According to Alessandro Piccinini, the origin of the chitarrone / theorbo lay in the “re-entrant” tuning experiments on the bass lute in the circle of the Florentine Camerata. According to his own statements, Piccinini was responsible for the invention (1594) of the longitudinally mounted neck for the bass register. The development process of the chitarrone / theorbo was directly related to the monody (as vocal accompaniment) and basso continuo (1600–1800), which also emerged in the Florentine Camerata.
Florentiner Camerata Ein Irrtum revolutioniert die Musikgeschichte German.pdf
In addition to its use in these areas (1600–1750), it was a source of inspiration for many musicians and composers, resulting in a remarkable body of solo music. The development type that prevailed on the chitarrone / theorbo due to its tonal character, despite its unwieldiness
(there are numerous preserved instruments and illustrations) had a large, flat body, very long single or double strings and long single bass strings. These enabled a completely new sound aesthetic for the extension of the bass register. It was not tuned lower, as expected, but deliberately, in relation to the size of the body, high in the “vieil ton”, predominantly in a and also in g (theoretically like a treble lute in a’ or alto lute in g’). This made the 3rd string (double or single) the highest note, with a string diameter of around 0.42-45mm (= minimum string gauge for gut = a stringing principle for the lute). The following two strings / courses had to be tuned an octave lower “re-entrant” due to the limited string gauge of gut. The resulting double, one octave lower treble range was desired (Piccinini, the result was delightful). The reduced range was accepted. The high pitch combined with the very long gut strings achieved the lowest possible string gauge from the third course onwards towards the basses. The desired combination of a large, flat body with lower natural frequencies, a high pitch, and very long, light-gauge strings with a high overtone content, led to the theorbo's distinctive tonal characteristics. With its bright, "glittering" timbre, it delivers a powerful, clear bass reproduction with all notes clearly defined, in interaction with two single or double strings tuned an octave lower in the treble range.
Hörbeispiel: Francesca Caccini 1618:
Francesca Caccini, daughter of Giulio Caccini, one of the spokesmen of the Florentine Camerata.
Buchenberg Theorbe 1608/14 Rom, 6x2+8x1
In its early stages, the chitarrone / theorbo had 11 to 19 courses, and later usually 14. The fretted string length (petit jeu) on surviving instruments was usually around 82–89 cm, up to 100 cm. Theorbo (grand jeu) of the basses had a string length of 155–170 cm, up to 180 cm. The string lengths of surviving theorbos are in a ratio of approximately 1:1.85–2.25.
- In Italy it was often double-stringed on the fretted neck (the majority of theorbos known to me), 6x2 (1+5x2), 6x1 / 8x1.
- In France, single strings 6x1 + 8x1 are documented from the middle of the 17th century onwards on large theorbos (1650-1730), with a string length of around 85cm, a "re-entrant". There, the theorbo was made smaller as a whole for solo playing (a "Théorbe des pièces") and deliberately tuned a fourth higher (ca. 1680-1730). Single strings, in d' "re-entrant" (with a theoretical d'' as the first treble string), with a playing length of around 74cm, at 392Hz, results in a tension of 4.00kg for the 3rd string e', with a string gauge of 0.45mm.
(In the 1674 opera Alceste by Jean-Baptiste Lully, almost 60 lute players were used in the Marble Courtyard of the Palace of Versailles).
- The "English theorbo" (ca. 1650-1710, g "re-entrant", playing length approximately 76-80 cm) with double strings.
- The Franco-German fashionable instrument from the theorbo family, the "Angélique," primarily an amateur instrument (ca. 1648-1730, e' "diatonic", playing length approximately 68 cm) with 16 to 17 continuous single strings.
- The "German theorbo" (from 1719, D minor - NAO tuning - without f', playing length approximately 85 cm) with fan-shaped bracing, a swan neck approximately 115 cm, or a longitudinally positioned bass neck arround 170cm.
For Italian double string theorbated lutes around 76cm, a “re-entrant” tuning is not necessary. Apparently this is the same principle as with an arciliuto, i.e. in this case a theorbated bass lute?, without “re-entrant” tuning!
Single strings around 76cm, I don't know of any clearly identifiable baroque Italian theorbo. The small French single stringed theorbo (ca. 1680-1730), with a string length of around 74cm has a d' "re-entrant" tuning, a fourth higher than the large a "re-entrant" chitarrone / theorbo.
The chitarrone / theorbo was played without or with fingernails (brighter, harder sound).
According to historical sources, metal strings were used alongside gut strings; see Michael Praetorius Syntagma Musicum 1619.
However, among the numerous surviving theorbos, I am not aware of any instrument with the necessary metal frets and the typical string fastening.
(Michael Praetorius 1619: "Lutes and theorbos are modified so often every year that nothing definitive can yet be written").
With the new innovative invention of the longitudinally mounted bass neck with its extended strings, there were apparently a wide variety of experiments in the beginning, Syntagma Musicum: 1. Paduan theorba - 8 long single strings on the frettboard (like a big chitarrone / theorbo, more than 85cm) with double stings octaved basses on a shortened bass neck (8x1 frettboard + 4x2 basses) or 2. Testudo Theorbata - with 10 double-stringed metal strings (10x2).
Michael Praetorius Syntagma Musicum 1619.pdf
In original source texts, the term "tiorba" for theorbo is often misleading, as it could also refer to archlutes or (?). Despite their similar appearance, both have a longitudinally mounted bass neck, a chitarrone / theorbo is based on a different sound ideal / concept than an archlute.
- The considerably larger chitarrone / theorbo (low natural frequencies) is an instrument with a deliberately high pitch relative to its body size. The 3rd single or double string is the highest, usually a b (around 0.42-45 mm). It has a generally bright timbre. It is combined with two treble single or double strings tuned "re-entrant."
- An archlute is a double stringed alto lute in g', with a body of approximately the same size (higher natural frequencies). Instead of octaved bass strings, it features longer, individual bass strings. The 3rd course is an a (around 0.60 mm). Compared to a theorbo, it has shorter, freely vibrating bass strings, thicker string gauges, and a lower pitch. Overall, this results in a darker timbre from the 3rd course onward toward the basses.
To counteract posture and back problems, I have developed a weight-reduced bass neck construction that guarantees balanced weight distribution.
I recommend a bass neck with a maximum string length of 162 cm, as commercially available strings have a length of 180 cm. For an additional charge, the bass neck can also be designed as a folding neck (the bass strings remain under tension); the folding design increases the overall weight of the neck construction.
The slightly-rounded ebony fingerboard makes the instrument easier to play.
Original spruce soundboards were usually made without an edge insert or with a parchment-bound edge. For practical reasons (edge protection, interior repairs), I recommend a discreet edge insert/binding.
The choice of the standard tuning pitch (415Hz or 440Hz, in France until about 1700 at 392Hz, in Vienna at 467Hz) is important for calculating the fretted strings. Please note that a change in the tuning pitch has a decisive influence on the string diameter and string tension if the fretted string length remains the same. At 467 Hz, highest note = h with a string thickness of approx. 0.44 mm, this results in a string length of 82-84 cm for a single stringed theorbo.
(The tuning pitch relevant for the string length varied between 370 and 470Hz in the 16th to 18th centuries, depending on the place and time).
Around 1660, the development of open “demi filées” and closed metal-wound strings with a gut core began, but their acceptance was very slow due to the different sound aesthetics compared to “pure” gut strings. The development of metal-wound strings with silk cores began in the mid-18th century and only became widespread around 1770. Wound strings with silk cores cause a disturbing long reverberation that does not serve the music/composition.
