Lyra Viol
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The lyra viol is a small bass
viol The viola da gamba (), or viol, or informally gamba, is a bowed and fretted string instrument that is played (i.e. "on the leg"). It is distinct from the later violin family, violin, or ; and it is any one of the earlier viol family of bow (m ...
, used primarily in
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
in the seventeenth century. Described as "the smallest of the bass viols", one should consider that the consort bass was much larger in 17th century England than most bass viols nowadays (hovering between 78 and 80 cm string length, while the division viol hovers around 76 cm (30 inches according to Christopher Simpson). The lyra viol therefore is the "smallest" and according to James Talbot (end of the 17th century) is therefore 72 cm string length
John Talbot's 17th century measurements for viols

The Orthodox viol sizes
There is a large and important repertoire which was developed specifically for the lyra viol. Due to the number of strings and their rather flat layout, the lyra viol can approximate
polyphonic Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice ( monophony) or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ...
textures, and because of its small size and large range, it is more suited to intricate and quick melodic lines than the larger types of bass viol. The lyra viol has been favorably compared to both the
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 ...
and the
violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
, by
Tobias Hume Tobias Hume (possibly 1579 – 16 April 1645) was a Scottish composer, viol player and soldier. Little is known of his life. Some have suggested that he was born in 1579 because he was admitted to the London Charterhouse in 1629, a prerequisite ...
and Roger North respectively. The name lyra viol came into use because the playing style of bowed chords is similar to that of the
lirone The lirone (or lira da gamba) is the bass member of the ''lira'' family of instruments that was popular in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. It is a bowed string instrument with between 9 and 16 gut strings and a fretted neck. When played, ...
.Frank Traficante. "Lyra viol", ''
Grove Music Online ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and t ...
'', ed. L. Macy (accessed May 20, 2006)
grovemusic.com
(subscription access).


Structure

The structure of the lyra viol has been fluid throughout its history. In seventeenth century England
sympathetic strings Sympathetic strings or resonance strings are auxiliary strings found on many Indian musical instruments, as well as some Western Baroque instruments and a variety of folk instruments. They are typically not played directly by the performer (ex ...
were added, which according to John Playford was credited to Mr. Farrant. This use of sympathetic may have led to the development of the
baryton The baryton is a bowed string instrument similar to the viol, but distinguished by an extra set of sympathetic but also pluckable strings. It was in regular use in Europe until the end of the 18th century. Design The baryton can be viewed as a ...
, but it was not a lasting development for the lyra viol. The most common lyra viols had six strings, but there were also viols with four, five or seven strings.
John Playford John Playford (1623–1686) was a London bookseller, publisher, minor composer and member of the Stationers' Company. He published books on music theory, instruction books for several instruments and psalters with tunes for singing in churches. ...
describes the lyra viol as the smallest of three types of bass viol: the consort bass,
division viol The division viol is an English type of bass viol, which was originally popular in the mid-17th century, but is currently experiencing a renaissance of its own due to the movement for historically informed performance. John Playford mentions t ...
, and lyra viol. Christopher Simpson wrote that the strings on the lyra viol were lighter and the bridge flatter than those on the other bass viols. The strings were also closer to the
fingerboard The fingerboard (also known as a fretboard on fretted instruments) is an important component of most stringed instruments. It is a thin, long strip of material, usually wood, that is laminated to the front of the neck of an instrument. The stri ...
than they were on the consort bass. These modifications were probably in part to make playing
chords Chord or chords may refer to: Art and music * Chord (music), an aggregate of musical pitches sounded simultaneously ** Guitar chord, a chord played on a guitar, which has a particular tuning * The Chords (British band), 1970s British mod ...
easier. The first description of bowed polyphonic music for the viol is in a treatise by
Johannes Tinctoris Jehan le Taintenier or Jean Teinturier (Latinised as Johannes Tinctoris; also Jean de Vaerwere; – 1511) was a Renaissance music, Renaissance music theory, music theorist and composer from the Franco-Flemish School, Low Countries. Up to his ...
, and the first development of its repertoire can be traced back to Sylvestro di Ganassi dal Fontego in the mid-sixteenth century. This technique of chordal writing with heavy use of ornamentation became integral with the French viol composers. Despite these differences in structure, the lyra viol is not significantly different from other bass viols, and lyra viol music can be played on any bass viol. Although as we have seen during the 17th century builders made instruments specifically for this repertoire.


