[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > This is not Frank, it's Stuart. The book is: > 'Med Piber og Basuner, Skelmeye og Fiol' by Bjorn Aksdal 1982.
Thanks Stuart. I was sure I had that book, but I must have been wrong. > The section on sisters is only short so I've put the few pages from the book > on my webspace: > > homepage.ntlworld.com/s.walsh > > (didn't seem to work in Opera?) Probably because of the period in the file name. > > I'd love to know a quick summary of what it says. I'll give it a try (I've translated the term "sister" as "cittern" throughout to avoid the confusion with another English word) 1.2.1.3 Cittern The cittern probably originated in the late medieval period as a plucked descendant of the old fidel. Tinctoris (c.1490) credits the Italians for the invention and describes the insturment as having a flat body, frets and four strings made from brass or steel and plucked with a plectrum (Marcuse 1964:103). Usually the insturment is mentioned under it's French name citole, especially popular among 14th C troubadours. During this time the citole goes through a transformation and appears during the 16th C in its classical form. The plectrum is then replaced with fingerpicking and the first compositions for the cittern appears during the middle of the century, notated in luite tablature. The string, who like on the lute are configured i courses, increases in number, and during the 17th C we find everything from 4 to 12 course citterns. Until the beginning of the 18th C there was a steady production of both solo and ensemble music for the cittern, somthing that reflects its acceptance withing art music. During the 17th C the cittern had also foudn its way into the barbershop, for the enjoyment of the customers who still didn't have nespapers or magazines to pass the waiting time. Trichet tells that the instrument in France also was played by the barbers themselves to entertain the waiting customers (Marceuse 1964:104). In Hamburg around 1700 it appeared a small cittern type that became very popular in Northern Germany and Scandinavia. This bell shaped cittern was usually called sitrenk and had 5 or 6 courses. Many of them had holes drilld in the neck for attaching a capo. This made the instrument popular despite the guitar's increased popularity. The Italian cittern was small, with a deeper body and 6 courses, consisting of 4 double and 2 single metal strings. Around 1750 it was introduced to England where it flourished. The instrument was especially popular among ladies of the elevated circles. In 1783 Chr. Clauss in London invented a key mechanism to spare the cittern playing ladies' fingers. Another attempt to facilitate the palying, was the introduction of a tuning mechanism that with a small tuning key tightened or slackened the strings. Around 1800 the insturment is however on return. Not even the introduction of open bass strings, inspired by the archlutes, managed to keep the cittern from being replaced by the guitar. Only in folk music did it survive, and it is still used in Germany and on the Iberian peninsular. [Translator's comments: I suppose there's no need for me to say much on this list about the many inexactnesses of this general description of the cittern's history ;-) I'm sure Aksdal is on much safer ground when it comes to the NOrwegian references in the rest of the article] In Norway the cittern is first mentioned in 1620. During a pary at Bryggen in Bergen music was made "mit sitzteren vund Lutten" (Wiberg 1932:89). In 1662 we hear of an instrument called "Zitter" or "Citter" used in church music (Bang 1662, VIII, 4). Apparently this is a cittern. This instrument has earlier been referred to as cither, cithar and cithre. To mend the name confusion Curt Sachs in 1922 proposed to christen the instrument cister (Rugstad 1978:112). Cithar is the name the cittern appear under the next time it's mentioned in the sources, listed in Holden by Ulefoss among the deceased priest Gerhard Meidel's instruments in 1707 (Rugestad 1979:12). When Christian VI visited Kongsberg June 27th 1733 a parade was arranged, according to the travelling journals. "In front of this parade the Musicians walked with their Hautbois and and Waldhorn dressed in the Berg fashion, and also the Berg-Sangerne with their Violiner, Citer and Tr�-angler" (Kierulf 1745:32). In Germany the triangle was one of the miners' instruments. It's worth noticing thet the cittern often were called Bergzither in Germany, but the evience is not substantial enough to conclude there is any connection. [Translator's comment: In both Norwegian and German the word "Berg" means "mountain" but has also been used in reference to miners (men who work inside the "berg"). Kongsberg is a Norwegian town that grew around the royal Norwegian silver mines.] Durign the loast half of the 18th C the cittern had its reneaissance in England and Germany and the impulses soon reached Scandinavia as well. In 1782, town musician Berg in Kristiansand writes: [Sorry, but the facsimile of a facsimile here is too hard to read - I'll see if I can find a copy of the book so that I can translate the last part] Frank Nordberg To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
