Exhibited: reproduction of a Renaissance lute for 7 choirs

The lute is an instrument of very ancient Arab origin which became part of European musical life in the Middle Ages. The configuration of ancient Arab lutes was similar to that of today’s Middle Eastern ‘Ud [“wood”], so that the European lute can be said to have developed from the Arab ‘Ud. In the transition from Arab to European culture, the lute underwent modifications, first of all the “testing” of the neck (the transversal bars that fix the position of the notes), absent in Arab instruments, which made it possible to perform the Western musical repertoire. Over time the lute has undergone constructive modifications to adapt each time to the new musical needs. The main feature that allows the lute to be placed in time is the number of choirs it contains. Choirs are double strings tuned together in unison or octave, with the exception of the highest chorus, the cantino, which consists of a single string. While medieval lutes had four or five courses, in the sixteenth century the lute has six courses and then moved to seven in the last quarter of the century. In the seventeenth century there will also be ten choirs, the latter instrument suitable for performing the music of Michelangelo Galilei, son of Vincenzo’s lutenist.

The tablature

The tablature consists of a hexagram, corresponding to the six orders of sixteenth-century lute choirs, on which with numbers (Italian tablature) or letters (French tablature) the exact frets of each string to be pressed and therefore the positions of the left hand to hold. It is obtained from a vocal composition written in mensural (measurable) notation, i.e. which uses notes of different value or measure (= duration) deducible from their graphic representation, similar, after various passages over the centuries, to today’s pentagram.

Exhibited: reproduction of a Renaissance lute for 7 choirs

The lute is an instrument of very ancient Arab origin which became part of European musical life in the Middle Ages. The configuration of ancient Arab lutes was similar to that of today’s Middle Eastern ‘Ud [“wood”], so that the European lute can be said to have developed from the Arab ‘Ud. In the transition from Arab to European culture, the lute underwent modifications, first of all the “testing” of the neck (the transversal bars that fix the position of the notes), absent in Arab instruments, which made it possible to perform the Western musical repertoire. Over time the lute has undergone constructive modifications to adapt each time to the new musical needs. The main feature that allows the lute to be placed in time is the number of choirs it contains. Choirs are double strings tuned together in unison or octave, with the exception of the highest chorus, the cantino, which consists of a single string. While medieval lutes had four or five courses, in the sixteenth century the lute has six courses and then moved to seven in the last quarter of the century. In the seventeenth century there will also be ten choirs, the latter instrument suitable for performing the music of Michelangelo Galilei, son of Vincenzo’s lutenist.

The tablature

The tablature consists of a hexagram, corresponding to the six orders of sixteenth-century lute choirs, on which with numbers (Italian tablature) or letters (French tablature) the exact frets of each string to be pressed and therefore the positions of the left hand to hold. It is obtained from a vocal composition written in mensural (measurable) notation, i.e. which uses notes of different value or measure (= duration) deducible from their graphic representation, similar, after various passages over the centuries, to today’s pentagram.

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