Almost certainly the guitar was created within the Middle East, according to the representations of the second millennium BC Hittite and etymological theory that derives the word "guitar" from Sanskrit to mean "an instrument with four strings."
However, we have virtually no information on its use and its characteristics until the mid-twelfth century, because of the preference given to the most noble lyre and harp by the Greeks and Romans.
From the thirteenth century, the flourishing of culture and the birth of secular courtly figure of the wandering minstrel, the guitar comes from oblivion and is introduced in the higher cultural circles.
At this stage, the guitar keeps some similarities with the old instruments: small (the case does not exceed the width of the chest of the performer), how to play (right forearm supported and played with the pick), four strings.
The lute, as the theorists would be originating in Persia and Mesopotamia, which origin is confirmed by the etymology of the word Arab AL'UD. Introduced by the Arabs in southern Italy and Spain, the lute is finally absorbed by European culture all'iniizio the fourteenth century, when it starts to have been supplied with eleven gut strings (a simple, five doubles, the "chorus"), keyboard divided in seven keys and cash from the bottom curved features maintained throughout the Renaissance period.
In Spain, however, the lute is not able to spread among the non-Arab population, which perceives it as a means precisely "foreign." Has the most luck vihuela, an instrument similar to guitar, which has traditionally been inferred from fidicula Roman (but its origins remain somewhat obscure).
Although the names and characteristics of these instruments are not yet well defined (the expressions vihuela, guitarra Latin guitarra morisca, lavish etc. are often used interchangeably), it is important to remember that, contrary to what they tell us our subsidiaries, guitar , lute and vihuela are three separate instruments, by origin, distribution, and evolution of the organic literature.
Instead come from the guitar several popular tools in areas of "national" characteristics organological slightly different from each other: little guitar (Italy), Guist de Barbarie (France, with curved bottom), guitar (even France) and gittern (England, hexagonal ) etc..
Because of their ease of handling, these three instruments were highly appreciated by the medieval troubadours and singers, which is often appreciated the ability to instrumental performance, mainly based on improvisation - which is why we have practically no trace of the works of this period.
The Renaissance
The literature written for guitar flourishes in the shadow of the lute and vihuela in the mid-sixteenth century, more precisely between 1546 and 1556.
Since knowledge of stringed instruments essential part of cultural education of gentlemen, the fledgling music publishing strives in the production of pamphlets and treatises on character education and printing of booklets specifically dedicated to "those who can not play" (one could say anything new under the sun, with all of today's methods to learn to play without the music theory ...).
The collections of music for stringed instruments since the beginning Intavolata make use of notation or tablature. It is simply a graphical representation of the strings of the instrument, a flow rate of 4 or 6 lines (depending on the number of choirs) on which are displayed each time you press the keys with the fingers of his left hand by numbers (and Italian tablature Spanish) or letters of the alphabet (French tablature). Above the door are the figures reported for the rhythmic musical notes, with the arms that progressively take on the meaning of the "joke" itself.
String instruments are also freed from the role of simple "guides" through the development of a purely instrumental polyphonic language, exemplified by the shape of the imagination - as well as the improvement of dance music and secular music in general.
Also, perhaps because of their continuous contact with the popular repertoire, guitarists before they sense the trend towards simplification of the theoretical geometry polyphonic, which bears the phasing out of the way and the adoption of elements and tonal harmony and logical recognized in practice, this intuition is made concrete instrumental in the development of chordal style in accompaniment to the melody, well before the theory of "basso continuo" (I know, is a step a little 'obscure: see it.wikipedia.org / wiki / Basso_continuo for clarification).
As for literature, for a time the songs are related to the repertoire for guitar lute, being written by professionals of this instrument.
While music for lute are already being printed at the beginning of the century (see Francis Spinacino, Intabolatura de Laut, the first book, Venice, Petrucci, 1507) for guitar tracks have to wait until mid-century to learn the new dignity given by the diffusion written.
In addition to the exploratory (polyphonic pieces in imitation from which descend the Fugue), the collections also include several dances for the lute, which over time are organized in suites, or groups of three or four songs made up of complementary elements melodic and harmonic common.
The foremost lute players of the time were Bossiniensis Franciscus ("Bosnian") and no doubt Francesco da Milano (1497-1543), author of a vast quantity of songs, published in collections with other authors such as Peter Paul Borra and Antonio Rotta; among other authors who contributed to svuluppo the "search" citio Joan Maria da Crema and Domenico Bianchini, called the "Lipstick", strongly influenced by the Venetian organ school (of which two sound pieces to the diploma, but will present them later).
In the second half of the century witnessed from Milan is collected by James Gorzanis (1557 - 1576ca), Puglia birth, became known as "leutonista of the magnificent city of Trieste," important for the development of the suite of dances varied, as well as its exploratory and fantasies.
In Italy the only collection that includes Renaissance music for guitar (four patterns) is the 10th volume of the 'Opera entitled Contina. Intabolatura of lavish " of Melchior de Barberis, published in Venice in 1549.
In Spain, the vihuela contribute to the development of a style more characteristic of the guitar style with frequent examples of stolen and variations. Major center of music production is Seville, a city of great artistic and economic activities. Printed here are the only two Spanish collections, including pieces for guitar: "Tres libros de musica .. para vihuela"(1546) of Alonso Mudarra (four patterns, Pavan, Roman-inspired folk) and "Paper de musica para vihuela intitulado Orphenica Lyra"(1554) of Miguel de Fuenllana (six fantasies and some songs together, in a more "elitist" and spiritual).
The economic crisis of the second 500 and the centralization of power in the hands of King Philip II causing the decline of the Spanish noble class, so that leaves the important work of patronage that allowed the flourishing of literature vihuelistica, this process is accompanied the diffusion of the guitar in the lower layers of the population, which it seizes and makes the Spanish national instrument par excellence.
In France, the love of the guitar is encouraged, inter alia, by the poetry of Pierre de Ronsard, who celebrates it, along with lute and lyre, the instrument as a symbol of antiquity, in contrast to the medieval tradition.
Surprisingly, compared to Italy and Spain, the amount of music for guitar, published in Paris by the publishers Le-Roy Ballard and Granjon-Fezandat between 1551 and 1559, the repertoire includes a wide variety of musical genres, from fantasy to the songs for voice and guitar, transcriptions of polyphonic works of Italian authors to the dances (often followed by changes and organize them in suite) both French and foreign.
Among the authors stand out: Adrien Le Roy (1520ca-1598), author and editor of four collections for guitar, Morlaye Guillaume , merchant of strings and lute, also the author of four volumes include both original compositions and transcriptions, and Simon Gorlier .
The French musical production is stopped abruptly, however, around 1559, with the outbreak of the bloody conflict between Catholics and Huguenots and the spread of Calvinism, which hampers the musical activity of converts survivors (as the only acceptable art form by this current were psalms to be sung during services).
Other collections devoted to the guitar are published in the Netherlands ("Selectissima .. guiterna ludenda carmina"Phalèse-Bell, 1570) and England, where the instrument is already appreciated at the time of Henry VIII and is also cultivated by his successors .
However,polyphonic notation and style of music is still strongly affected the performance practice of the lute, which maintains its aura of nobility than the guitar, always somehow considered "folk instrument" and therefore inherently inferior.
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