Repertoire

Some of the most famous English composers of the seventeenth century wrote pieces for the lyra viol, or even entire anthologies. These composers include John Cooper, John Jenkins, Christopher Simpson, Charles Coleman, and
William Lawes William Lawes (April 1602 – 24 September 1645) was an English composer and musician. Life and career Lawes was born in Salisbury, Wiltshire and was baptised on 1 May 1602. He was the son of Thomas Lawes, a vicar choral at Salisbury Cathe ...
. The types of pieces written for the instrument range from single melodic lines, to lyra trios and duets, lyra with other instruments, and lyra as accompaniment for a song. Almost all music for the lyra viol is written in
tablature Tablature (or tab for short) is a form of musical notation indicating instrument fingering or the location of the played notes rather than musical pitches. Tablature is common for fretted stringed instruments such as the guitar, lute or vihuel ...
, mainly French lute tablature, but also some Italian and a little bit of German lute tablature. Polyphonic music is idiomatic for the lyra viol. It is most similar to lute music, as the number of voices can change within a piece, unlike harpsichord music where the number of voices tends to stay consistent. Since the lyra viol is bowed, all chords must be formed using adjacent strings. This leads to very close harmonic
voice leading Voice leading (or part writing) is the linear progression of individual melodic lines ( voices or parts) and their interaction with one another to create harmonies, typically in accordance with the principles of common-practice harmony and cou ...
, which may also be the reason for the frequent unison double stops in lyra viol music, perhaps also intended to imitate the double course of strings on the lute. Since all the chords must be formed using adjacent strings,
scordatura Scordatura (; literally, Italian for "discord", or "mistuning") is a Musical tuning, tuning of a string instrument that is different from the normal, standard tuning. It typically attempts to allow special effects or unusual Chord (music), chords ...
tunings are the rule rather than the exception. Almost 60 different tunings from the seventeenth century have been found. They tended to be formulated so as to put the most important notes on open strings, and were composed in sets of pieces, so that players would not have to retune too frequently. Another technique for the lyra viol was the ornament or grace known as the "thump", where the player plucks the open strings with the fingers of the left hand. This may have been the forerunner of the technique of plucking the sympathetic strings on the baryton. The viol may also have sometimes been held in the lap and played lute-style. The first reference to this practice is in Tobias Hume's ''The First Part of Ayres'' (1605), which was written a number of years before
Claudio Monteverdi Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string instrument, string player. A composer of both Secular music, secular and Church music, sacred music, and a pioneer ...
's ''Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda'' (1624) which is frequently cited as the earliest source of
pizzicato Pizzicato (, ; translated as 'pinched', and sometimes roughly as 'plucked') is a playing technique that involves plucking the strings of a string instrument. The exact technique varies somewhat depending on the type of instrument: * On bowe ...
. Hume's work also discusses playing
col legno In music for bowed string instruments, , or more precisely ; ), is an instruction to strike the string with the stick of the bow across the strings. History The earliest known use of in Western music is to be found in a piece entitled "Hark ...
on the lyra viol. Many manuscripts of lyra viol music survive showing the level of interest this style enjoyed. The last published collection of music for solo lyra viol John Playford published in 1682. In all, Playford published 5 collections of solo lyra viol music forming the largest published collection (1651, 165 1661, 1669, and 1682). Dating Playford's second collection is difficult given that the few surviving volumes lack the final number in the date. Some sources date this collection to 1652. More recent scholarship by Pullens suggests a date of 1655. Collections exist from France, Germany, and Sweden. Works for multiple lyra viols also exist. This style influenced the works of France's bass viola da gamba virtuosos of the late Baroque period. The solo lyra viol music during the 17th century was identified as lessons. Generally, these works are either dance music, patriotic music (mainly loyalists), purely instrumental (preludium and symphony), or vocal music of a secular nature, often being transcriptions of popular songs of the day. Musicians were free to improvise upon a piece, often using ornaments, divisions, polyphonic textures, or adding their own music. Lyra viol music frequently contains ornaments. However, ornamental signs were not consistently used even within a single publication or manuscript. This problem was never fully settled during the 1600s and is still one of the more vexing issues for lyra viol players and editors. Even into the 20th century, lyra viol music was often misidentified in library catalogs. Some catalogs still retain these misattributions. Differentiating between tab for lute and lyra viol music requires careful examination of the music by an expert. Broken chords, and strings marked below the tablature lines are clear indications the music is not suitable for the lyra viol. Additionally, some catalogs lump lyra viol music with division music. Though this is a minor point, lyra viol music is traditionally set in tablature. Division music is traditionally set in staff notation. With the revival of lyra viol performing, some composers have written works using tablature. Among these composers are Martha Bishop, Carol Herman (student of Dr. Frank Traficante), and Peter H. Adams (student of Carol Herman). Both Martha Bishop and Carol Herman have authored publications to assist musicians to learn to play lyra viol music. Peter H. Adams is publishing new editions of historic collections and composed over 100 lessons for solo lyra viol. Research is still underway to answer basic questions such as how many lyra viol lessons currently exist; how many compositions can be ascribed to any one composer; and can we identify the composer of anonymous lessons. To that end, Gordon Dodd published "The Thematic Index of Music for the Viola da Gamba." This online index is a massive database that can only be searched by visually examining this multi-authored index. The database is not limited to lyra viol lessons. The database encompasses all historic music for viola da gamba. The Index is hosted by the Viola da Gamba Society of Great Britain.


Recordings

Pavan from the Manchester Lyra Viol Book on a lyra-viol according to John Talbot's measurements (late 17th century) by John Pringle, 201
Listen to Pavan by Gervise Gerrarde


References

Article on the Lyra viol by
Jonathan Dunford Jonathan Dunford (born 30 October 1959 in Trenton, New Jersey, Trenton, New Jersey) is an American violist specialising in the Baroque music, baroque repertoire. Biography After studying the viol at the New England Conservatory of Music in Bos ...
and John Pringle "The Consort" (Dolmetsch Fondation) Volume 71 - Summer 201
The Lyra-Viol : Viewpoints of a performer and builder
{{Authority control Viol family instruments Renaissance music