeed, recent studies of manuscri#ts as %ell as

iconogra#hy in terra cotta relieves and carvings #oint out a fe%

#otential sources for styles and #erformance #ractices that #redate the

*slamic con'uest of the *berian #eninsula of the 6th century! s %e

e+amine the arrival of this instrument in the )uro#ean continent, this

document %ill not only highlight the North&frican traditions both

-o#tic and (uslim., but also their $ellenic and sian counter#arts!

Once %e have a greater understanding of the develo#ments that

brought the lute to )uro#e, this document %ill e+#lore the a##lications

that ultimately forced the instrument to evolve into the most noble of

all instruments during the )uro#ean (edieval #eriod!

*n 7// (oorish or Saracen forces invaded most of S#ain! he

forces of ari' ibn&1iyad took control of Southern S#ain in a relative

short time! he reason for this success %as the division amongst the

Goth rulers of most of %hat used to be a #art of the 2oman )m#ire!

Let us remember that in Se#tember 3, 376, the Goth Odoacer de#osed

the last 2oman )m#eror! hen, 4ust over 500 years later, an invading



force came to claim a #art of this em#ire! he Goths that remained in

control of S#ain %ere not a cohesive force! *ndeed, there %ere many

'uarrels among them over feudal territories and ta+ation rights!

"urthermore, the #ossibility of a #artnershi# bet%een other Goths and

the (uslim troo#s of ibn&1iyad has not been entirely ruled out!

-onse'uently, Goth King 2odericks futile attem#t to sto# the Saracen

forces claimed his life!

-ontrasting Goth control, the invading erber forces #roved more

ade#t at #olitics that the #rior rulers as they reduced ta+ation and

maintained traditions of non&religious nature %ithin their ne%

territories! his ne% form of 89 (:S:L(N made u# term. seemed

agreeable to local residents %ho resented the former abuses of Goth

control! he result %as an over%helming su##ort for the invading

(uslim forces and a tem#orary o#en e+change in commerce andculture!

longside their culture, education and religious beliefs, the

North fricans brought their musical #ractices and the Oud, %hich %as

their #referred instrument! *n fact, this instrument had s#eci;c

functions %ithin the (ekelet or rabic system of music that survive

almost intact to this date! )timologically, the %ord Lute is 4ust a miss&

#ronunciation of the old rabic al<ud =>?@AB literally Cthe %oodC.! "or the

most #art the Oud is #layed as a ritornello instrument! melodic DriEF



or ostinato #attern re#eats during the reciting of #oetry or singing!

he to#ics ranged from sacred hymns devoted to llah or (uhammed

as %ell as that of $eroic deeds of their chieftains!

he Saracens brought their o%n advances and arts and medicine

to S#ain! s a result, ne% forms of #oetry such as the mu%ashshah

and the a4al emerged set to music and inter#olated %ith the culture of

the local S#aniards! "ollo%ing these advances, the musical e+am#les

and manuscri#ts started to a##ear! Such is the case of an old (oorish

Lute tutor that %as brought to light by George "armer! he actual

manuscri#t is a co#y of the original tutor! he co#y dates back to /H03

due to the lack of the later common 8erso&urkish modes! *n its o%n

right, the manuscri#t stands as #roof of the inIuence of the S#anish

Saracens in music %ith their 53 naubJt rhythmic #atterns. as %ell as

the modal structure of their time! he end of the article #in#oints theGreek inIuence in (oorish S#ain as it #resents a table that cross

references rabic lute terminology %ith that found in Greek notation!

he original manuscri#t, ho%ever, must date back to at least the early

00s as it #ertains to a four&course instrument! his conclusion is

easy to arrive at due to one of the most dramatic documented ste#s in

the evolution in the lute! uring the mid 00s 1iryJb, a famous

#erformer and teacher of the lute in S#ain, added a ;fth course to the

lute in order to have a greater range in the instrument! his addition is

of transcendental im#ortance as it marks the evolution of the



instrument in )uro#e that is not noticed immediately in its (oorish

counter#art, the Oud! $o%ever, it is im#ortant to note that the Oud

did eventually follo% suit in adding a ;fth course under the inIuence of

l&Kindi in the late Mth century!

