This study written by István Kónya introduces the lute as one of European music’s solo instrument in a very narrow historical cross-section. It exhibits the sites of the lute’s blossoming close to three centuries ago, its developing, important junctions in lute history, influential composers, and characteristic forms. The study contains references to Istvan Konya’s first CD entitled “ Lutemusic from Three Centuries”.

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The lute and its playing technique spread gradually from the Near East throughout Europe in the wake of the Moorish, Arab and Spanish conquests and the crusades.

The short-necked lute first appeared in BC 1500 in Ancient China (under the name Pi-p’a). Arab traders brought it to the Near East, where it was perfected.The long-necked lute first appeared around BC 2000 in Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and Babylon cultures, and later is found in Persian, Arab, and Turkish folk music. These instruments were structurally the precursors of the baroque archiliuto and chitarrone (later the theorba).

The instrument perfected by the Arabs was called AL’ÚD (which means wood, or made from wood) and to this day is among their folk instruments. The construction and playing technique has been preserved till today, and still without frets.

In the early Middle Ages, the European lute still had four courses (i.e. four double-strings) like the UD, and the ancient playing technique of the instrument was preserved until the 15^th century. Until the 16^th century the lute was not a solo instrument, but was primarily used in ensemble playing. The plectrum playing style limited its possibilities. Its function in a piece of multiple parts was simply to play one of the parts; when accompanying singing to accompany the harmony, to double the part, or to paraphrase one of the melodies.

The lute is depicted in European art from the 9^th century; in literary works it is mentioned in the 13^th century (Boccaccio, Caucher).

In the second half of the 15^th century, the instrument already had five courses, and more and more often the lutenists plucked with their fingers. From this time we can follow the development of the polyphonic playing style in the case of solo instruments (lute, organ). The first phase of plucking with the fingers, which meant the birth of the lute as a solo instrument,was the two-part playing style, the parallel runs, and the imitations of the small motifs that can be heard well in Fr. Spinacino’s Ricercar.

By the 16^th century, the lute had six double-strings (except for the highest string, the “chantarelle”, which was single). In the Renaissance, the lute enjoyed the highest status among the instruments – after the voice.

That it was the most popular instrument of the Renaissance can be shown by its depictions in art works and in literature. Appropriate as a solo-instrument, proven as the most ideal partner for voice accompaniment, the main instrument for chamber music and for household music, it could be found in almost every aristocratic and bourgeouise home.

By the end of the 16^th century the lute had ten courses and there were already 7 kinds of lutes, appropriate for different voice ranges.

Lute works from the 15^th century have survived intact in their handwritten tablature. The tablature is an instrument-specific method of writing down the music that represents finger-placings and the sequence of the notes. The most commonly used system is the French tablature (see diagram), but there also existed Italian, Spanish (in which numbers represented the appropriate frets), and German (which were a combination of letters and numbers) systems.

Not long after the first book printing, the first printed tablature appeared in Ottaviano Petrucci’s Velencian printing shop in 1505 (the score printing was Gutenberg’s). Marco d’Aquila’s lute volume has been lost. The first surviving publication (“Intabulatura de Lauto”) can be attributed to Francesco Spinacino from 1507.

The lute enjoyed the greatest popularity in 16^th century Italy.

Lutenists played a pioneering role, independent of the vocal repertoire, in the development of instrumental forms. The lute works comprised a significant part of the “intavolations”, which signified a translation (intavolation) in the tablature of a vocal work (madrigal, chanson, frottola, motet, mass, psalm), where the composition is often complemented by instrumental ornamentation.

In the intavolation of chanson Attaingnant (nr. 6), Claudin de Sermisy’s widely known “hit”, the parts of the vocal work (of four, three still remain) can be easily followed. In some places, however, the contours of the piece become completely indistinct; only the main motif is recognizable, such as in the transcription entitled Fr. Da Milano: Fantasia de mon Triste (Jean Richafort:De mon triste despleasir).

