Chitarino: This is a stringed instrument similar to the lute and the guitar which was popular in the fifteenth century

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CHITARINO

Chitarino is a stringed instrument similar to the lute and the guitar which was popular in the fifteenth century. The chitarino looks like a smaller version of the guitar due to its shape but it is played and sounds like a lute.

There are three surviving examples of this mysterious type of instrument from the early fifteenth century, of which the one exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum of New York is the most elegant. Originally the instrument would have been strung with four or five strings, but whether it was played with a bow or plucked remains unclear. The carved imagery relates to courtly romance and probably alludes to the rewards of fidelity in love. Cupid, armed with bow and arrow, hovers over the couple, a young man represented as falconer (the falcon denotes loyalty and trust) and a maiden with unbound hair who clasps his arm. A dog, likewise suggesting loyalty, sits at their feet. The rich iconography of the instrument unites art and music in the service of romance.

The chitarino was usually carved from one piece of timber. Occurring less rarely later in the 15th century, the back was built up from a number of thin tapered ribs joined at the edges, as was characteristic of the lute. Unlike the sharp corner joining the body to the neck seen in the lute, the chitarino's body and neck always joined in a smooth curve or straight line. The sickle, or occasional gentle arc peg box, made an angle with the neck of between 30-90 degrees. Unlike the lute, most peg boxes on chitarinos ended in a carving of a human or animal head.

Most chitarinos were depicted as having three or (more commonly) four courses of double strings played with a quill key (plectrum). Each course of strings was attached to an endpin, which was laterally inserted into the peg box. Although there is not much direct information concerning chitarino tuning, the later versions were quite possibly tuned in fourths and fifths like the mandore a few decades later. Frets were represented in a few depictions (mainly Italian), though absent in French and English depictions. Like nearly all early instruments, the chitarino's sound hole was covered with a rosette (a delicate wood carving or parchment cutting).

The chitarino entered Europe in the 13th century from Arab countries. It is referred to originally in French literature. From around 1270 onwards, it was continually mentioned, although it was only commonly depicted after 1300. During the 14th century, the chitarino's recognition constantly increased, eventually ousting the similarly popular citole. However, the lute eventually overshadowed even the chitarino's popularity in the 15th century. Soon after, the vihuela-shaped guitar began to appear and may have existed alongside the chitarino, although the latter was gradually losing ground to the newer instrument. In spite of the chitarino's slow fall from favor, it was referred to as late as the 18th century as a small round backed instrument, illustrating its occasional use.