At 01:54 PM 5/22/2005, doc rossi wrote: >I had the feeling >that diatonic fretting had more or less gone out of use by then, but I >can't find any reference to it in the literature that I have. Andrew - >do you know more about this? Or Peter F?
The paintings of the time seem to indicate the use of diatonic citterns, though no music seems to survive. I believe that this is detailed by Grijp in his article on diatonic fretting, but I don't have access to my copy of the article at the moment. From a player's perspective, the diatonic fretting simply makes the instrument easier to play. I see the advancement from diatonic to chromatic citterns akin to the mountain dulcimer: Though the instruments began as diatonic ones, the eventual need for increased accessibility to notes outside of the diatonic range is responded to by the implementation of additional frets (note Morlaye's lack of a first fret!) until full (or mostly full) chromatic fretting has been reached. The music also corresponds: The more chromaticism available, the more complex music that can be played (and vice-versa). However, the initial cause for diatonic fretting (easier ability for most people to play) still holds true. One finds as many diatonic mountain dulcimers today as chromatic ones. Given the complexity of lute music at the time (and number of courses!), the diatonically fretted cittern becomes an appealing choice of instrument for the average player. Of course, this is just my personal opinion and is not founded on any research. For a picture of perhaps one of the only (provably) extant diatonic Dutch citterns from this time (and its reconstruction), see http://www.theaterofmusic.com/cittern/new/ and click on the first image by Sebastian Nunez. -A: To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