The first independent instrumental form is considered the ricercar (from the word cercare, meaning to seek or explore). At first it was a short, unformed, sometimes imitative form, but became a polyphonic, even quasi-improvisational, preludium-type form.

From 1530 certain formal symmetries characterized the ricercar and it was constructed from imitative motif-pairs (like the motet). This can be clearly seen in Fr. da Milano: Ricercar.

In the first half of the 16^th century the fantasia – like other significant instrumental forms - could not be distinguished from the ricercar in terms of its structure. These forms were still undeveloped at the beginning of the century. The first printed fantasia was produced in 1535 by Luis Milan, and in 1536 fantasias were published among the works in Fr. da Milano’s anthology. In Fr. da Milano’s works the classic forms of the ricercar and fantasia evolved from consecutive expositions.

Fr. da Milano studied counterpoint in Jousquin’s school. His works are often considered textless motets. The fantasia heard on this recording is built on a short (mi-fa-mi) motif, which is repeated a fifth higher (filling the intervals with frequent runs) and continues throughout the whole work.

Francesco Canova da Milano (1497-1543) was the most significant and most highly respected lute composer and player of his time. According to his contemporaries he was “the greatest musician of the era” and even 50 years after his death he was remembered as a “supernatural, miraculous lutenist”. In his century, like Michelangelo, he received the “Il Divino” title from his contemporaries. From 1519 he was in the service of Popes Leo X, Paul III, Adrian VI, and later Clement VII. His works – which he himself never published – can be found in more than 40 publications of that time.

Dances comprise a significant part of published lute works. Lutenists also performed a pioneering function in the coupling of dances and in the development of variations based on a recurrent harmonic structure. Passamezzo (nr. 5) is such a variation (Passo e mezzo – one and a half steps). According to Arbeau, this dance is a faster variant of the pavane, the melodic embellishment of a more complexly laid down harmonic structure with short note values.

Adrian de Roy – along with Attaingnant – was one of 16^th century France’s most important music publishers and distributors, and from 1555 he also received the status “king’s lutenist” from the court.

In the 17^th century the lute lived its golden age in England, where from that time around 2000 solo lute works have survived. The folk-music and ballad variations enjoyed an especially great popularity. One of the most well-known of these melodies is the ballad tune entitled “Greensleeves” (nr. 7), which is often arranged even today. The first transcribed version survives in a Dublin handwritten lute tablature. Shakespeare also mentioned it as an old folk-song in his comedy “The Merry Wives of Windsor.” Fr. Cutting arranged the four-stanza original song as a dance.

The next folk-song heard on the recording, Robin is to the green wood gone, preserves the memory of Robin Hood, who was known already from the Middle Ages. In the 19^th century one collector mentions 55 arrangements of this piece. One known version is sung by Ophelia in Shakespeare’s Hamlet (IV.5) with the lyrics “Bonny Sweet Robin.”

In W. Shakespeare’s complete life works, he mentions two of his contemporaries by name. In The Passionate Pilgrim we find a reference to Edmund Spencer, the court poet, and John Dowland.

“Dowland to thee is dear, whose heavenly touch

Upon the lute ravish human sense…”

John Dowland was the “English Orpheus” (a century later Henry Purcell was called the same), the 17^th century Renaissance’s most significant lute and lute-song composer. Because of his Catholic faith he spent most of his life on the continent. Only at the age of 49 could he fulfill his long-standing dream; when James I ascended to the throne he became a royal lutenist. Despite the distance, he had a significant place in the musical life of London, where he published his works. He left close to 100 solo lute pieces, not one of which was published during his life.

By Dowland’s time, the instrumental dances were mostly stylised. The tempos were slowed down in the interest of enriching the musical fabric. After the introduction of the melody we usually find ornamented, diminished variations on it, which shows the influence of the French diminution repertoire. This we can hear in each of Dowland’s three dances.

