Archlute
The archlute is a European plucked string instrument of the lute family, developed in Italy around 1600 as a bass lute with an extended neck supporting additional unfretted bass strings, or diapasons, to provide a deeper, resonant sound for orchestral and continuo accompaniment.[1][2] It typically features a rounded body with a soundboard of spruce or pine, a neck veneered in materials like ebony or tortoiseshell, and a total length often exceeding 100 cm, making it larger than standard lutes but more compact than the theorbo.[1][2] The instrument emerged in the late 16th century in Rome as an alternative to bulkier long-necked lutes like the chitarrone and theorbo, retaining the standard lute tuning for its upper courses while adding bass extension for Baroque ensembles.[3] By the early 17th century, it gained prominence in Italian opera orchestras, including those of Claudio Monteverdi, and later in German courts and churches for basso continuo roles, with its pitch often tuned around 386 Hz in Roman usage.[1] Its popularity peaked in the mid-17th to early 18th centuries before declining with the rise of keyboard instruments, though only about 10 historical examples survive today.[1] Constructionally, the archlute consists of a bowl-shaped body made from multiple ribs of woods like rosewood or ebony separated by ivory or ebony inlays, a carved rosette on the soundboard, and two pegboxes: a shorter one for the main 6-11 fretted courses and a longer extension for 8-11 single diapason strings, often tuned in fourths from G or F below the standard lute range.[1][3] Notable makers include Italian luthiers like David Tecchler, whose 1725 Roman archlute features ebony staves, ivory striping, and mother-of-pearl inlays, and Cristoforo Choc, who crafted lavishly decorated Venetian examples around 1650 with marquetry of snakewood and ivory.[1][2] Unlike the theorbo's re-entrant tuning and double pegbox, the archlute maintains a single head with a shallow-angled neck, allowing for a brighter, nail-plucked tone suited to solo and ensemble performance.[3]Overview and History
Definition and Characteristics
The archlute is a long-necked, plucked string instrument that emerged in Europe around 1600 as a development of the Renaissance lute, characterized by an extended neck incorporating a second pegbox to accommodate additional unstopped bass strings known as diapasons.[4][1] It typically features 14 courses of strings in total, with 7 to 11 double courses (pairs) above the fingerboard for melody and 6 to 8 single bass courses extending beyond the fingerboard for lower pitches, allowing a greater range while maintaining a lute-like body shape with a rounded back, soundboard, and rosette.[4][5] The instrument's overall length measures approximately 1.5 to 2 meters, with the neck extension often reaching up to 1 meter to support longer gut strings tuned to lower pitches without requiring a fully separate bass extension.[1][4] Key to its design is the preservation of Renaissance lute tuning patterns in the upper strings, which are stopped and fretted, providing a re-entrant tuning that contrasts with the straight bass tuning of later instruments.[4] This configuration enables the archlute to extend the bass register for harmonic support while retaining the compact playability of the lute, with a vibrating string length under 70 cm for the melody courses.[1][5] The archlute differs from the closely related theorbo primarily in its tuning and stringing: both the archlute and theorbo feature an extended neck with two pegboxes, but the archlute retains the standard Renaissance lute tuning for its upper courses and typically employs double courses for those strings, whereas the theorbo uses re-entrant tuning with the upper courses lowered an octave and single strings throughout.[4][1] As a bridge between the Renaissance lute and the larger Baroque theorbo, the archlute offered enhanced bass extension suitable for both solo performance and continuo roles in ensembles, particularly in Italian and Roman contexts during the 17th and early 18th centuries.[1][5]Historical Development
The archlute emerged around 1600 in Italy as a hybrid instrument combining elements of the Renaissance lute with the extended bass strings of emerging large lutes, serving as a more compact alternative to the theorbo while retaining standard lute tuning.[6] It was first documented and claimed as an invention by Alessandro Piccinini in his 1623 treatise Intavolatura di liuto et di chitarrone, where he described developing the instrument in Padua in 1594 to address the impractical size of bass lutes for certain musical contexts.[6] The instrument reached its peak popularity across Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries, particularly in Italy, France, and Germany, where it was employed in royal courts and operatic performances for both solo repertoire and basso continuo accompaniment.[6] In France, it gained significant adoption during the Baroque era in royal courts for its versatility in ensemble settings.[7] By the late 17th century, innovations like covered bass strings further enhanced its playability, solidifying its role in chamber music across these regions.[6] Its use began to decline by the mid-18th century, supplanted by the rising prominence of keyboard instruments for continuo and the preference for simpler, more portable lutes and guitars in evolving musical styles.[8] By around 1750, the archlute had largely fallen out of favor, approaching near extinction as orchestral practices shifted away from plucked string dominance.[7] The archlute experienced a revival in the 20th century, spurred by the early music movement starting in the 1970s, which sought authentic performances of Baroque repertoire on period instruments.[9] This resurgence was influenced by performers such as Julian Bream, who championed lute music through recordings and concerts, alongside contributions from luthiers like Stephen Murphy, who produced modern replicas based on historical models to support the growing interest.[10]Instrument Design
Anatomy and Structure
