NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Vihuela

Detail from a large fresco located in the Borgia Apartments of the Vatican (Rome, Italy). The subject matter is Music, from the Quadrivium of Liberal arts, painted by Bernadino Pinturicchio in 1493. The detail is of a long-necked Spanish vihuela de mano (or de penola) with waist-cuts. In 1492, a new pope, Rodrigo Borgia (Pope Alexander VI), was installed. Borgia came from Valencia Spain, where he served as Cardinal. When he took the papacy, Borgia brought with him from Valencia his court chapel, including his musicians, among them his vihuelistas or violists. This is how we can say with near certainty that the instrument depicted in the Bogia Apts Quadrivium fresco is a Spanish vihuela, even though it appears in an Italian fresco. Borgia commissioned this and other frescos shortly after taking up residence in the Vatican. Important early images like this are key and essential for seeing and understanding the origins and connections between plucked vihuela and bowed vihuela, that is vihuela de arco, otherwise known as viola da gamba (in Italian) or viols.

Vihuela is a name given to two different guitar-like string instruments: one from 16th century Spain, usually with 12 paired strings, and the other, the Mexican vihuela, from 20th century Mexico with five strings and typically played in Mariachi bands. Image File history File links LuisMilan_El-Maestro_1536. ... Image File history File links LuisMilan_El-Maestro_1536. ... The head of Orpheus, from an 1865 painting by Gustave Moreau. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Luis de MilÃ¡n (c. ... Image File history File links ViolaManoGirolamoLibri1520L.jpgâ€Ž Close detail of a viola da mano (aka vihuela) from a Madonna Enthroned altarpiece painted by Girolamo dia Libri, Italian, c. ... Image File history File links ViolaManoGirolamoLibri1520L.jpgâ€Ž Close detail of a viola da mano (aka vihuela) from a Madonna Enthroned altarpiece painted by Girolamo dia Libri, Italian, c. ... The Annunciation Triptych is an altarpiece, ca. ... Iconography usually refers to the design or creation of images and more specifically to the historical study of art which aims at the identification, description and the interpretation of the content of images. ... Image File history File links Vihuela_BPintoricchio_1493. ... Image File history File links Vihuela_BPintoricchio_1493. ... Fresco by Dionisius representing Saint Nicholas. ... The quadrivium comprised the four subjects taught in medieval universities after the trivium. ... In the history of education, the seven liberal arts comprise two groups of studies, the trivium and the quadrivium. ... The Crucifixion with Sts Jerome and Christopher (1471) Oil on wood, 59 x 40 cm Galleria Borghese, Rome Pinturicchio (1454-1513), Italian painter, whose full name was Bernardino di Betti. ... Pope Alexander VI (January 1, 1431 â€“ August 18, 1503), born Rodrigo Borja (Italian: Rodrigo Borgia), Pope from 1492 to 1503), is the most controversial of the secular Popes of the Renaissance, whose surname became a byword for low standards in the papacy of that era. ... Various Viola da gamba The viol or viola da gamba family of musical instruments is related to the vihuela, rebec, etc. ... Various sizes of viol, from Michael Praetorius Syntagma musicum (1618) The viol (also called viola da gamba) is any one of a family of bowed, fretted stringed musical instruments developed in the 1400s and used primarily in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. ... Image File history File links Vihuela-angel-G_Iberia_16th. ... Image File history File links Vihuela-angel-G_Iberia_16th. ... Image File history File links Vihuela-Tab_Fuenllana_1554. ... Image File history File links Vihuela-Tab_Fuenllana_1554. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Image File history File links Vihuela-soprano_Spain_16th. ... Image File history File links Vihuela-soprano_Spain_16th. ... Image File history File links ViolaDaMano_Raimondi_c1510. ... Image File history File links ViolaDaMano_Raimondi_c1510. ... Image File history File links Vihuela-basso_JuanDeJuanes. ... Image File history File links Vihuela-basso_JuanDeJuanes. ... Image File history File links Vihuela-contrabass_Catalan. ... Image File history File links Vihuela-contrabass_Catalan. ... Fresco by Dionisius representing Saint Nicholas. ... Classical and Bass Guitar The guitar is a musical instrument, used in a wide variety of musical styles, and is also widely known as a solo classical instrument. ... A string instrument (or stringed instrument) is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. ... Vihuela is the name of two different guitar-like string instruments: the historical vihuela (proper) of 16th century Spain, usually with 12 paired strings, and the modern Mexican vihuela from 20th century Mexico with five strings and typically played in Mariachi bands. ... It has been suggested that Mariachi Music be merged into this article or section. ...

Spanish vihuela

The vihuela is considered by some to be the (more ancient) precursor to the modern classical guitar. In Italy and Portugal this same instrument was known as viola da mano.¹ The two names are functionally synonymous and interchangeable. In its most developed form, the vihuela was a guitar-like instrument with six double-strings (paired courses) made of gut. Vihuelas were tuned almost like a modern guitar, with the exception of the third string, which was tuned a semitone lower. Six-course vihuela tuning was identical to six-course Renaissance lute tuning — 4ths and mid-3rd (44344). The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... The lute is a plucked string instrument with a fretted neck and a deep round back. ...

Plucked vihuela, being essentially flat-backed lutes, evolved in the mid 1400's, in the Kingdom of Aragón (located in North-Eastern Iberia or Spain). In Spain and Italy (and other regional kingdoms under their influence) the vihuela was in common use in the late 15th and 16th centuries. (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ...

