Griffiths, John.

This study explores vihuela playing in Spanish cities during the 16th century as part of a broader study of the use of music in the urban environment. It is focused specifically to show how the exploitation of information on music extracted from civic notarial documents can be used to construct a social history of music in Spanish cities outside the institutional structures of church and state. It demonstrates the spread of vihuela playing beyond the courtly context by the urban aristocracy, the professional classes, the clergy, merchants and artisans. As well as the individuals who devoted part of their leisure time to the vihuela, in the urban music industry were instrument-makers and music printers who supplied the material needs of vihuela players. Consideration is also given to the variety of uses of the vihuela within distinct urban sectors, and not only to the surviving printed repertory, but also to manuscript collections and broadsheets, as well as to the unwritten traditions that were also part of instrumental practice of the time.

Composer

Instrument VIHUELA

Century 16CENT

Region SPAIN

Medium

Music genre

Research field HISTORY, PATRONAGE, SOCIAL HISTORY, URBAN HISTORY