 Our gittern (as made by our gitternist) is a broadly lute-shaped instrument with three melody strings and three drone/rhythm strings, pythagorean fretting and adjusted 3rds. The word gittern comes from the same root as guitar, but gitterns are distinct in sound and shape from both guitars and lutes.  The vielle is the medieval forerunner of the violin, with several variants in tuning, shape, and bow style. The gut strings and flatter bridge lend themselves to a style of play with plenty of "attack" and the use of drone, appropriate for modal repertoire.  The
psaltery is in the zither family, with variants including
wing-shaped, rectangular, step-shaped, and pig-snout. Psaltries are strung
both in metal and gut and played with plectra. Modern relatives include
the arabic qanun, the autoharp, and the soundboard inside a piano. The music is an excerpt of Marcabrun's pastorella "L'Autrier Jost" (A satire about a venturesome knight and a witty shepherdess who's having none of it, or at least not from him.) |
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