lthough the Oud and the Lute suEered constant transformation,

it is not true that the Oud evolved into the Lute in S#ain as has been

sus#ected for the last fe% decades! Several treatises have surfaced

#roviding information on the actual lute at %ork in the (oslem

countries that #re&date the %ritings of theorist and healer *bn SnJ or

vicenna in the early /000s "armer.! lthough this timeframe is

closer to the end of the Saracen control of S#ain /3M5. than its onset,

it is im#ortant to note that the Lute %as #layed 4ust as much as the

Oud in rabic&s#eaking lands!

n im#ortant as#ect of the divergence bet%een the Oud and the

Lute is the setting of movable frets and the eventual re4ection of them!

Several treatises including the old (oorish Lute tutor. s#eak of setting

the frets in accordance to diEerent scale systems! *n the end, it is *bn

SnJ or vicenna %ho sets the matter straight in his %riting of ca! /000

regarding the #ro#er scale to be used as a model %hile #laying the

Oud! efore vicennas scale setting, there %ere several diEerent

a##roaches that aEected #laying 4ust as much as tuning of the

instrument! "urthermore, let us remember that the scale system of the



(ekelet is based on 'uarter ste#s! "rets designed for half&ste# scales

soon become a hindrance as (oorish #erformers ada#ted to their ne%

system of scale division! he eventual result %as an all together loss

of frets on the *slamic Oud! his fact is #erha#s the most notable

distinction in a##earance, tuning and general technical a##roach

bet%een the Lute and the Oud! he #roblem that remained %as %hich

form of scale to em#loy in the diEerent re#ertoires at %ord during the

golden years of *slam! Several scale #atterns arose once the frets %ere

done a%ay %ith! here %ere at lease four main forms of music that

%ere drastically diEerent from one another! s a result, #erforming the

diEerent genres in one instrument %as usually a com#licated aEair!

Nevertheless, a fe% musicians and mathematicians came u# %ith

systems that eventually led to the actual tuning and a##roach to the

Oud that enabled it to e+ecute all idioms of *slam %ith relative ease!

he ;rst model %e %ill e+amine is that of an rab scale called the

unbur (iani or unbur aghdadi! he #remise of such scale tuning is

that of dividing the string into forty e'ual #arts! his scale might have

abylonian connections as it is referred to a #re&*slamic scale

attributed to a 8andora "armer, 536.!

he as%iya %as a scale favored for the Lute as it covered a single

octave and set the tuning of the strings at &&G&a! "armer further

#ortrays this system in the follo%ing chart ##! 536.



he ne+t scale ado#ted by the rabic #layers stemmed out of 8ersia! his ne% fourth&based tuning allo%ed for a double octave to a.

scale made #o#ular in the DGolden ge of *slam!F *n his article, "armer

#resents #roof of the scale being attributed to *sha' al&(ausili d! H0.

##! 537.

"ollo%ing this system of tuning, #layers in the east looked u#on %hat

#layers in S#ain did in the style of 1iryab %ith a four&course



instrument! he ;rst to #ro#ose the enactment of such addition %as

l&Kindi notice the addition of the Hth string.

Pet another combination of ;ngerings #rovided a more am#le

utiliation of the ;ngerboard! l&"arabi #ut together the t%o added

;ngers 8ersian and 1alalian tones! he follo%ing gra#hic #ortrays



the additions by name

he confusion that ensued bet%een the addition of the 8ersian and

1alalian ;ngerings #er#le+ed #layers that traveled from one estate to

another! *bn Sina #rovided a diEerent tuning allo%ing D1alalianF notes

in the second octave, %hich %ere e+cluded under the system of tuning

by fourths!F "armer ##! 5H7.



he resulting tuning of the Oud by *bn Sina is still the same today -, ",

Q, )Q!

