About Renaissance Citterns
The Renaissance cittern was the most widespread plucked musical instrument of the European Renaissance after the lute. It was relatively small; the scale was about 40-60 cm. It had several peculiarities: fixed metal frets and metal strings were used here, not gut strings and gut frets so common in other string instruments of the time. The bass strings are not wound but twisted. Overall, the strings have a significantly lower tension than today's guitars, which must be taken into account when playing.
Another peculiarity is the so-called reentrant tuning - a tuning in which the string that is physically uppermost is not the lowest.
The cittern was usually played with a bird's feather plectrum.
The citterns typically had 4 (but sometimes up to 7) double or triple courses, and the brass frets formed a chromatic or diatonic pattern. In diatonic pattern, some frets are only under high strings and some are completely missing.
The instruments used to be richly decorated with figural and relief carvings or inlays. Two tunings were used: the so-called French (a g d1 e1) and Italian (h g d1 e1).
Even in the construction of citterns we can find two different approaches: while in Italy the bodies were mostly monoxyl constructions, in the rest of Europe the bodies were glued, as is the case with all modern instruments of this type. There are also two ways of designing the peg head: Italian instruments have a full head; at its lower part there is a carved hook for hanging and the pegs are placed sagittally. Outside of Italy, the head was usually carved and the pegs placed on the sides, similar to lutes.
The popularity of citterns is evidenced by the fact that in Elizabethan England, citterns were essential instruments in barber´s waiting rooms, and waiting customers could freely play them to spend their waiting time.
When ordering a Renaissance cittern, it is important to think about the temperament and frets placement. These instruments usually do not play in an equal temperament. The most common fret patterns are 1/6 or 1/8 comma mean tone system. The selection is up to the personal preferences of the player. Of course, it is not a problem to produce an instrument in equal temperament.
A. Schlegel & J. Lüdtke: Die Laute in Europa, Menziken 2011
Bohuslav Čížek, Hudební nástroje evropské hudební kultury, Praha 2002
