"Lyra de bracio" as illustrated by Michael Praetorius in his Syntagma Musicum
Other names
Lyra de bracio
Classification
Bowed string instrument
Developed
15th century
Related instruments
Lirone Vielle
The lira da braccio (or lyra de bracio[1]) was a European bowed string instrument of the Renaissance. It was used by Italian poet-musicians[2] in court in the 15th and 16th centuries to accompany their improvised recitations of lyric and narrative poetry.[3] It is most closely related to the medieval fiddle, or vielle,[4] and like the vielle had a leaf-shaped pegbox with frontal pegs.[3] Fiddles with drone strings are seen beginning in the 9th century (Byzantine lyra), and the instrument continued to develop through the 16th century.[3] In many depictions of the instrument, it is being played by mythological characters, frequently members of angel consorts, and most often by Orpheus and Apollo. The lira da braccio was occasionally used in ensembles, particularly in the intermedi, and may have acted as a proto-continuo instrument.
The instrument was shaped essentially like a violin, but with a wider fingerboard and flatter bridge. Generally, it had seven strings, five of them tuned like a violin with a low d added to the bottom (that is, d–g–d'–a'–e'') with two strings off the fingerboard which served as drones and were usually tuned in octaves.[3] Michael Praetorius shows the instrument with frets, although he is the only one to do so (see image at right). The wide fingerboard and flat bridge, along with long, strongly curved bows, facilitated chordal playing on the instrument. Although Praetorius depicts the instrument as lyra de bracio with various viols "da gamba" (see image),[1] it was in fact played on the shoulder, as is implied by its name, which refers to the arm, or braccio in Italian. From the few treatises and compositions which survive, it seems that the lira was played with triple and quadruple stops. The player was somewhat limited in terms of what inversions they could play, and it is believed that the top strings may have been used for melody, and the lower strings for chordal playing. In addition, it is believed that when accompanying singing, the instrument played at a higher pitch than the performer sang.[3] Eventually in the late 16th century a fretted bass version of the lira da braccio with an expanded number of strings was developed, the lirone, also known as the lira da gamba, which was played "da gamba", or between the legs.
^According to Giorgio Vasari's account of the life of Leonardo da Vinci in Vasari's work the Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, Leonardo was a talented player of the lira da braccio
^ abcdeHoward Mayer Brown and Sterling Scott Jones. "Lira da braccio", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (accessed November 11, 2006), grovemusic.com Archived 2008-05-16 at the Wayback Machine (subscription access)
^Pio Stefano (2012). Viol and Lute Makers of Venice 1490 -1630. Venezia, Italy: Venice research. p. 441. ISBN 9788890725203. Archived from the original on 2018-03-13. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
The liradabraccio (or lyra de bracio) was a European bowed string instrument of the Renaissance. It was used by Italian poet-musicians in court in the...
Musicians describes the lirone as essentially a larger version of the liradabraccio, which has a similar wide fingerboard, flat bridge, and leaf-shaped...
vielle, rebec, and liradabraccio. The history of bowed string instruments in Europe goes back to the 9th century with the Byzantine lira (or lūrā, Greek:...
manner that lyra was introduced in other regions (e.g. the Liradabraccio and Calabrian lira in Italy and the Gadulka in Bulgaria). By the local tradition...
became known as the liradabraccio (arm viol) family; the other, with sloping shoulders and held between the knees, was the lirada gamba (leg viol) group...
family include Baroque violin Cello da spalla Five string violin Hardanger fiddle Kit violin Kontra Låtfiol Liradabraccio Octobass Sardino Stroh violin Tenor...
Scando-Icelandic talharpa, among others. A notable example is the Italian liradabraccio, a 15th-century bowed string instrument that many consider to be the...
continued to be used in later classical music. Violin Viol Viola Cello Liradabraccio Contrabass Violone Lute Theorbo Archlute Gittern Mandore Harp Cittern...
which with its modifications remained in favour until the Italian liradabraccio asserted itself as the better type, leading to the violin. The instrument...
the violin family may be descended in part from the liradabraccio and the medieval Byzantine lira. While the cello (which developed from the bass violin)...
lutes. For example: The Byzantine lyra, the Calabrian lira, the Cretan lyra, the liradabraccio, and the lyra viol. "Yoke lutes or lyres". Musical Instrument...
dwells; he is in the centre playing an instrument (a contemporary liradabraccio rather than a classical lyre), surrounded by the nine muses, nine poets...
1505 engraving by Marcantonio Raimondi may portray Leonardo playing a liradabraccio, but this has yet to be verified. There is no scholarly consensus on...
stringed instrument known as the Byzantine lyra, came to be called the liradabraccio, in Venice, where it is considered by many to have been the predecessor...
These included the vielle (also known as the fidel or viuola) and the liradabraccio. The violin in its present form emerged in early 16th-century northern...
the legs. The likely predecessors of the violin family include the liradabraccio and the rebec. The earliest surviving cellos are made by Andrea Amati...
Forerunners of modern instruments including the mandolin and guitar. Liradabraccio Bandora Cittern Lute Orpharion Vihuela Clavichord Harpsichord Virginal...
Migliorotti (1466–1532) a singer, instrument maker and player of the liradabraccio, the instrument that typically represented Orpheus' lyre in Renaissance...
instrument known as the Byzantine lyra, would come to be called the liradabraccio, in Venice, where it is considered by many to have been the predecessor...
instruments and styles of music. In particular the three-stringed liradabraccio was introduced. By the end of the 14th century, a poetic form called...
warm and rich. The player held the gudok on his lap, like a cello or viola da gamba. It was also possible to play the gudok while standing and even while...
humanists - Leonardeschi - Leonardo da Vinci - Leonardo's robot - Libro de' Disegni - Limoges enamel - Liradabraccio - Little Masters - Lives of the Most...
Global Information