Rhile (uslim musicians and theorists %ere busy at %ork on their

(ekelet, )uro#ean musicians directed their aim at the results given by

the half&ste# movable frets tied to the neck of the lute, )uro#ean

#layers e+#erimented %ith diEerent tunings until they reached the

standard tunings of g, d, a, f, c or a e b g! $o%ever, )uro#ean lute

#layers did not come to a standard tuning until the onset of the

trescento he %ork of mathematiciansTmusicians such as l&"arabi

and *bn Sina %as not truly ackno%ledged until the mid /H00s by

GioseEo 1arlino!

he diEerences bet%een Oud and the Lute range from the visual

to the #ractical! bbot and Segerman #oint out that the #eg&bo+ of the

lute is bent back due to s#ace constrains during ban'uet #erformance



situations in their article DRhy re Lute 8egbo+es ent ackUF here

are several accounts of lute #layers being used during medieval

ban'uet dinners and other functions at the diEerent courts! *n fact, the

most common em#loy of lute #layers %as at the end of meals %hen

the ruling lord and his guests %ould retire to larger halls or libraries to

digest the sum#tuous meal they had 4ust had! -onsorts of lutenists in

diEerent arrays of ensemble combinations %ould #erform for their

lieges and %ould need to be #ut together in sometimes rather

#recarious balconies set in claustro#hobic environments! $aving the

#eg&bo+ bent back%ards %as a trait that ma+imied s#ace usage

o%les.! Other uses of the lute %ere to serve as accom#animent for

roubadours in the lbigencian -ourts as %ell as in the later rouvere

"rench -ourts! "or this #ur#ose, the luteT#oet %ould do one of t%o

things %ith the lute he most common assum#tion unfortunately

most roubadour accom#animents are not %ritten out. is that they

#erformed an ostinato ;gure that %ould re&occur through the #iece,

thusly becoming a form of accom#animent! he other assum#tion is

that of them strumming a series of notes to create some form of

chordal accom#animent! o do this, it %as im#ortant for the lutenist to

have a %ay to sto# strings at diEerent #oints on the ;ngerboard %ith

relative ease! *n order to do this, the instrument needed frets *n this

latest re'uirement of the instrument, %e ;nd the other diEerence

bet%een the (oorish Lute and the Oud, %hich by the 00s %as no



longer a fretted instrument!

Nonetheless, it is im#ortant

to once more re&state that

recent scholarshi# #oints

out that the Lute came to

S#ain %ith frets it 4ust did

not loose them.!

"ollo%ing our

understanding of the

#ur#ose of our instrument

and the a##arent origin of it

should not satisfy our

curiosity! Ras the Lute, then a Northern frican instrumentU 2ecent

scholarshi# ;nds itself in turmoil %hen itcomes to this 'uestion! $o%ever, there

are a fe% consensuses amongst scholars! o

be fair to all 'uarreling sides, it is best to

consider three #otential origins of the

Lute ncient )gy#t, Greece and *nner sia!

he results of this endeavor %ill reIect that

the Lute might not be as northern frican

as earlier sus#ected!





Laurence 8icken also s#eaks of the

culture clash bet%een of the Greek

$ellenic )m#ire and sia (inor %hat is

kno%n today as fghanistan and

8akistan.! $e arrives at the same

conclusion regarding the con'uests of

le+ander the Great! Nevertheless, his

article dabbles in a realm that 4oins the "ar Rest %ith the "ar )ast! he

-hinese #i&#a might not be as -hinese as %as once believed! *ndeed,

his research brings the origins of the #o#ular -hinese lute back to

D-entral sia, #erha#s amongst *ranised urco&(ongols, %ithin the area

of the ancient ;rst&century kingdom of the KusanasF /00 to 5X0 .