The archlute possesses a distinctive pear-shaped body, larger than that of the standard lute, with a rounded back formed by numerous thin ribs—often 20 to 40 in number, though varying from 9 to over 50 by maker and style—bent and joined edge-to-edge to create an ovoid structure measuring approximately 50 cm in body length.[11][12] The soundboard, spanning about 48-55 cm in length, features a central soundhole often adorned with a decorative rosette, contributing to the instrument's resonant cavity.[13][11] A bridge is positioned on the soundboard near the lower bout to anchor the strings under tension, supporting both the shorter stopped strings and the longer bass courses.[11] The neck assembly is a key structural innovation, consisting of a short upper neck—around 29 cm long—equipped with a fretted fingerboard using tied gut frets for the stopped (or melody) strings, transitioning seamlessly into a long bass extension that extends the total instrument length to over 110 cm.[11][12] This extension, typically 30-50 cm long, accommodates unfretted bass strings with vibrating lengths of 70-100 cm and culminates in a second pegbox angled or offset for tuning the diapason courses, while the primary pegbox at the upper neck handles the treble strings; together, they support 21 to 27 tuning pegs.[11][14] The overall configuration allows for 13 to 15 string courses, typically comprising 7 to 10 stopped courses (with the highest often single) over the fretted section and 6 to 8 diapason (bass) courses on the extension, enabling extended bass range without re-entrant tuning.[15][12] Structural variants exist between Italian and French models, with Italian archlutes (such as the liuto attiorbato) often featuring a more robust extension and dual pegboxes for greater bass projection, while French versions tend toward a slimmer, sometimes shorter extension and occasionally a single pegbox or bass rider for 11 to 13 courses.[14][12] Compared to the 11-course Baroque lute, the archlute's design emphasizes a pronounced bass extension for deeper register support, distinguishing it as a specialized evolution for continuo and solo roles.[15][14]Materials and Construction
The archlute's body back is typically constructed from hardwoods such as maple, walnut, or rosewood, often formed from multiple thin, tapered ribs that are bent and glued together to create the characteristic rounded shell.[16][17] The soundboard, essential for acoustic projection, is made from quarter-sawn spruce or occasionally pine, selected for its lightweight yet resonant properties and carefully graduated in thickness to optimize vibration.[18][19] The neck, which must withstand significant string tension due to the instrument's extended length, is commonly crafted from maple or ebony, sometimes veneered or inlaid with contrasting woods like ebony or ivory for both structural integrity and aesthetic appeal.[20][12] Historically, strings were made of gut, but modern instruments often use nylon or fluorocarbon for the treble courses and silver-wound nylon for the basses to enhance durability and tuning stability.[12][21] Construction begins with the fabrication of an internal mold to shape the ribs, which are steamed or heated to bend them into the lute's curved form before being edge-glued using traditional hide glue, a protein-based adhesive derived from animal collagen that allows for reversible repairs.[17] The soundboard is then attached to the rib assembly with the same hide glue, incorporating a rosette and bridge positioned to balance the string tension across the instrument's 10 to 14 courses.[18] Pegboxes, often extended for the bass strings, feature wooden tuning pegs crafted from pearwood or boxwood, fitted with ebony or rosewood heads for precise adjustment.[12][17] In assembling the neck to the body, a dovetail or mortise joint is employed, sometimes reinforced with a wooden dowel or modern screw to counter the pull of the strings.[22] Seventeenth-century Venetian luthiers, such as Matteo Sellas, exemplified these techniques in their workshops, using exotic imports like snakewood or ebony for decorative inlays while adhering to bent-rib construction for instruments up to two meters in length.[23][21] Contemporary builders, including Jason Petty and Grant Tomlinson, replicate these historical methods with high precision, sourcing well-seasoned tonewoods and employing tools like vector-based designs for inlays, though they incorporate synthetic strings and occasional metal reinforcements to improve playability without altering the authentic tone.[21][24] The archlute's design, particularly the bass extension beyond the body, generates substantial string tension—often exceeding that of smaller lutes—necessitating reinforced neck joints, such as those with embedded dowels or screws, to prevent warping or separation over time.[25][26] This reinforcement is critical in modern replicas, where higher tuning pitches like A=440 Hz amplify the stresses on the extended structure.[12]Tuning and Technique
Stringing and Tuning
The archlute is often strung with 14 courses, typically including 10 upper courses that extend over the fretted fingerboard and 4 lower diapason courses on the extended neck portion, though variations exist with more diapasons in some models.[27] The upper courses are generally doubled (pairs of strings tuned in unison or octave), while the diapasons consist of single bass strings to facilitate their extension and lower tension requirements. Variations in stringing occurred, with some instruments featuring 6 double upper courses and 8 single diapasons, totaling 14 courses.[28] Historically, these strings were made from gut, which influenced the overall tension and tonal qualities of the instrument, with bass courses sometimes using thicker gauges or loaded gut for enhanced projection.[28][29] The standard tuning for the archlute is in G, arranged in a re-entrant pattern for the upper courses—tuned primarily in perfect fourths with a major third between the third and fourth courses from the top—to accommodate the instrument's range and facilitate common keys in Baroque repertoire. The diapason courses descend below the lowest upper course, providing unfretted bass notes played open. The following table illustrates a representative tuning at A=440 Hz (modern concert pitch), with courses numbered from highest to lowest pitch; note that the sixth course is re-entrant, pitched lower than the fifth.| Course | Pitch (Scientific Notation) | Note (Helmholtz) | String Type (Typical) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | G4 | g' | Double (unison) |
| 2 | D4 | d' | Double (unison) |
| 3 | A3 | a | Double (unison) |
| 4 | F3 | f | Double (unison) |
| 5 | C3 | c | Double (unison) |
| 6 | G2 | G | Double (octave) |
| 7 | F2 | F | Double (unison) |
| 8 | E2 | e | Double (unison) |
| 9 | D2 | d | Double (unison) |
| 10 | C2 | c | Double (unison) |
| 11 | B♭1 | B♭ | Single |
| 12 | A1 | A | Single |
| 13 | G1 | G | Single |
| 14 | F1 | F | Single |