Hello Peter,
This postcard shows the famous cretan duet Lira-Bulgari or Lira-Laouto,
still popular today. But I agree that the shape of the plucked instrument is
a cittern shape. I don't know if this picture wants to show a cittern, I
don't think so.
But it makes me thinking to a corsican proverb about harmony and cittern
which says "Pà fà un bon' accordu ci voli cetar, viulinu è timpanu" (To play
the perfect tune (or chord?) we need to have a violin and a cittern).
In several proverbs, or written sources from all Europe I have found this
kind of duet "cittern and bowed instrument".
Thanks Peter,
All the best,
Damien
----- Original Message -----
From: "Peter Forrester" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Damien Delgrossi" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Cc: "Cittern NET" <cittern@cs.dartmouth.edu>
Sent: Friday, November 28, 2008 10:17 PM
Subject: Re: [CITTERN] Cittern in Crete
Hi Damien,
I hope this works. I attach a photo of a postcard sent me some ten
years ago from Crete by Patrick Delaval. It seems to be evidence that
citterns were at least still a folk-memory, even if not still in use.
Best wishes,
Peter
On 28 Nov 2008, at 20:13, Damien Delgrossi wrote:
Dear all,
Two weeks ago I spent some good times with a Cretan group who was on
tour in Corsica. They played many Cretan and Greek flutes, Laouto
(Cretan wire-strung lute similar to italian mandoloncello), Bulgari
(built by ning member Dimitris Rapakousios), Lavta (Constantinople
Lute, more or less fretted arabic oud to explain it simply) etc etc...
The plucked instruments player from Crete, Vangelis Tsagarakis, told
me a very interesting thing : A long, long time ago Crete also had the
"cetra". He told me that because I had my cetera with me and he said
that they used to have exactly the same instrument on the island of
Crete. I was wondering if they used to have the same 8 course cittern
or the renaissance 4 or 6 course cittern, popular in Italy and Europe
during the Renaissance and after. He told me that the cetra in Crete
probably had 4 courses.
So I have my own idea about this without any information nor sources
except this oral one.
Candia (the old name for Crete) was administrated, colonised and
directed by the Venitian Republic after the taking of Constantinople
by the crusaders from 1204 to 1669. The Venitian Republic held Crete
for about 4 and a half centuries.
I think that the cittern was in Crete because of this strong Italian
influence.
Does anybody have any information, sources or anything to say about
this?
Thanks,
Damien
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