during the 9ia and $an dynasties! 8icken #oints out the %ords for

#ulling and #ushing the reins of a horse #i and #a. in literature that

de#icts the short neck lute as an instrument for the riders of inner sia

fghanistan and #arts of *ran.! he instrument became #o#ular

#ossibly because it could be #layed %hile riding a horse! *t is

undis#utable that the #o#ularity of lute&like fretted as are the -hinese

#i#a and bi%a. s#read to all realms of the kno%n %orld of the $ellenic,

)gy#tian and -hinese dynasties! -onse'uently, all e+tant evidence

#oints at inner sia as the birth#lace of this controversial instrument

the controversial as#ect of the lute %ill be discussed at the end of this

#a#er.!



$aving a better

understanding of the origins

of the lute let us no% return

to the )uro#e in the tenth

century! he rise of the

roubadours in Occitain and

-ataluYa in the late /000s

%as of monumental

conse'uence for our

instrument! *t %as the Lute, %hich most likely served as

accom#animent to the robadour art of music and #oetry for

#erformances during festivities and ban'uets as described earlier in

this document.! he #o#ularity of the instrument forced its ne+t

evolutionary ste#! s bbot and Segerman stated it in their article, the

Lute no% needed to accommodate large numbers of #erformers in

smaller con;nes! he result of this need %as to bend the #eg&bo+ back

in order to create more room! 8roof of this is reIected in the elaborate

illustrations on the -antigas de Santa (aria of lfonso el Sabio at the

-astillian court in S#ain! Not only do %e notice music and #oetry that

is suitable for lute accom#animent, but also iconogra#hic evidence of

the usage of the lute and the Oud #erforming together should %e say

in harmonyU.! lthough the gra#hic #ortrays the Kithara %e %ould

need to see the back to ascertain %hether it is a (orisca or Latina.,





he Lute at the end of the /300s %as a drastically diEerent instrument

than that of the 700s! *t %ould be fair to say, that this ne% creation

%as solely S#anish in conce#t as the Oud evolved in a com#letely

diEerent direction! he decisions taken by "erdinand and *sabella of

-astille %ith regards to the heritage of the (oorish con'uest of S#ain

%ill set forth a fe% ironic musical scenarios! uring this time, the

Vihuela surfaces as the S#anish ans%er to all other )uro#ean nations

and kingdoms that have embraced the Lute! *ronically, the Vihuela

shares the same tuning and fret relationshi# %ith the Lute! *t 4ust looks

diEerent *n the end, the abandonment of the Lute in S#ain can either

be seen as controversial or tragic! 8erha#s it is out of this sadness that

fate had another instrument the *beric Nation to develo# he guitar!

o sum u# the history and transcendence of the Lute #rior to and

during the middle ages re'uires mention of several areas of the %orld!2ecent scholarshi# has #laced the crib of the instrument some%here

bet%een modern *ran and fghanistan! he rider #layers of inner sia

aEected great nations %ith this small instrument! 2ecords sho% Lutes

being #layed in the $ellenic )m#ire of le+ander the Great as %ell as in

the -o#tic celebrations of )gy#tian 8haraohs and -hinese ynasties

ranging from the 9ia to $an! he lute inIuenced instruments such as

the Gittern and #i&#a! *t also #ro#elled change in its counter#art the

rabic Oud! s a result of the (oorish -on'uest of S#ain, both the Oud

and the Lute e+#erienced great changes! One instrument became



more #oly#honic, %hile the other %as re&structured for 'uartertone

melodic #laying! he Lute %as embraced as the noble instrument of

the ourgeoisie and royalty for it enabled singing of the noble #oet

com#osers of the land of Oc and eventually the land of Oil! he tragic

and ironic tale of the lute is that of an or#han child re4ected by its

mother S#ain and embraced by the rest of )uro#e for another four

hundred and ;fty years before com#osers started favoring the

creations of -ristofo -ristofori and the luthiers in the schools of

-remona!



