Lirone
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The lirone, the bass member of the lira family of instruments, is a bowed string instrument with between 9 and 16 gut strings. It is held between the legs in the manner of a cello or viol and like the viol its neck is generally fretted. 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. Its flattened bridge allows for the playing of chords of between three and five notes. It is essentially a larger version of the lira da braccio, which has a similar wide fingerboard, flat bridge, and leaf-shaped pegbox with frontal pegs.[1]
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, Hille Perl and Claas Harders of Germany, Annalisa Pappano of the United States, Laura Vaughan of Australia, and Paulina van Laarhoven of the Netherlands.
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[edit] References
- 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" [1]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Headley
[edit] External links
- Article
- Photo of Annalisa Pappano with a 12-string lirone
- Photo of Annalisa Pappano with a 12-string lirone
[edit] 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 (disc 2, track 6)
- Lirone audio (selections 2 and 5)
