Influences | Origins of the Lute | Renaissance | Classical

Although types of lute can be found in many societies, both ancient and modern, the structure and indeed name of the Renaissance lute derived from an Arabic instrument, al-ud (‘the ud’). Like the Western Renaissance lute, the ud consisted of a large curved soundbox, a short neck ending in a peg box and a series of strings to be plucked. As the Spanish-Portuguese peninsula consisted of a patchwork of Christian and Muslim kingdoms until the end of the Middle Ages, with a high level of trade and a changing pattern of diplomatic and military alliances, Spain is generally thought to be the place where the Arabic instrument was adopted and westernized.

Influences | The Bach Dynasty | Early Baroque | Classical

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