A large and complex family of stringed instruments which developed from the 16th through to the 18th centuries. While the lute and guitar families were strung with gut, the citterns were wire-strung and played with a plectrum.
Two members of the cittern family have retained their importance - the Spanish Bandurria and the Portuguese Guitar (the latter particularly associated with Fado).
In the latter years of the 20th century, the word "cittern" came to be applied to a bewildering range of instruments of the mandolin family, and, in Celtic music, to the Irish bouzouki.
Subcategories 4
Related categories 1
Sites 6
- The Renaissance Cittern Site A brief description, information about tunings, and listings of composers and their works.
- Cittern Article describing the instrument and its history; includes modern usage of the name to describe instruments of the mandolin family. [Wikipedia]
- Arthur Robb A website by a British luthier. Contains illustrated description of Citterns and English Guitars, including deck springs, wood and frets.
- ATLAS of Plucked Instruments An online encyclopedia dedicated to Citterns, Lutes, Baroque Guitars, Banjo and Mandolins.
- The Cipher for Viola da Gamba A web page about Vihuela, Viola da Gamba, early Lutes and Citterns, with chord tables and finger positions for each instrument.
- The 17th- and 18th-century citterns An article by Rob MacKillop, describes Diatonic and Chromatic Cittern, with pictures and audio samples.