The song variation of Pavane “Lachrimae” Flow my tears, was already known throughout Europe in the composer’s lifetime almost as a folk-song. Earlier and later literary works often mention it simply as “Lachrimae.”

The vocal counterpart of the Frog Galliard is the aria Now, O Now I needs much part. Queen Elizabeth I often called Duc d’Anjou her frog, and perhaps that is the source of the title.

Sir John Smith was probably one of Dowland’s patrons.

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During the baroque period the development of the lute, which until that time had a unified construction, form and tuning throughout Europe, proceeded in two directions. The role of the bass became more important, due to harmonic considerations and new musical styles. The sound range significantly expanded downward, towards the bass. In this way larger and more powerful instruments were built.

In Italy the instrument maintained its tuning, but new bass courses (bourdon-strings) were added and thus were born the archlute and the chitaronne, which was later called the theorbo. These were 14-15 double or single-string lutes, and were primarily used for song accompaniment and chamber music. They were also used in orchestral works, operas, oratorios, and passions as a continuo instrument (in the works of Monteverdi, Bach, Handel, Purcell, and Telemann etc.) until the end of the 18^th century.

In France the Renaissance lute’s ten courses expanded to eleven and by 1630 they were experimenting with a completely new tuning (D minor, “accord nouveux”), primarily for solo repertoire. During the Baroque period, lutenists played a definitive role in the development of instrumental forms, primarily the suite. There was no thematic connection between the individual movements; they followed each other in a random order and could even be performed separately, depending upon the musician or the performance. The dances at that time were still short and stylised, like the poetry of the time, ”lute miniatures”.

Broken chords, broken polyphony, broken melody lines, sudden jumps between the melodies and the registers, and octave leaps were characteristic of the new style – style brisé . The dances were less melodic and strove rather for effects. A significant “codex” of ornamentation quickly developed, and then they began to consciously work with the “notes inégal” (unequal playing style). The style was to become definitive for the French harpsichordists also.

Ennemond Gaultier “le vieux” (1575 -1651) was the oldest member of a far-reaching lutenist family of many generations. He was Louis XIII ’s court lutenist and also the lute teacher of Cardinal Richelieu, among others.

The prelude non mesure (nr.12) has no measures, neither are the note values given; the performer is entrusted with the formation of the work. The performer enjoys a similar liberty to determine the appropriate interpretation (ornamentation, formation, tempo, equal or unequal note-pairs) in the other dance movements as well, although they have measure markings.

The tombeau (nr. 13) was one of the earliest instrumental musical forms in which the composer tried to communicate something concrete and personal. This usually took the form of an allemande or pavane. Gaultier here gives a tribute to his teacher, René Mézangeau (+1636). It is the Baroque period’s first instrumental funeral music. With this he created a tradition among French lutenists, who later followed his example of reverence.

The French courante (nr. 14) is slower and has more leaps than the Italian corrente, and therefore here it gives more opportunity for ornamentation and effects. About that time the gigue also occured in half-time, slow, and its character was even sometimes marked: Gigue grave (nr.15) or Allemande giguée.

At first, the canarie (nr. 16) was the most lively of the dances. It was the precursor of the later 6/8 time gigue. (Lutenist Denis Gaultier first put the sarabande among the dances, but he belongs to the following generation). The last Versailles court lutenist -Robert de Visée - filled his post until the end of 1720.

By the end of the 17^th century, the center of lute-playing had moved to Germany, specifically, to Silecia,where the first generation still composed in the French style.

From the 1720’s we can find in Germany 13-course lutes (J.S. Bach composed for this kind of lute as well). Essias Reusner (1636-1679), who is considered S.L. Weiߒs predecessor, was one of the main links between the French and German schools. To him are attributed the first lute suites (1667) in which the dance movements follow each other in a determined order.

