The lirone, the bass member of the lira family of instruments, is a bowed string instrument with between 9 and 16 gut strings. It is held between the legs in the manner of a cello or viol and like the viol its neck is generally fretted. The lirone was primarily used in Italy during the late 16th and early 17th centuries (and particularly in the time of Claudio Monteverdi) to provide continuo, or harmony for the accompaniment of vocal music. Its f...
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The lirone, the bass member of the lira family of instruments, is a bowed string instrument with between 9 and 16 gut strings. It is held between the legs in the manner of a cello or viol and like the viol its neck is generally fretted. The lirone was primarily used in Italy during the late 16th and early 17th centuries (and particularly in the time of Claudio Monteverdi) to provide continuo, or harmony for the accompaniment of vocal music. Its flattened bridge allows for the playing of chords of between three and five notes. It is essentially a larger version of the lira da braccio, which has a similar wide fingerboard, flat bridge, and leaf-shaped pegbox with frontal pegs.
Despite the resurgence in Baroque instrument performance during the 20th century, only a handful of musicians play the lirone. Notable performers on the instrument include Erin Headley of England, Hille Perl of Germany, Annalisa Pappano of the United States, Laura Vaughan of Australia, and Paulina van Laarhoven of...
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