Annotated Bibliography:

Journals

&bbott, 4ilda and )#h Segerman! DRhy re Lute 8egbo+es entackUF )arly (usic, Vol! H, No! / [an!, /M77., #! //Xbbott gives evidence for the sus#icion of the characteristic DbentbackF headstock or #eg&bo+ of the lute! *ndeed, this is one of the mostnotable traits serving the #ur#ose of distinguishing the lute from itsclose brother the Oud! he issue of s#ace and cramming severallutenists together has long been a sus#icion! he 'uote this articlebrings about hel#s solidify this hy#othesis!&nonymous! Dhe (edieval, 2enaissance and aro'ue Lute!F )arly

(usic, Vol! X, No! 5 #r!, /M7H., ##! /X7&/XM(ore than an article, this is a historical set of iconogra#hic materials

that hel# de#ict not only the instrument, but also their #erformance#ractices! "eatured amongst the several scul#tures and #aintings aresets from the Santiago de -om#ostelas 8ortico de Oro as %ell as the-hurch of San "rancis of sisi! he materials stem out of the LuteSociety 8icture -ollection!

&#el, Rilli! D)arly S#anish (usic for Lute and Keyboard *nstruments!F he

(usical \uarterly, Vol! 50, No! X [ul!, /MX3., ##! 5M&X0/ his lengthy article focuses #rimarily on renaissance com#osers suchas 8isador, -abe]n and Valderr^bano! $o%ever, the de#iction of a

mi+ in customs and cultures such as the S#anish and (oorish is#ro#erly 4u+ta#osed %ith that of the rest of the )uro#ean -ontinent!#el s#ends 'uite a bit of time describing the S#anish or Nea#olitantablature and contrasts it %ith the *talian one that %as mostconventional during the early and mid /H00s!

&edbrook, G! S! Dhe Nature of (edieval (usic!F (usic _ Letters, Vol!56, No! 5#r!, /M3H., ##! 7& he article is rather e+tensive as it #retty much covers the entiregamut of music forms during the (iddle ges! $o%ever, the bit on the#resentation of the lute as brought in by Sarracens in S#ain and later

by the -rusades #lays 'uite %ell %ith this #a#ers to#ic! "urthermore,edbrook goes into detail as to the #erformance #ractices of the Oudand other #lucked instruments and com#ares them making the bigassum#tion that the middle eastern #erformance #ractice has notchanged much by these days. to %hat must have been done by roubadours! he #oint is a rather good one and %ill most de;nitely;nd its %ay into the #a#er!



&o%les, )dmund ! D(usical *nstruments at the (edieval an'uet!F2evue belge de (usicologie T elgisch i4dschrift voor(uiek%etenscha#, Vol! /5, No! /T3 /MH., ##! 3/&H/

o%les gives a detailed discourse on the musical events that normallytook #lace at festive meals at court! $e focuses #articularly in the

"rench and urgundian -ourts, %hile he mentions the 8ortuguese courtin #assing! he article is rich %ith 'uotations from guests anddignitaries that describe the celebrations, %hich include a #assage ofthe meeting of the Gentlemen of the Golden "leece! (ost instrumentsdescribed for the #re&meal announcement and the meals itself areirrelevant to this #a#er unless %e are to count the lute asaccom#animent for rouveres! $o%ever, the article becomes useful onthe after&meal retirement to halls such as libraries, %here consorts ofLutes and guitars %ere em#loyed in combination! o%les states thatthe lute re#laced the har# as a favorite for accom#anying the voiceduring the late middle ages!

&"armer, $enry George! DRas the rabian and 8ersian Lute "rettedUF he [ournal of the 2oyal siatic Society of Great ritain and

*reland, No! X [ul!, /MX7., ##! 3HX&360"armer gives several references that ;nally deny the long&lasted beliefthat the lute came to )uro#e fretless and ac'uired its frets in S#ain! he belief has been based on #oor translation and the continued use of the Oud in rabic&s#eaking lands as %ell as #oor inter#retation oficonogra#hy regarding frets! he Lute, in the end, %as fretted!$o%ever, frets %ere lost in the (uslim %orld and ke#t in the )uro#eanone! very good read!

