Lyre-guitar
Encyclopedia
A musical instrument of the chordophone
family, the lyre-guitar was a type of guitar
shaped like a lyre
. Invented in 1780 by Pierre Charles Mareschal, a prominent French luthier
, it had six single courses
and was tuned like the modern classical guitar
, with a fretboard located between two curved arms recalling the shape of the ancient Greek lyre. The lyre-guitar nearly always had a built-in pedestal allowing it to stand upright when not in use.
The lyre-guitar enjoyed a great popularity as a salon
instrument especially in Paris
between the years 1780 and 1820. It became very much in vogue and pervaded the highest levels of society; Marie Antoinette
played one and the great guitarists of the day such as Ferdinando Carulli
, Fernando Sor
, Matteo Carcassi
, Mauro Giuliani
and Pierre Jean Porro
wrote music and methods for it.
Its decline coincided with the waning of the popularity of the guitar as a salon instrument, increasingly supplanted by the piano which benefitted from ongoing improvements to its keyboard action. The lyre-guitar nevertheless persisted, not so much as a musical instrument, but more commonly as a symbol of classicist
ideals appearing in numerous allegorical
paintings, and later on, photographs as a prop for evoking ancient Greek and Roman themes.
Although the lyre-guitar is presently rarely heard or recorded it is not quite extinct. A body of nearly forgotten repertoire exists often by highly notable guitarists of the golden age of the guitar. Today lyre-guitars can be made to order by luthiers and authentic examples exist in museums and private collections. See External Links below for examples of modern recordings, museum artifacts and other resources.
Chordophone
A chordophone is any musical instrument that makes sound by way of a vibrating string or strings stretched between two points. It is one of the four main divisions of instruments in the original Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification....
family, the lyre-guitar was a type of guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
shaped like a lyre
Lyre
The lyre is a stringed musical instrument known for its use in Greek classical antiquity and later. The word comes from the Greek "λύρα" and the earliest reference to the word is the Mycenaean Greek ru-ra-ta-e, meaning "lyrists", written in Linear B syllabic script...
. Invented in 1780 by Pierre Charles Mareschal, a prominent French luthier
Luthier
A luthier is someone who makes or repairs lutes and other string instruments. In the United States, the term is used interchangeably with a term for the specialty of each maker, such as violinmaker, guitar maker, lute maker, etc...
, it had six single courses
Course (music)
A course is a pair or more of adjacent strings tuned to unison or an octave and usually played together as if a single string. It may also refer to a single string normally played on its own on an instrument with other multi-string courses, for example the bass string on a nine string baroque...
and was tuned like the modern classical guitar
Classical guitar
The classical guitar is a 6-stringed plucked string instrument from the family of instruments called chordophones...
, with a fretboard located between two curved arms recalling the shape of the ancient Greek lyre. The lyre-guitar nearly always had a built-in pedestal allowing it to stand upright when not in use.
History
Salon music
Salon music was a popular music genre in Europe during the 19th century. It was usually written for solo piano in the romantic style, and often performed by the composer at events known as "Salons". Salon compositions are usually fairly short and often focus on virtuoso pianistic display or...
instrument especially in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
between the years 1780 and 1820. It became very much in vogue and pervaded the highest levels of society; Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....
played one and the great guitarists of the day such as Ferdinando Carulli
Ferdinando Carulli
Ferdinando Maria Meinrado Francesco Pascale Rosario Carulli was an Italian composer for classical guitar and the author of the first complete classical guitar method, which continues to be used today. He wrote a variety of works for classical guitar, including concertos and chamber works...
, Fernando Sor
Fernando Sor
Josep Ferran Sorts i Muntades was a Spanish classical guitarist and composer. While he is best known for his guitar compositions, he also composed music for a wide range of genres, including opera, orchestra, string quartet, piano, voice and ballet...
, Matteo Carcassi
Matteo Carcassi
Matteo Carcassi was a famous Italian guitarist and composer.Carcassi began with the piano, but learned guitar when still a child. He quickly gained a reputation as a virtuoso concert guitarist....
, Mauro Giuliani
Mauro Giuliani
Mauro Giuseppe Sergio Pantaleo Giuliani was an Italian guitarist, cellist and composer, and is considered by many to be one of the leading guitar virtuosi of the early 19th century.- Biography :...
and Pierre Jean Porro
Pierre Jean Porro
Pierre-Jean Porro was an influential French guitarist, composer and music publisher. His influence helped popularize the guitar as a salon instrument. Also a guitar teacher, he published a guitar method and was an editor and publisher of several musical journals...
wrote music and methods for it.
Its decline coincided with the waning of the popularity of the guitar as a salon instrument, increasingly supplanted by the piano which benefitted from ongoing improvements to its keyboard action. The lyre-guitar nevertheless persisted, not so much as a musical instrument, but more commonly as a symbol of classicist
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...
ideals appearing in numerous allegorical
Allegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
paintings, and later on, photographs as a prop for evoking ancient Greek and Roman themes.
"The idea was to create an instrument which looked pretty and provided a visual accessory to help ladies of fashion to assume the gracious pose of Greek “kithara” players. This visual likeness became a potent ingredient of the culture of the upper classes.",
Although the lyre-guitar is presently rarely heard or recorded it is not quite extinct. A body of nearly forgotten repertoire exists often by highly notable guitarists of the golden age of the guitar. Today lyre-guitars can be made to order by luthiers and authentic examples exist in museums and private collections. See External Links below for examples of modern recordings, museum artifacts and other resources.
Historical Sources
- Einige Worte über die neue französische Lyra (Lyre-Guitarre.) AMZAllgemeine musikalische ZeitungThe Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung was a German-language periodical published in the 19th century. Comini has called it "the foremost German-language musical periodical of its time"...
, August 1801 (includes an image on page 789) - General music teacher: adapted to self-instruction...embracing also an extensive dictionary of musical terms by Gottfried Weber; Publisher: J.H. Wilkins, & R.B. Carter, 1842
- Adams' new musical dictionary by John Stowell Adams; Publisher: S.T. Gordon & Son, 1865
Sheet Music
Websites
- http://www.eleonoravulpiani.com/history.htm
- http://www.harpguitars.net/history/org/org-lyres.htm#lg
Museums
- Cité de la musique, Paris (search-phrase: Mot-clé(s) : lyre guitare)
- Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
- National Music Museum, The University of South Dakota
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York
- Museum für Musikinstrumente der Universität Leipzig (click on Lyragitarren)
- Ringve Museum, Trondheim (in Norwegian)
- Museo Civico d'Arte di Modena (shows a lyre guitar by Gennaro Fabricatore)