CITTERN
The cittern was the most important plectrum played instrument of the Renaissance. The image opposite shows a copy of the six-course cittern by Gironimo Campi in the Royal College of Music, London. The body, neck and pegbox are all carved from a solid piece of sycamore and the comb stringholder is an integral part of the body. Viewed from the side, the body is wedge-shaped, tapering from the neckto the shallow bottom. The neck is half cut away from behind the fingerboard on the bass side. The resulting 'channel', along which the player's left thumb can slide, facilitates the very rapid shifts to and from the high positions that are often required in the solo cittern repertory. The carved decoration on the pegbox is separate and glued on. The carved head can be replaced with a simply decorated square finial. The soundboard is made from one piece of spruce. The sycamore fingerboard projects over the soundboard towards the rose and is raised above it and scalloped between the diatonically arranged frets. The scalloping and low frets assists good intonation, by preventing the thin wire strings from being stretched out of tune when stopped. The brass frets in tapered slots are secured by ebony wedges from the treble side. The slots stop short of the bass side. The junction between the body and neck occurs at the 12th fret. the parchment rose is missing. This can be included at an additional cost with one in the 'Gothic' style. The tuning pegs are set into blind holes from the top, in three rows on the solid pegbox that has a central ridge, so the pegs splay outwards.
SPECIFICATIONS
Length: 730mm
Maximum width: 250mm
Maximum rib depth: 49mm
Tuning: e'-d' d'-g' g-b c'-a