&"armer, $enry George! Dn Old (oorish Lute utor!F he [ournal of the2oyal siatic Society of Great ritain and *reland, No! 5 #r!,

/MX/., ##! X3M&X66 he uthor focuses on the translation of this tutor that %as found inthe iblioteca Nacional de (adrid under the D(anuscritos `rabesFsection! his co#y of the original tutor dates back to /H03 due to thelack of the later common 8erso&urkish modes! he manuscri#t standsas #roof of the inIuence of the S#anish Sarracens in music %ith their53 naubJt as %ell as the modal structure of their time! he end of the

article #in#oints the Greek inIuence in (oorish S#ain as it #resents atable that cross references rabic lute terminology %ith that found inGreek notation! he original manuscri#t #robably #redates the 00s asthe lute described here has four courses and not the ;ve as introducedby 1iryJb in the mid 00s!

&"armer, $enry George! Dhe Lute Scale of vicenna!F he [ournal ofthe 2oyal siatic Society of Great ritain and *reland, No! 5 #r!,



/MX7.! 53H&5H7Once (ore, "armer does a thorough 4ob at stating his #oint, or rather,the #oint of *bn SnJ or vicenna! he 8ersian theorist amongst otherthings for he also created a com#lete school of medicine. sti#ulated ane% direction in tuning for the Lute %ith regards to the scale it %as

able to #lay! $e made direct mention of frets and the #lacement ofthem! his article %hich details a #art of the rabic manuscri#t %ith atranslation. #resents clear evidence of the fretted lute in the rabic%orld! "armer states the #roblem of fret setting as a result of ada#tingto the old 8ersian system of tuning strings a fourth a#art! he to ascale attributed to *shJ' al&(ausil and the DGolden ge of *slamF %asfurther ada#ted to the Lute %ith frets! nother interestingdevelo#ment #resented by "armer is the coincidental addition of the;fth course by the Greeks as inIuencing the rab %orld in the mid00s as %ell as 1iryJbs addition of the same string in (oorish S#ainbet%een 55 and H5!

&Gome, (aricarmen! DSome 8recursors of the S#anish Lute School!F)arly (usic, Vol! 50, No! 3, *berian iscoveries * Nov!, /MM5., ##!

HX&HMXGome begins her article %ith a detailed de#iction of the life anddoings of court gittern #layer 2odrigo de la Guitarra during the earlyand mid /300s at the -atalan&ragonese -ourt! She follo%s thisnarrative %ith other #layers at the courts of Seville and Valencia, 8edrolfonso de Sevilla %hom ultimately became %ell&kno%n in the court of-onstantino#le. and (art de runa from -ataluYa! he latter %as alsokno%n as D(artn el -iegoF the blind. and re#uted as a gifted Lute and

Gittern #layer much like the #rior musicians.! Gome closes thearticle %ith useful information regarding the several customaryensemble combinations in S#ain during the rs Subtilor Gittern andLuteB Lute and VielleB trio of Gittern 8layers! Our author concludes %ithmention of a (oorish alfabeto chord book. as co#ied do%n in /3M7 bya student of the ominican [aume Salv^!

&$iggins, 2! ! and 2! 8! Rinnington&*ngram! DLute&8layers in Greek rt!F he [ournal of $ellenic Studies, Vol! H /M6H., ##! 65&7/

$iggins focuses on over t%enty terra cotta images of Lute #layersduring the $ellenistic era in Greece and frica! fe% ;ndings are of

note! Romen are #ortrayed #erforming on the Lyre and the lute asearly as X50 or 500 -! Some of his ;ndings su##ort the statements of other authors as he notices that strings %ere ligated tied to theheadstock and not inserted through #egs. on either a blunt or s#ade&like headstock, %hich is not bent back at all! $e also evidences fretsbeing used to hel# sto# the strings! his latter statement su##orts"armers %ell&founded claim that the Lute entered )uro#e %ith fretstied on! he uthors continue on to discuss #erformance #ractice



suggestions based on the %ay the instruments %ere held on the reliefs! hey also continue on to assert the nature of the lutes and distinguishthem form the Kithara! heir ;ndings #lace the lute as a #ossibleresult of le+ander the Greats con'uests in inner sia!

