What is a theorbo?
The theorbo is a type of lute which was developed in Florence during the 1580s to accompany the voice. It is a very large instrument (some surviving examples are around two metres in length). A typical example has 14 courses of strings, consisting of 6 double courses (i.e., pairs of strings, though they are occasionally single), which are both plucked and stopped on a fretted fingerboard like the strings of a guitar, and 8 long single basses which are tuned to a scale and played only by the plucking hand. These work rather like the low notes on a harp. The basses are around twice the length of the stopped courses, and run alongside them to a second pegbox at the end of a neck extension. Several different tunings are documented but all are 're-entrant', which means that the strings are not arranged in pitch order, highest to lowest, as most modern instruments' strings are, but have a very distinctive arrangement, viz:
The commonest tuning of the theorbo
The large size of the theorbo and especially the length of its bass strings mean that it has a powerful sound, especially in its bass register. It was a very important continuo (accompanimental) instrument for all kinds of music during the 17th century and the first part of the 18th, and spread from its native north Italy to most of Europe and even to the New World. The picture above left is one of the most famous illustrations of a theorbo, in this case a 'long Roman theorbo or chitarrone', from Praetorius, Syntagma Musicum, 1619. And below right is a picture of a theorbo being played: a detail from a painting by the Florentine painter Jacopo Confortini, (1602-1672).
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Some common sources of confusion about the theorbo:
Theorbo or Chitarrone?
'Chitarrone' is the original formal Italian name for the theorbo: its colloquial Italian name was 'tiorba'. Both names were used in Italy during the early 17th century for the same instrument, but by around 1650 only 'tiorba' was commonly used. This was translated into other languages, as 'theorbo' in English, 'théorbe' in French, 'theorb' in German, etc. During the second half of the 17th century, distinctive national styles of theorbo were developed, sometimes with different tunings, especially in France, England and Germany. Technically it would be incorrect to refer to these instruments as chitarroni, because that name was specific to the original, Italian form. In their day these variants were just called 'theorbo' in the local language:today they are specified as 'English theorbo', 'French theorbo', etc.
Theorbo or Archlute?
An 'archlute' (original Italian: 'arciliuto') looks rather similar to a theorbo, and shares its long bass strings tuned to a scale, but is essentially a smaller lute (usually a tenor in G). It does not have a re-entrant tuning, and can therefore play in a higher register than the theorbo. There are two main kinds, a short form whose basses are double-strung in octaves (this is often called 'liuto attiorbato' today), and a long form with single basses, almost as long as those of the theorbo. The short form developed during the 1610s and played mostly solo music; the long form appears to date from the mid-17th century but was most popular in the 1680s and 90s, especially in Rome, and played mostly continuo. The short form has 6 or 7 pairs of strings on the fingerboard and 5 or more pairs of unfretted bass strings. The long form has 6 pairs of fretted strings and 8 single basses. Even the long form has a much smaller body and a shorter stopped string length than the theorbo.
The tuning of the archlute
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