The Vihuela de arco in the Reign of
Aragon from the 14th-16th centuries
The vihuela de arco (bowed vihuela) created a foundation
of musical achievement present in the majority of the artistic
manifestations of one of the most illustrious periods in the history of
Spain, known as the “Siglo de Oro” or the “Golden Age.” It is the
musical instrument, which most likely, best represented the Reign of
Aragón and is considered the ancestor of almost all European
chordophones. Its music accompanied notable personages as the
Archpriest of Hita and Miguel de Cervantes. According to all sources
(Ian Woodfield and others...) the vihuela had its origins and reached
its peak during the Reign of Aragon.
Already as early as the end of the 13th century, Jerome of Moravia and Johannes de Grogeo describe these variable vihuelas de arco
as being instruments that could play chords, or melodies accompanied by
chords, which accompanied narrative or strophic songs, and which were
used to play polyphonic repertoire pertaining to high social classes.
The vihuelas were played in courtly settings, for celebrations or
palace banquets and were considered equivalent to the lute in the XVI
century because of their flexibility and adaptability.
The earliest description of the instrument is connected with Johannes Tinctoris (1445-1511) and his treatise De inventione et usu musicae 1481-1483,
which states that the bottom is flat and the borders curved (unlike the
lute). Its invention is clearly attributed to the Spanish... being
divided into two categories: plucked and bowed, although iconography of
the 15th century show both models being practically identical, implying
that the plucked or bowed version is only an indication of the manner
of playing and not necessarily of the physical characteristics.
Ascendancy in the Reign of Aragon
Many of the vihuela makers and players in the Kingdom of Aragon
were moors and jews in a time when arabs, jews and christians
cohabited. After their expulsion from the Iberian Peninsula in 1492,
many of them sought refuge in Italy. The close relationship between the
Kingdom of Aragón under Alfonso the Magnanimous (1394-1458) and Italy
stimulated a fast diffusion of the instrument throughout Italy, which
was further intensified by the annexation of the Kingdom of Naples in
1506. Moreover in 1492, Rodrigo Borja (Alexander VI), originally from
Valencia, was elected Pope. With him he took the entire chapel of the
court to Rome, which included vihuela de arco players.
Nevertheless, a multicultural harmony with oriental influence was given
birth on the peninsula. These effects can be appreciated in the Cancioneros,
where traces of classical Persian song resound, mixed with polyphony in
the vihuela-songbooks accompanying the voice. This was introduced by
the arab musician named Ziriab during his exile on the Peninsula in the
11th century.
The humanist Vittorino de Feltre (1378-1448), who opened a
school in Mantua to educate the sons of nobility, included music
lessons as a requirement. These lessons consisted of a soloist
accompanied by the lira da braccio (vihuela de arco
in Spain). This information shows a continuation of the practice
described by Jerome of Moravia in the prior century, which was a type
of improvised song on the chords of the lira, vihuela de arco
or medieval fiddle. It became a steadfast musical ideal in Renaissance
humanism which reappears in the 16th century in the meetings of the
Florentine Camerata and in the work of Vincenzo Galilei Dialogo della musica antica e della moderna (1581).
Repertoire
In general, the printed repertoire for the vihuela is dominated by
vocal music, using compositional methods entirely based on rhetorical
discourse expressed through imitative polyphony. Dance music, sets of
variations and diverse short pieces form less than five percent of the
repertoire.
The sung airs (ayres) accompanied by the vihuela encompass diverse styles. These styles extend from improvised song that Milán describes in El Cortesano, similar to the improvisation to the lute in Italy used as accompaniment of latin and vernacular poems, to the Romances. These songs used common harmonic sequences that were transmitted in the Cancionero de Palacio
and sung by musicians and orators accompanied by the vihuela. Solo
music is comprised of free improvisation that reached its peak with
fantasies by Milán, which were based on cantus firmus, and dances and arrangements of Spanish airs.
Standards of interpretation
Musical performance in this recording is based on rigorous research of period documents in all of its aspects:
1. Vocal technique, ornamentation and diminutions according to Medieval
and Renaissance treatises. (J. of Moravia, J. Grocheio, F. de Colonia,
D. Ortiz...)
2. Historical replicas and materials: Vihuela de arco
model of a copy from a 1550 fresco in the Cathedral of Cuenca
(instrument builder: Javier Martinez). Bows are 16th century models
(bow maker: Boi Pages), black bow hairs, ram gut strings, bourdon
strings dyed in iron oxide according to techniques anterior to the 16th
century. (Hand craftsman: Javier Xandrich).
3. Interpretation of the repertoire: Arrangements of 3 or 4
voice polyphonic pieces according to the practice described by
Sylvestro Ganassi (1543) such as Cantar alla viola.
Fernando Marín and Nadine Balbeisi