& 8icken, Laurence! Dhe Origin of the Short Lute!F he Gal#in Society [ournal, Vol! , (ar!, /MHH., ##! X5&358icken brings about a logical course of events! lthough he claims thathe and other scholars %ithin his circle are changing the #erce#tion onthe origins of the Lute, it is #erha#s better to consider his statementsall based on fact. as a link bet%een the $ellenistic Greek and thesian #i&#a for%ards&back%ards.! he con'uests of le+ander theGreat in %hat is no% considered fghanistan and *ndia bring about arich cultural e+change! Rithin the e+change, %e ;nd the #i#a or asianluteTkithara! his instrument found its %ay into the Greek em#irebefore it started its inIuence on the (oorish lands! 8*cken #uts

together his information to conclude that the #i&#a #robably originatedin D-entral sia, #erha#s amongst *ranised urco&(ongols, %ithin thearea of the ancient ;rst&century kingdom of the KusanasF /00 to 5X0.!

&2ubsamen, Ralter $! Dhe )arliest "rench Lute ablature!F [ournal ofthe merican (usicological Society, Vol! 5/, No! X utumn, /M6., ##!56&5MM2ubsamens #a#er deals at length %ith the several manuscri#ts thatare described as the earliest in #rint or co#y! here are several e+tantdocuments he Vinceno -a#irola, he "olingo (S, he 8erugia (S G

50., 8rints by 8ierre ttaignant, and he G! hibault (S! $o%ever, the(anuscri#t that %ins this #rie is a leather&bound collection near8esaro, *taly hence the 8esaro (anuscri#t. #rinted bet%een /37/ and/3M7! he author %ent through %atermark analysis as %ell as style ofcom#osition and intabulation in order to arrive at this conclusion! heresearch %as 'uite thorough and meticulous!

-Scott, Nora )! Dhe Lute of the Singer ar&(osW!F he (etro#olitan(useum of rt ulletin, Ne% Series, Vol! 5, No! H [an!, /M33.,

##! /HM&/6X his article does a fe% things! "irst of all, it traces the entry of the lute

to the 9V*** )gy#tian ynasty as sia (inor came in contact %ith them! he article dabbles in 'uite a bit of detail regarding the instrument of afamous musician at the house of Semut in hebes /3M0 -.! hishel#s trace the lute back to 8ersia and sia (inor from )gy#t before itcrossed the (editerranean Ocean through Gibraltar to get to S#ain!

Books



&lton Smith, ouglas! A History of the Lute: From Antiquity to theRenaissance. -anada he Lute Society of merica, 5005 his is a thorough te+t that devotes entire cha#ters to the origins ofthe Lute in nti'uity ncient Greece, the (uslim countries and sia.,as %ell as regional a##earances of Lutes or Lute&like instruments in

S#ain and later through )uro#e! he DLate (iddle ges and )arly*talian 2enaissanceF cha#ter is of #articular interest as it traces thedevelo#ment of the instrument in *taly as it #rovides e+tensiveinformation on com#osers at %ork in the diEerent courts #ages /5X&/X0 deal %ith the life and %orks of a (ilano.! Several cha#ters deal%ith genres including intabulation. and the construction of theinstruments favored in diEerent areas as %ell as times during the2enaissance! he te+t is e+tremely thorough!

&Schlegel, ndreas! Die Laute in Europa: Geschiche und Geschichten

zum Geniessen. asel, -$ erta $ess&-ohn Stiftung, 5006 his book %as %ritten by an actual lute #layer and #ortrays thegenealogy of the lute in its many transformations! he structure of thebook is very clear as it #ortrays the ty#es of instruments %ithcommentaries on their use from nti'uity to #resent time as %ell astheir a##lications! he te+t does not dabble in the re#ertoire nor#rominent com#osers!

