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Rebec

August 28, 2023

The rebec (sometimes rebecha, rebeckha, and other spellings, pronounced /ˈriːbɛk/ or /ˈrɛbɛk/) is a bowed stringed instrument of the Medieval era and the early Renaissance. In its most common form, it has a narrow boat-shaped body and one to five strings.

Origins Edit

Popular from the 13th to 16th centuries, the introduction of the rebec into Western Europe coincided with the Arabic conquest of the Iberian Peninsula. There is, however, evidence of the existence of bowed instruments in the 9th century in Eastern Europe. The Persian geographer of the 9th century Ibn Khurradadhbih cited the bowed Byzantine lira (or lūrā) as a typical bowed instrument of the Byzantines and equivalent to the pear-shaped Arab rebab.[1][2][3][4]

The rebec was adopted as a key instrument in Arab classical music and in Morocco it was used in the tradition of Arabo-Andalusian music, which had been kept alive by descendants of Muslims who left Spain as refugees following the Reconquista. The rebec also became a favorite instrument in the tea houses of the Ottoman Empire.

The rebec was first referred to by that name around the beginning of the 14th century, though a similar instrument, usually called a lira da braccio (arm lyre), had been played since around the 9th century.[5] The name derives from the 15th century Middle French rebec, altered in an unexplained manner from the 13th century Old French ribabe, which in turn comes from the Arabic rebab.[6] An early form of the rebec is also referred to as the rubeba in a 13th century Moravian treatise on music.[7] Medieval sources refer to the instrument by several other names, including kit and the generic term fiddle.[8]

A distinguishing feature of the rebec is that the bowl (or body) of the instrument is carved from a solid piece of wood. This distinguishes it from the later period vielles and gambas known in the Renaissance.

Tuning Edit

The number of strings on the rebec varies from 1 to 5, although three is the most common number. Early forms of the instrument commonly had 2. The strings are often tuned in fifths, although this tuning is not universal. Many depictions of the rebec show its bridge as flat, which would mean that several strings were bowed at the same time. This suggests that the strings would likely be tuned in fifths and fourths similar to the fiddle and mandora.[9] The instrument was originally in the treble range, like the violin, but later larger versions were developed, so that by the 16th century composers were able to write pieces for consorts of rebecs, just as they did for consorts of viols.

In use Edit

The rebec was often played by professional minstrels and musicians at feasts. In northern Europe, musicians typically held it at the shoulder, while musicians in southern Europe and northern Africa held it down in the lap and gripped the bow from below.[8]

The use of frets on the rebec is somewhat ambiguous. Many scholars who have written about the instrument have described it as fretless. However, some illustrations from the 13th century onward depict frets on the rebec. It is possible to attribute this discrepancy to the fact that frets on bowed instruments appeared in Europe in the early renaissance, but not in England until the 15th century.[10]

In time, the viol came to replace the rebec, and the instrument was little used beyond the renaissance period. The instrument was used by dance masters until the 18th century, however, often being used for the same purpose as the kit, a small pocket-sized violin. The rebec also remained in use in folk music, especially in eastern Europe and Spain. Andalusi nubah, a genre of music from North Africa, often includes the rebec. Chilote Waltz (a variation of traditional waltz, played in Chiloe Island, Chile) also uses the rebec.[11]

Artists Edit

In popular culture Edit

Hugh Rebeck is a minor character in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, one of the musicians called by Peter in an oft-cut scene. Presumably, he is named for the instrument that he plays.

In a scene in Don Quixote, a goatherd entertains Don Quixote and Sancho Panza by playing a rebec and singing a love song.

A rebec featured prominently in one of Ellis Peters' (12th century) Brother Cadfael stories: Liliwin, the title character of The Sanctuary Sparrow, earned his living by playing that instrument. His rebec was damaged by a mob that accused him of murder, but one of the monks repaired it and returned to him at the end of the story.

