|
A theorbo (from Italian tiorba, also tuorbe in French, Theorbe in German) is a plucked string instrument. As a name, theorbo signifies a number of long-necked lutes with second peg-boxes, such as the liuto attiorbato, the arciliuto, the French théorbe des pieces, the English theorbo, the archlute, the German baroque lute, the angelique or angelica. The etymology of the name tiorba has not yet been explained. Theorboes were developed during the late-sixteenth century, inspired by the demand of extended bass range for use in opera developed by the Florentine Camerata and new musical works based on basso continuo (such as Giulio Caccini's Le Nuove Musiche). Musicians adapted bass lutes (c.80+ cm string length) with a neck extension to accommodate open, i. e. unfrettable, bass strings, called diapasons or bourdons. In Rome, that instrument was at first called chitarrone, then its name changed to tiorba. Similar adaptations to smaller lutes (c.55+ cm string length) produced the liuto attiorbato and the archlute, similar looking but differently tuned instruments. In Italy the theorbo was often referred to as chitarrone, a large single-strung instrument largely identical to theorbo (single or doubles-strung), but having a different evolutionary origin in being a bass relative of chitarra italiana (a small lute-shaped instrument in guitar tuning (also a relative of Quitra)). The tuning of large theorboes is generally characterized by the octave displacement, or reëntrant tuning, of the uppermost or of the 2 uppermost strings, thus limiting the upper range of the instrument. The courses, unlike those of a Renaissance Lute or Archlute, were usually single, though double-stringing was not unknown. Typically, Theorboes have 14 courses, though a very few pieces from the Early Baroque period require a 19-course Theorbo. In the performance of basso continuo, theorboes were often paired with a small pipe organ. Most prominent players and composers of the chitarrone in Italy were Giovanni Girolamo Kapsberger and Alessandro Piccinini. No solo music for the theorbo has been known from England so far, but William Lawes used it for his chamber music. In France, theorboes were appreciated and used in orchestra music just as well as in chamber music until the first 3rd of the 18th century (Nicolas Hotman, Robert de Visée). Court orchestras at Vienna, Bayreuth and Berlin employed theorbo players still after 1750 (Ernst Gottlieb Baron, Francesco Conti). Solo music for the theorbo was notated in tablature.
Theorbo tuning
Literature Ekkehard Schulze-Kurz, Die Laute und ihre Stimmungen in der ersten Hälfte des 17. Jahrhundert, 1990, ISBN 3-927445-04-5, available at the author's homepage Robert Spencer, Chitarrone, Theorbo and Archlute, in: Early Music, Vol. 4 No. 4 (Oktober 1976), 408-422, available at David van Edward's homepage See also | ||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||
 |
|
| |