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, it is held between the legs in the manner of a

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...

viol The viol (), viola da gamba (), or informally gamba, is any one of a family of bowed, fretted, and stringed instruments with hollow wooden bodies and pegboxes where the tension on the strings can be increased or decreased to adjust the pitc ...

(viola da gamba). It was used in italian operas and oratoriums to accompany the human voice, especially the gods. Because the lira da gambe can not play the bass, there must be a bass instrument, theorbo, harpsichord or viola da gamba. The sources describe, that the instrument was used for the special sound, although it is an imperfect instrument.

Description

The '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' describes the lirone as essentially a larger version of the ''

lira da braccio The lira da braccio (or ''lyra de bracio''Michael Praetorius. Syntagma Musicum Theatrum Instrumentorum seu Sciagraphia Wolfenbüttel 1620) was a European bowed string instrument of the Renaissance. It was used by Italian poet-musicians in court ...

'', which has a similar wide fingerboard, flat

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

, and leaf-shaped

pegbox A variety of methods are used to tune different stringed instruments. Most change the pitch produced when the string is played by adjusting the tension of the strings. A tuning peg in a pegbox is perhaps the most common system. A peg has ...

with frontal pegs. Its flat bridge allows for the playing of chords of between three and five notes.

History

The ''lirone'' was primarily used in Italy during the late 16th and early 17th centuries (and particularly in the time of Claudio Monteverdi) to provide continuo, or harmony for the accompaniment of vocal music. It was frequently used in Catholic churches, particularly by Jesuits.

Performers

Despite the resurgence in Baroque instrument performance during the 20th century, only a handful of musicians play the ''lirone''. Notable performers on the instrument include Erin Headley of England,

Imke David Imke David (born 4 June 1967 in Erlangen, Germany) is a German viol player, author, Professor and Ensemble-Member. Early life David grew up in Erlangen in a musical family. As a six-year-old she was a member of the seven-member viol ensemble ma ...

(Weimar), Claas Harders and

Hille Perl Hille Perl (born ''Hildegard Perl'' on 9 March 1965, in Bremen) is a German virtuoso performer of the viola da gamba and lirone. She is considered to be one of the world's finest viola da gamba players, specializing in solo and ensemble music of ...

of Germany, Annalisa Pappano of the United States, Laura Vaughan of Australia, and Paulina van Laarhoven of the Netherlands.

References

Sources

*Erin Headley. "Lirone", '' Grove Music Online'', ed. L. Macy (accessed November 11, 2006)
grovemusic.com
(subscription access). *John Weretka. "Homer the lironist: P.F. Mola, Art and Music in the Baroque

*Imke David "Die sechzehn Saiten der italienischen Lira da gamba", orfeo Verlag, 1999,

External links

ArticlePhoto of Annalisa Pappano with a 14-string lirone

Photograph of a lirone

Henner Harders - Lirone maker

Listening

Lirone audio
(track 3 features the instrument accompanied by a plucked string instrument; tracks 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, and 10 feature the lirone in an accompanying role)
Lirone audio
{{Authority control Bowed string instruments Early musical instruments