Griffiths, John.

During the second half of the fifteenth century and the first years of the sixteenth, the vihuela was in a full phase of development. Using documentary, iconographical and literary sources, this study reviews the initial phase of its history in sections that deal with the instrument, its makers and players, its technique and repertoire. The article shows the diversity of designs and sizes of instruments that were indistinguishably played using a plectrum, the fingers, or with a bow, and held on the knee, between the legs, or on the shoulder. This last but significant group is omitted in many previous studies. Simultaneously a fiddle, a viol and a guitar, made by the same makers as lutes, harps, rebecs and keyboards, it was an instrument played in a range of classes of Spanish society.

Durante la segunda mitad del siglo XV y primeros años del siglo XVI la vihuela se encontraba en plena fase de desarrollo. Empleando fuentes documentales, iconográficas y literarias, este estudio contempla la fase inicial de su historia en apartados que tratan el instrumento, sus constructores y tañedores, su técnica instrumental y su repertorio.Trazamos las vihuelas de diversos tamaños y diseños tocadas indiscriminadamente con púa, con los dedos, o con arco, sujetadas en una pierna, entre las piernas, o en el brazo. Este último pero importante grupo ha sido excluido en muchos estudios anteriores. Simultáneamente un violín, una viola y una guitarra, fabricada por los mismos constructores de laúdes, arpas, rabeles y monacordios fueron instrumentos compartidos por diver- sas capas de la sociedad española.

Composer

Instrument VIHUELA, VIHUELA DE ARCO

Century 15CENT

Region SPAIN

Medium

Music genre

Research field HISTORY, INSTRUMENTS, ORGANOLOGY, ICONOGRAPHY