Lute

The Lute ( from Arabic العود, DMG al - ʿ ūd ) is a plucked string instrument with body and set neck. As sounds in a narrow sense is defined as the resultant of the Arab lute oud European lute.

In music theory, the term lute instrument is used as an umbrella term for various stringed instruments.

Name

The name sounds comes from the Arabic language. Arabic al - ʿ ūd / العود means " wood ", and originally meant the wooden ceiling, the body or the plectrum with which the strings were beaten, if it was made of wood. It was in Italian Leuto / liuto, French luth, lute in English, in German lute.

History

A European lute -like instrument is already on a relief from the temple of Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC) to find from Babylon; a similar view is also found in the tomb of Harmosis in Egypt ( 15th century BC). In China since about the turn of time, there is a similar instrument, the pipa.

In the first centuries AD, the first sound instruments were used in the Indian room next to the bow harp vina, whose name is not clearly known at that time. A possible name could have been kacchapi. The word lives as hasapi, kacapi or kulcapi in Indonesia continue.

The Persian setar ( " Dreisaiter " ) called long -necked lute probably goes back to ancient Indian models. The Indian sitar is considered late development of long -necked lutes that. 9-10 from the Century can be seen in Indian temple reliefs and associated with mogul seasonal influences from Persia and Central Asia. Also, the oud, a lute can be regarded as a precursor of the lute. It developed from the spread in Persia in the 9th century form of the lute, the Barbat.

To Europe preforming the European lute came possibly by the Crusaders. Maybe she found her way to Central Europe even earlier on Moorish Spain or on the way through the adjoining Persia Byzantine Empire. In Europe, she received frets made ​​of gut strings and was played instead of the plectrum from about 1500 with the fingers.

During the Renaissance, the lute was considered queen of instruments. As a foundation instrument she had the practical advantage that they could be transported easily. In the 17th century its importance gradually declined. In the 18th century baroque lute and other instruments sound like Mandora, theorbo and Angélique was eventually supplanted by other stringed and keyboard instruments, until it was replaced during the Romantic period through the guitar.

A later development of the heritage, the guitar sounds, was popular in the early 20th century under the migratory birds and in youth music movement. With the rediscovery of early music, the sounds learned in their various forms during the 20th century a revival.

Instrument tuition

Construction

Characteristic of the lute is the wood chips from several teardrop-shaped composite body sound ( "Shell "). Use find next fruit tree woods ( plum, pear, cherry) especially maple. The top is usually made ​​of spruce wood and is divided by several beams inside the lute. The neck is glued to the shell and the wooden block under the blanket so that fingerboard and ceiling are in a plane. In the ceiling is a rosette carved into it ( "Star" ). Between Rosette and lower ceiling edge of the tailpiece is glued ( " bar", "bar" ). At the upper end of the neck of the peg box is glued, which is usually bent backwards so that the train of the strings is not borne by the vertebrae, but on the saddle.

From about 1600 originated forms of lute with increased number of strings, extended neck and second peg box, mounted on the extra bass choirs were ( Arciliuto, liuto attiorbato, theorbo, Angelica, German Baroque lute with gooseneck ). Some of these new sounds were particularly for the basso used ( Arciliuto, theorbo ).

Strings

Lute strings were made during the Renaissance and Baroque from sheep intestines. Michael Praetorius reported in 1618 also from the use of steel and brass strings for lute and theorbo. From the players present strings of plastic are used frequently.

Sounds are with pairs of strings, so-called choirs, strung. The first choir ( Chanterelle ), however - in contrast to most of traditional instruments - today only from a string. In the baroque lute are often the first and second chorus single strings.

Until 1500 lutes had four or five, then first six choirs. From about 1600 and seven more choirs were used. The number rose to about 1640 up to twelve choirs. Around 1720, the number of strings was extended to thirteen choirs.

String Tuning

The Renaissance lute is in third quart mood, eg e ' - h - f # - d - A - E (or g' - d ' - a - f - c - G). The absolute pitch, however, was not initially set. In contemporary textbooks is often recommended that the highest choir just to vote as high as possible.

In the 16th century, the fourth, fifth and sixth strings choir consisted mostly of root and octave string. The 1600 added bass choirs were tuned in octaves.

In siebenchörigen sounds of the 7th Choir was voted a whole tone or a fourth lower than the 6 choir. In achtchörigen sounds of the seventh chorus is tuned a whole tone and the 8th Choir a fourth lower than the 6 choir, at the zehnchörigen sounds the strings from the sixth choir to be arranged diatonic descending. When tuning the lute in G the mood of the 7th to the 10th chorus So would be: - E - D - F C. Depending on the key of the piece, the bass strings could be retuned.

From about 1620 French lutenist experimented with new moods of lute strings ( René Mézangeau, Pierre Gaultier ). Around the middle of the century, the so-called d -minor mood began to gain on the baroque lute.

Play

Until the 15th century the lute as the Arab Oud was struck with a plectrum, which consisted of a strong bird quill usually.

In 1500, the lutenist developed the technique with the fingers, through a polyphonic play was possible. In this technique runs are played with the thumb and forefinger of his right hand - a technique that was developed from the plectrum - while chords with the thumb, index, middle and ring fingers of the right hand are struck. The fingers of the right hand are held parallel to the strings, while the little finger - like earlier when plectrum - rests on the ceiling. This technique is now often referred to as " thumb inside technique", since the thumb in the direction of the manual proposes the interior.

Due to the busier bass lead in the music of the late Renaissance and the Baroque period, the lutenist developed in 1600 for the right hand, the so-called " thumb - outside technique." The little finger is still used as a support finger, but the hand is rotated so that the fingers almost touching at right angles to the strings, while the outstretched thumb now caters mainly for the bass strings.

According to music

By the end of the 15th century, the lute seems to have been used to accompany singing in the manner of heterophony. Medieval illustrations show along with stringed instruments and the harp.

At the beginning of the written tradition of their music (Francesco Spinacino, Intabulatura de Lauto, Venice 1507), among tablature vocal music and instrumental dance music already independent, instrumental composed solo pieces ( Ricercar ). The emancipation of instrumental music leads the lute to create free forms such as Toccata, Fantasy, Praeambulum, Prelude.

By 1600, experienced the Elizabethan lute song a flower ( John Dowland ). It is followed by a bloom of the French Air de court in which the sounds at first the independent instrumental accompaniment of song takes over ( Gabriel Bataille, Nicholas Lanier ), a role which is, however, taken from her during the 17th century increasingly by the theorbo ( monody ).

From the mid-17th century, the influence of French lutenist dominated in Europe ( René Mézangeau, Ennemond Gaultier, François Dufault and others). Compose mostly of a purely instrumental, stylized dance movements and form the lautenistischen style of broken melody (style Luthe ), which will initially imitated by clavecinists as Johann Jakob Froberger, Louis Couperin, Nicolas Antoine Le Begue.

The French style is about 1700 in Silesia, Bohemia, and Austria with increasing cantabile elements added ( Esaias Reusner, Losy ) until finally Silvius Leopold Weiss one last time leading the lute music in Italian style to the pinnacle of art. According to him, the sounds led to the pre-classical nurmehr a shadowy existence.

Lute music was recorded in the form of tablature from the 15th to the 18th century.