 The theorbo (also known as
chitarrone) was a large lute developed in Italy at the end of the
sixteenth century to accompany the new style of solo singing. It
quickly became the standard instrument for that purpose. More than
two hundred collections of music published in Italy during the first half
of the seventeenth century mention the chitarrone as a continuo
instrument. The instrument spread to France, England and other parts
of Europe and remained in use through to the end of the seventeenth
century and beyond. Composers who specify the chitarrone or theorbo
for accompaniment include Caccini, Monteverdi, Frescobaldi , Purcell , and Blow, among many
others.
The exceptional length of the theorbo gives it particular strength and resonance in the bass. Its fourteen strings come in two groups. The upper strings are played much like a normal lute. The lower strings however are much longer and are played 'open' with the right hand only. On my theorbo, the upper strings have a string length of 82 cm (itself some way longer than a modern classical guitar) and the lower strings 154 cm. The instrument itself is 179 cm long. Amazingly, the instrument in its case will fit into an airline seat. The tuning of the instrument is as follows:
The top two strings are tuned an octave
lower than might be expected. This is because the string length of
the instrument is too long to allow strings of the 'correct' octave, which
would have to be too thin. This development is described in the
preface to Alessandro Piccinini's book of music for lute and chitarrone
dated 1623. The lower strings go down a diatonic scale and can be
retuned if necessary for pieces in different keys.
|