See also Edit

References Edit

  1. ^ Margaret J. Kartomi, 1990
  2. ^ Farmer, Henry George (1988), Historical facts for the Arabian Musical Influence, Ayer Publishing, p. 137, ISBN 0-405-08496-X
  3. ^ For a possible etymological link between Arabic rebab and French rebec see American Heritage Dictionary
  4. ^ Panum, Hortense (1939), The stringed instruments of the Middle Ages, their evolution and development, London: William Reeves, p. 434
  5. ^ Bachmann, Werner (1969). The origins of bowing and the development of bowed instruments up to the thirteenth century. Oxford University Press. p. 35.
  6. ^ Harper, Douglas. "rebec (n.)". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  7. ^ Stainer, J.F.R. (1900). "Rebec and Viol". The Musical Times and Singing Class Circular. 41 (691): 596-597.
  8. ^ a b Stowell, Robin (2001). The Early Violin and Viola: A Practical Guide. Cambridge University Press. p. 174. ISBN 9780521625555.
  9. ^ Remnant, Mary (1968). "Rebec, Fiddle, and Crowd in England". Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association. 95: 15-28. doi:10.1093/jrma/95.1.15.
  10. ^ Remnant, Mary (1968). "The Use of Frets on Rebecs and Mediaeval Fiddles". The Galpin Society Journal. 95: 15-28.
  11. ^ Millacura, Matías (2019-01-24). "Rabel Chilote". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  12. ^ Have One On Me album booklet

External links Edit

  • definition at Dictionary.com ("Word of the Day" on April 30, 2022)
  • The Rebec – Short history of the rebec, and sound sample.
  • Musiconis Database of Medieval Musical Iconography: Rebec.
  • The Rebirth of the Rabeca Fiddle of Brazil
  • The Rebec Page – Origins, morphology, construction, and sound sample.
  • Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Rebec" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