Silvius Leopold Weiß(1685-1750) was undisputably the greatest lute composer and player of the Baroque period, and perhaps of all lute history. He came from a family of lutenists and from 1718 until his death he served as “royal and chamber lutenist” at the Dresden court, where he made music with colleagues such as Pisandel (the great violinist of the time), Quantz, Lotti, Hasse Heinichen, and Veraccini. He was the court’s best-paid musician. For six years he was in Rome, during which time Corelli and D. Scarlatti were also working there. He had a long friedship with J.S. Bach. He appeared throughout Europe as a soloist and also performed as a chamber musician and in operas, not only in the nearby courts but also in Fux’s Vienna orchestra. Weiß composed about 70 suites, which he called Suonate or Partite. Besides these, he wrote many other separate pieces. Like Fr. da Milano and J. Dowland, he never collected his own works nor did he publish them. The musical critics of the time considered his compositions to be equal to Bach’s harpsichord solo works.

Weiߒs style was fed by two sources; he took some elements from the French style brisé, but rhythmically and harmonically he built from the stronger, livelier, Italian style. The Prelude (nr. 17) heard here is a relative of the French prelude non mesure improvisational style; except for the last four measures, in the tablature at the beginning of the work only a single note value is given. Rhythmically it is still free, but now it is more melodic and can be followed better harmonically.

From the end of the 17^th century, the majority of the Baroque dances (allemande, courante, sarabande) were primarily used as concert instrumental works instead of for dancing. They lost their dance character and became slower and more stylized. The Allemande (nr. 18) and the Sarabande (nr. 20) started to become like arias. In most of Weiߒs courantes he shows their relation to the continually moving, lively corrente of the Italian style, which has more defined measures than that of the French. His Gigues (nr. 19) are also closer to the 6/8 Italian “Giga” type. Mattheson and Quantz distinquished two kinds of Menuetts: the more measured Tanz-Menuet and the playful Spiel-Menuet (nr. 21.I.) In the Baroque period there also existed a Sarabande-Menuet (nr. 21.II), a slow, stylized dance which was closer to the typical sarabande rhythm.

Count Johann Anton Losy von Losinthal (c. 1650-1720), a Czech nobleman, although only an amateur musician, was one of the determinant figures of the lute generation before Weiß. As a youth Weiß already admired him and presumably studied with him. The closing piece of the recording is lute literature’s most well-known and greatest tombeau (nr. 23). It was written in the instrumentally very unusual and difficult key of B flat minor, full of diminished sevenths and other dissonant harmonies. It begins with an organ point, and the monotonously repetetive notes and harmonies, sudden dissonances and effects imitate the mood of a funeral bell and song; yet the framework (by then already rhetorically well-developed) and declamatory form of funeral orations can also be heard.

Because of the Baroque lute’s size, technical difficulty, and tuning problems (24-26 gut strings), by the end of the 18^th century it gradually faded out of the music world, household music life, and amateur circles. At the end of the century one could still find “court lutenist” positions in the German and Austrian courts. Around that time it became natural to compose in the instrumental solo and chamber forms (the sonata, concerto, divertimento, galanterie, trio and quartetto a liuto obligato—the predecessor of the string quartet) appropriate for the new styles (early classical, galant style, the Vienna school).

The last solo lute work (Variations on the “champagne aria” from Mozart’s Don Giovanni) was composed in 1815 by Christian Gottlieb Scheidler, who was the last to enjoy the “court solo lutenist” status in Vienna.

From the end of the 18^th century the role of the lute, in both concert and domestic music life, was gradually taken over by the six string guitar. The guitar could be found already from the 16^th century beside the lute, but its significance and true popularity increased starting at the end of the 18^th, and has continued until today.

Ottavino Respighi was the first to include the renaissance lute pieces in a few of his orchestral works (in 1917), and later in the renaissance of the instrument in this century one of Hindemit’s students, Johann Nepomuk David (1895-1977), continued with solo sonatas written for lute.