David Kilpatrick wrote: > > I think it's a G scale cittern with a single bourdon and four triple > unison courses,
That's possible although triple strings are relatively rare on Th�rigner zithers. It's hard to say for sure from pictures only, but the fretboard seems a bit too narrow to fit 13 strings no matter how they're configured so I think it's likely to have had some additional off-neck bourdouns at some time. Changing string configuration of older citterns may have been a rather common practice in Germany, so there's nothing strange about that. It seems from the lowest picture the current string configuration is (bass to treble) 1 - 3 - 3x2 > using a metal zero fret. Seems like a metal nut rather than a zero fret. > I think that makes it a form of Thuringer waldzither The scale length seems way too long for a regular Th�ringer. There is however a bass Waldzither too. Maybe that's what we should call this one? > I think you are right and it's not an early 18th c instrument unless the > neck has been replaced or repaired rather crudely in the 20th c, along > with a missing rose - that is always quite possible. More than possible I'd say. Although there's nothing conclusive, a number of details seem to suggest this instrument has been through some modifications once or twice. That of course means it's impossible to draw any significant historical conclusions from it. Although I don't really believe it, th body *might* be as old as early 18th Century, but if so we can't say what kind of cittern it originally belonged to. [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > It's an interesting thing. I wonder if it's really a later folk cittern from the 19th century? It may be a stupid question, but what exactly is a folk cittern? Frank Nordberg http://www.musicaviva.com http://www.mandolin-player.com To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