&(cGee, imothy! D*nstruments and their music in the (iddle ges!Fldershot shgate, c500M.!

he book is more of a collection such as ours! )ach article hasreadings that dabble in s#eci;c instruments! elo% is a list of thearticles * bro%sed for this #ro4ect! lthough e+tremely %ell %ritten, thearticles herein did not #rovide me %ith ne%er information!Nevertheless, this is a book * %ould still like to o%n myself all thearticles are in one book as o##osed to being scattered amongst doensof [ournals.

/Hth century tablatures for #lucked instruments a summary, a revisionand a suggestion T avid "allo%s && he /Hth century lute ne% andneglected sources, T -hristo#her 8age && he medieval gittern and

citole a case of mistaken identity T Laurence Rright && 500X.

Reviews



&oye, Gary 2!, /M65&! C $istory of the Lute from nti'uity to the2enaissance!C Notes HM!3 500X. M0H&M07 his is a very com#rehensive and #ositive revie% of the lton Smithook! he author has a de;nite bias to%ards the holdings of hisuniversity ##alachian State :!.! his revie% summaries the Smith

te+t and #uts in a bit of notion as to the current necessity for such abook by lutenists and guitarists! No mention of "rancesco a (ilano ismade, ho%ever the article #oints out the setu# that leads to thedevelo#ment of the lute from (edieval times to the aro'ue #eriod in*taly!

&olata, avid! Die Laute in )uro#a <Geschichte und Geschichten umGeniessenF he Lute in )uro#e $istory to elight Notes, v66 No! /500M. M6&M very e+cited re#ort on the Schiegel ook DLaute in )uro#a!F $is

article stresses the diEerent ty#es of instrument that are re'uiredtoday in order to eEectively re#roduce music of the styles of (edieval,2enaissance and aro'ue com#osers, as %ell as the diEerences thatlay in the re'uirements by the national re#ertoires! verys#ontaneous read %ith to&the&#oint commentary on the heaviercontent of the Schiegel te+t! his is a good resource for thetranscendence of the lute in )uro#e!

Graphic Credits

Oud scale #atterns

-Farmer, Henry George. “An Old Moorish Lute Tutor.” The Journal of the

oyal Asiati! "o!iety of Great #ritain and $reland, %o. & 'A(r., )*+), ((. +*-+

8i#a 8layer

htt#TT/!b#!blogs#ot!comT-0ohg1)O0TS:ksr&nyO*T"cT:/dL)9//tgTs300Tkiil#i#a#layer!4#g

)gy#tian (usic -oncert

htt#TT%%%!nmia!comT4aybirdThomasaker8aintingsTimages!htmlTegy#tianmusicianshires!4#g

(usic -oncert in tight 'uarters

htt#TT%%%!cs!dartmouth!eduT%bcT4uliaT#icsT7/!4#g

erra -otta Greek 8layer

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_C0ohgZzEzO0/SUkAsr-nyOI/AAAAAAAAAFc/U1AdLEX11tg/s400/kizil+pipa+player.jpg


http://www.nmia.com/~jaybird/ThomasBakerPaintings/images.html/egyptian_musicians_hi_res.jpg


http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/julia/pics/71.jpg



http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/julia/pics/71.jpg





htt#TTen!%iki#edia!orgT%ikiT"ileanagra/b!4#g

"rom -antigas de Santa (aria

htt#TT%%%!'musiconline!co!ukTcantigas!htm

htt#TTen!%iki#edia!orgT%ikiT"ileanagra/b!4#g

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tanagra1b.jpg

http://www.qmusiconline.co.uk/cantigas.htm



http://www.qmusiconline.co.uk/cantigas.htm


Documents

Emergence of the Lute in Europe DC