“Les modifications structurelles radicales des instruments à cordes au XVIè siècle”. Los instrumentos musicales en el siglo XVI. Proceedings of the I Encuentro Tomás Luis de Victoria y la música española del siglo XVI (Avila, May 1993). Avila: Fundación Cultural Sta. Teresa, 1997. 231-42.
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| Article: book | 1997 | rault1997 |
Argues that medieval fiddles were originally carved out of a block--body and neck, with belly glued on. This gave way to a technique where the block was used to carve the sides, neck and pegbox, with the belly and back glued on separately, probably in the 12th century with the advent of stronger glues. These instruments have the following characteristics: contours with waists, completely flat back and belly, deeper sides perpendicular to the belly and back, “manche de section carré”. The figure of eight shape was abandoned during the 13th century. This was maintained until the 15th century.
• Mid 15th century, the medieval vielle was transformed by Aragonese makers, the neck was lengthened, the pegboxes were changed to those of the lute and rebab, with reverse pegboxes and lateral pegs. In the period 1430-40 cornered waists start to appear. Transverse bars were added. The earliest one is in the late 15th-century St Nicolas retable (Woodfield plate 29) where the bar is clearly visible.
The use of bent sides in construction he places as a fairly late occurrence, the earliest evidence being the broken instrument depicted at the feet of St Cecilia in 1514.(Pinacoteca Bologna) This he sees as a technical revolution in making. He also mentions the “couple érable/épicea” [combination of maple/spruce] “A cette période, le couple érable/épicea (aujourd’hui hégémonique pour toutes les productions d’instruments de musique à cordes frottées) semble déjà reconnu pour ses qualités acoustiques mécaniques et esthétiques puisque la violetta de Santa Caterina de Vigri* et la guiterne de Hans Ott datant de 1450 conservée à Eisenach** ont été construites avec ces deux essences.” (241)
*Chapel of St Catherine of Vigri (Bologna) contains a 15th cent violeta, one piece, four strings, no frets. See M Tiella GSJ 28 (1975). **Hellwig “Lute making in the late 15th and early 16th century” Lute soc Journal 16 (1974): 24-38.
Rault thus concludes:
• cornered waists c. 1430
• Le couple érable/épicea -- combination of maple and spruce c 1450
• harmonic bars on belly c 1480
• bent sides c 1514.
Composer
Instrument VIHUELA
Century 16CENT
Region SPAIN
Medium
Music genre
Research field HISTORY, INSTRUMENTS, ORGANOLOGY