The bandora or bandore is a large long-necked plucked string-instrument that can be regarded as a bass cittern though it does not have the re-entrant tuning typical of the cittern. Probably first built by John Rose in England around 1560, it remained popular for over a century. A somewhat smaller version was the orpharion. The bandora is frequently one of the two bass instruments in a broken consort as associated with the works of

Thomas Morley Thomas Morley (1557 – early October 1602) was an English composer, music theory, theorist, singer and organist of late Renaissance music. He was one of the foremost members of the English Madrigal School. Referring to the strong Italian inf ...

, and it is also a solo instrument in its own right.

Anthony Holborne Anthony ntonyHolborne olburne(c. 1545 – 29 November 1602) was a composer of music for lute, cittern, and instrumental consort of instruments, consort during the reign of Elizabeth I of England, Queen Elizabeth I. Life An "Anthony Holbu ...

wrote many pieces for solo bandora. The multiple lute settings of Pacoloni appear both with and without optional wire-strung instruments.

Construction and type

The bandora, though built like a cittern, had six or seven ''courses'' (unison pairs) of strings tuned in a more

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck (music), neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lu ...

-like fashion, but without the high d found on a bass lute. In fact, the barring is very close to an orpharion, and closer to contemporary lute than to cittern or guitar construction. This creates a proportion closer to present guitar tunings; typically C D G C E A, and occasionally a seventh low G string.

calls for a "Pandora" in his Consort Lessons. The term bandore and bandora were occasionally incorrectly applied to a Ukrainian folk instrument now more commonly known as the bandura, an instrument with up to 68 strings that differs considerably from the bandora. During the Renaissance there were no naming conventions and terms were used loosely. The Spanish

bandurria The bandurria is a plucked chordophone from Spain, similar to the mandolin and bandola, primarily used in Spanish folk music, but also found in former Spanish colonies. Instrument development Prior to the 18th century, the bandurria had a ro ...

, though this term was once also interchangeable, now applies to a treble instrument like a

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

- a similar confusion as has occurred with

mandore Mandore is a suburb and historical town located 9 km north of Jodhpur city in the Jodhpur district of the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan. History Mandore is an ancient town, and was the seat of the Gurjar Pratiharas of Mandavy ...

, mandora,

mandola The mandola (US and Canada) or tenor mandola (Ireland and UK) is a fretted, stringed musical instrument. It is to the mandolin what the viola is to the violin: the four double courses of strings tuned in fifths to the same pitches as the viola ...

(q.v.). All these instruments are thought to derive their names originally from the ancient Greek

pandura The pandura (, ''pandoura'') or pandore, an ancient Greek string instrument, belonged in the broad class of the lute and guitar instruments. Akkadian Empire, Akkadians played similar instruments from the 3rd millennium BC. Ancient Greece, Ancien ...

(which term, once again, is found applied to a variety of stringed instruments in different regions at an early date).F. Jahnel and N. Clarke, ''The Manual of Guitar Technology'', p29, The Bold Strummer Lt

/ref>

References

Bibliography

*Masakata Kanazawa, ''(ed.)'', ''The Complete works of Anthony Holborne'', Vol. 1, ''Music for Lute and Bandora'', (Harvard University Press, 1967). *Nordstrom, Lyle, ''The Bandora: Its music and sources'', (Harmonie Park Press, Warren MI, 1992).

External links

Bandora
, CS.Dartmouth.edu {{Authority control Mandolin family instruments Early musical instruments