August 28, 2023
rebec, rebec, sometimes, rebecha, rebeckha, other, spellings, pronounced, bowed, stringed, instrument, medieval, early, renaissance, most, common, form, narrow, boat, shaped, body, five, strings, rebec, virgin, among, virgins, 1509, gerard, david, string, inst. The rebec sometimes rebecha rebeckha and other spellings pronounced ˈ r iː b ɛ k or ˈ r ɛ b ɛ k is a bowed stringed instrument of the Medieval era and the early Renaissance In its most common form it has a narrow boat shaped body and one to five strings RebecThe rebec in Virgin among Virgins 1509 by Gerard David String instrumentClassificationBowed string instrumentsHornbostel Sachs classification321 21 71 Bowl lyre sounded by a bow DevelopedMiddle AgesRelated instrumentsvielle viol rebab rabel rabeca Byzantine lyra Contents 1 Origins 2 Tuning 3 In use 4 Artists 5 In popular culture 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksOrigins EditPopular from the 13th to 16th centuries the introduction of the rebec into Western Europe coincided with the Arabic conquest of the Iberian Peninsula There is however evidence of the existence of bowed instruments in the 9th century in Eastern Europe The Persian geographer of the 9th century Ibn Khurradadhbih cited the bowed Byzantine lira or lura as a typical bowed instrument of the Byzantines and equivalent to the pear shaped Arab rebab 1 2 3 4 The rebec was adopted as a key instrument in Arab classical music and in Morocco it was used in the tradition of Arabo Andalusian music which had been kept alive by descendants of Muslims who left Spain as refugees following the Reconquista The rebec also became a favorite instrument in the tea houses of the Ottoman Empire The rebec was first referred to by that name around the beginning of the 14th century though a similar instrument usually called a lira da braccio arm lyre had been played since around the 9th century 5 The name derives from the 15th century Middle French rebec altered in an unexplained manner from the 13th century Old French ribabe which in turn comes from the Arabic rebab 6 An early form of the rebec is also referred to as the rubeba in a 13th century Moravian treatise on music 7 Medieval sources refer to the instrument by several other names including kit and the generic term fiddle 8 A distinguishing feature of the rebec is that the bowl or body of the instrument is carved from a solid piece of wood This distinguishes it from the later period vielles and gambas known in the Renaissance Tuning EditThe number of strings on the rebec varies from 1 to 5 although three is the most common number Early forms of the instrument commonly had 2 The strings are often tuned in fifths although this tuning is not universal Many depictions of the rebec show its bridge as flat which would mean that several strings were bowed at the same time This suggests that the strings would likely be tuned in fifths and fourths similar to the fiddle and mandora 9 The instrument was originally in the treble range like the violin but later larger versions were developed so that by the 16th century composers were able to write pieces for consorts of rebecs just as they did for consorts of viols In use EditThe rebec was often played by professional minstrels and musicians at feasts In northern Europe musicians typically held it at the shoulder while musicians in southern Europe and northern Africa held it down in the lap and gripped the bow from below 8 The use of frets on the rebec is somewhat ambiguous Many scholars who have written about the instrument have described it as fretless However some illustrations from the 13th century onward depict frets on the rebec It is possible to attribute this discrepancy to the fact that frets on bowed instruments appeared in Europe in the early renaissance but not in England until the 15th century 10 In time the viol came to replace the rebec and the instrument was little used beyond the renaissance period The instrument was used by dance masters until the 18th century however often being used for the same purpose as the kit a small pocket sized violin The rebec also remained in use in folk music especially in eastern Europe and Spain Andalusi nubah a genre of music from North Africa often includes the rebec Chilote Waltz a variation of traditional waltz played in Chiloe Island Chile also uses the rebec 11 Artists EditThe original Michael Nyman Band included a rebec before the band switched to a fully amplified lineup Les Cousins Branchaud a folk music group from Quebec Canada includes a rebec player Ensemble Micrologus an Italian medieval music group has a member who performs on rebec Tina Chancey is a multi instrumentalist specializing in early bowed strings like the rebec She also plays in Hesperus an early music and folk music group Dominique Regef is a French musician composer and improvisor who performs on among other instruments the rebec Giles Lewin while being more famous for his work on violin and bagpipes also plays the rebec in the Dufay Collective Sisters Shirley and Dolly Collins have released a number of albums that include the rebec Oni Wytars a European music group often includes the rebec in their performances Sergio Roberto Veloso de Oliveira from Mestre Ambrosio and Siba e a Fuloresta and Antonio Nobrega plays the rebec in a very Brazilian folkloric way which has a large number of players in its north east part A rebec played by Shira Kammen is used in the song Kingfisher on the 2010 album Have One On Me by American multi instrumentalist Joanna Newsom 12 In popular culture EditHugh Rebeck is a minor character in William Shakespeare s Romeo and Juliet one of the musicians called by Peter in an oft cut scene Presumably he is named for the instrument that he plays In a scene in Don Quixote a goatherd entertains Don Quixote and Sancho Panza by playing a rebec and singing a love song A rebec featured prominently in one of Ellis Peters 12th century Brother Cadfael stories Liliwin the title character of The Sanctuary Sparrow earned his living by playing that instrument His rebec was damaged by a mob that accused him of murder but one of the monks repaired it and returned to him at the end of the story See also EditByzantine lyra the pear shaped bowed stringed instrument of the Byzantine Empire Calabrian lira Cretan lyra The pear shaped bowed instrument of Crete Greece Dramyin a Himalayan folk music instrument Gadulka a Bulgarian stringed instrument Gusle a Western Balkan folk instrument Kamencheh a four stringed instrument similar to the kemenche Kemenche a three stringed instrument from the Black Sea region of Asia Minor Lijerica Croatian or Dalmatian instrument Rabeca Rabel a Spanish folk instrument Rebecca disambiguation References Edit Margaret J Kartomi 1990 Farmer Henry George 1988 Historical facts for the Arabian Musical Influence Ayer Publishing p 137 ISBN 0 405 08496 X For a possible etymological link between Arabic rebab and French rebec see American Heritage Dictionary Panum Hortense 1939 The stringed instruments of the Middle Ages their evolution and development London William Reeves p 434 Bachmann Werner 1969 The origins of bowing and the development of bowed instruments up to the thirteenth century Oxford University Press p 35 Harper Douglas rebec n Online Etymology Dictionary Retrieved 5 October 2015 Stainer J F R 1900 Rebec and Viol The Musical Times and Singing Class Circular 41 691 596 597 a b Stowell Robin 2001 The Early Violin and Viola A Practical Guide Cambridge University Press p 174 ISBN 9780521625555 Remnant Mary 1968 Rebec Fiddle and Crowd in England Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association 95 15 28 doi 10 1093 jrma 95 1 15 Remnant Mary 1968 The Use of Frets on Rebecs and Mediaeval Fiddles The Galpin Society Journal 95 15 28 Millacura Matias 2019 01 24 Rabel Chilote a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help Have One On Me album bookletExternal links Edit rebec definition at Dictionary com Word of the Day on April 30 2022 The Rebec Short history of the rebec and sound sample Musiconis Database of Medieval Musical Iconography Rebec The Rebirth of the Rabeca Fiddle of Brazil The Rebec Page Origins morphology construction and sound sample Tenor rebec photo Chisholm Hugh ed 1911 Rebec Encyclopaedia Britannica 11th ed Cambridge University Press Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Rebec amp oldid 1169391586, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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