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Lute, a generic name for stringed instruments
composed of a body and of a neck that serves as a handle and
holds strings stretched across the instrument, is also the
specific name of the European short-necked instrument of the
Renaissance, for which a vast and significant musical literature
was composed in the 16th and 17th centuries. Appearing early
in antiquity, the lute had little impact on Europe until the
late Middle Ages. By 1500 the classic lute was formed with
six courses of strings stretching over a fretted fingerboard
from the holder glued to the belly of its light, pear-shaped,
paneled body, across the beautifully carved rose and the broad
neck to a pegbox tilted back at a sharp angle. About 1600,
in order to adapt to new musical styles, an enlarged compass
was obtained by additional low strings, usually unstopped
and suspended from a separate and higher pegbox (theorbo and
chittarone), and tunings were often altered. By the end of
the baroque period (about 1750), the lute was largely abandoned.
The sheer loveliness of the instrument's appearance inspired
the finest art of builders, performer-composers, and painters.
Few unaltered instruments remain, but many printed volumes
of lute TABLATURE testify to the lute's popularity and the
high level of skill demanded of its performers. The recent
revival of old music has produced many fine modern makers
and players. The delicacy and finely shaded tone of the lute
make it essentially an instrument for intimate performance.
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