There were several different types of vihuela (or different playing methods at least):

Tunings for 6 course vihuela de mano (44344): A course is a pair of adjacent strings tuned to unison or an octave and usually plucked together as if a single string, in musical instruments such as the lute, vihuela or mandolin. ... Various sizes of viol, from Michael Praetorius Syntagma musicum (1618) The viol (also called viola da gamba) is any one of a family of bowed, fretted stringed musical instruments developed in the 1400s and used primarily in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. ...

The vihuela faded away, along with the complex polyphonic music that was its repertoire, in the late 16th century. The vihuela's descendants that are still played are the "violas campanicas" of Portugal. At least some of the vihuela's place, role, and function was taken up by the subsequent Baroque guitar (also sometimes referred to as vihuela or bigüela). Today, the vihuela is in use primarily for the performance of early music, using modern replicas of historical instruments. The guitar player (c. ... Early music is European classical music before the classical music era and after Ancient music. ...

Construction

Vihuela bodies were lightly constructed from thin flat slabs or pieces of wood, bent or curved as required. This construction method distinguished them from some earlier types of string instruments whose bodies (if not the entire instrument including neck) were carved out from a solid single block of wood. The back and sides of common lutes were also made of pieces however, being multiple curved or bent staves joined and glued together to form a bowl. The lute is a plucked string instrument with a fretted neck and a deep round back. ...

Vihuela (and viola) were built in different sizes, large and small, a family of instruments. Duet music was published for vihuelas tuned one step, a minor third, a fourth, or a fifth apart, as well as unison tuned.

The physical appearance, "the look", of vihuela was varied and diverse — there was little standardization and no mass production. Overall and in general, vihuela looked very similar to modern guitars. A little known fact is that the very first generation of vihuela, from their birth in the mid 1400’s on, all had sharp cuts to their waists, similar to the silhouette of a violin. The second generation of vihuela, beginning sometime around c.1490, took on the now familiar smooth-curved figure-eight shaped body contours. The waist-cut models, however, continued and survived well into the early to mid 1500’s, and side by side with the later pattern. Many early vihuela had extremely long necks, while others had the shorter variety. Top decoration, the number, shape, and placement, of sound holes, ports, pierced rosettes, etc, also varied greatly. More than a few styles of peg-boxes were used as well.

Vihuela were chromatically fretted in a manner similar to lutes, by means of movable, wrapped-around and tied-on gut frets. Vihuela, however, usually had ten frets, whereas lutes had only seven. Unlike modern guitars, which often use steel and bronze strings, vihuela were gut strung, and usually in paired courses. Gut strings produce a sonority far different from metal, generally described as softer and sweeter. A six course vihuela could be strung in either of two ways: with 12 strings in 6 pairs, or 11 strings in total if a single unpaired chanterelle is used on the first (or highest pitched) course. Unpaired chanterelles were common on all lutes, vihuela, and (other) early guitars (both Renaissance guitars and Baroque guitars). The lute is a plucked string instrument with a fretted neck and a deep round back. ... The lute is a plucked string instrument with a fretted neck and a deep round back. ... The guitar player (c. ...

Repertoire

The first person to publish a collection of music for the vihuela was the Spanish composer Luis de Milán, with his volume titled Libro de música de vihuela de mano intitulado El maestro of 1536. The notational device used throughout this and other vihuela music books is a numeric tablature (otherwise called "lute tablature"), which is also the model from which modern "guitar tab" was fashioned. The music is easily performed on a modern guitar using either standard guitar tuning (44434), sometimes called "new lute tuning", or by retuning slightly to Classic lute and vihuela tuning (44344). Luis de MilÃ¡n (c. ... Events February 2 - Spaniard Pedro de Mendoza founds Buenos Aires, Argentina. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

The printed books of music for the Vihuela which have survived are, in chronological order:

Luis de MilÃ¡n (c. ... Luis de NarvÃ¡ez (Granada ca. ... Alonso Mudarra (c. ...

Surviving instruments

Notes

References

Discography

External links

Categories: String instruments | Early musical instruments The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... The history of the classical guitar and its repertoire span over four centuries, including its ancestry the baroque guitar. ... This article lacks information on the importance of the subject matter. ... This article or section may be confusing or unclear for some readers, and should be edited to rectify this. ... // History of the classical guitar pedagogy Classical guitar Methods Fernando Sor (1778-1839) (Spain) Method for the Spanish Guitar First published in French under the name â€œMethode Pour La Guitareâ€ (1830) and then translated in English under the name â€œMethod for the Spanish Guitarâ€ in 1832. ... A Classical guitarists generally perform on classical guitars with classical guitar technique. ... // History List of International classical guitar competitions Australia 3rd Australian Guitar Competition & Festival July 7-11, 2004 Austria International Guitar Competition Karl Scheit 2006 Wien, September 19-23, 2006 Belgique 9Ã¨me Concours International de Guitare 2006 September 22 - September 30, 2006 Bolivia III International Guitar Festival and Competition August... // Introduction Musicology Performance Laboratories [1] Guitar Forum is a printed journal dedicated to in-depth scholarly work on the classical guitar, its technique and its repertoire. ... // Sydneys Classical Guitar Society website Classical Guitar Society of Melbourne website Classical Guitar Society of Calgary website Classical Guitar Society of Toronto Edmonton Classical Guitar Society Lethbridge Guitar Society Lethbridge, Alta Mississauga Guitar Society Montreal Guitar Society Ottawa Guitar Society Toronto Guitar Society Regina Classical Guitar Society Vancouver Guitar... Classical and Bass Guitar The guitar is a musical instrument, used in a wide variety of musical styles, and is also widely known as a solo classical instrument. ... An engravers impression of Antonio Stradivari examining an instrument. ... Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ...

Contents

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