Introducing the Lirone
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 24 ก.พ. 2021
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Many thanks to Emilia Benjamin for introducing us to ‘heaven’s hoover’ (or the lirone, or lira da gamba). This beautiful instrument was popular in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, and it was often used in Italian operas to accompany singing.
This lirone has 13 gut strings, but some have as many as 16!
Guest Soprano: Jessica Cale
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Baroque instruments are so fascinating. And this one sounds beautiful.
Yeah you know it's a baroque instrument when you're not able to discern whether it's an instrument or a medieval torture device...🤣
I always said, “ If it ain’t baroque, don’t fix it.”
@@ojsefg Naw. If it ain't baroque, fix it!
Those dissonances actually sounded really nice its a shame this instrument hasn't made a comeback in contemporary music
There are some people using the lirone to play contemporary music; check out the Lirone and Modern gamba groups on Facebook.
@@Souls_p_ Lirone players do try hard to ensure that all the chords they produce are in tune based on the tuning system in use at the time the instrument was used, which was probably various forms of meantone temperament, so the third of each chord is a bit narrower than in 12-tone equal temperament, and produces fewer (or no) beats. I think you can see that the player in this video has at least two tastini (tiny frets), which can be employed, along with the tilting of the tied-on frets, to create fine gradations of pitch.
Survival of the fitest, not the fatest lol
I was thinking the same, I could hear a group like Nordic Affect using the lirone really effectively.
I think the instrument’s a bit limited in what it can play. That is why I think it never really caught on.
Let's take a moment to appreciate the gargantuan efforts of the American musician Erin Headley, who single-handedly resurrected the lirone from total obscurity back in the 1980s. I met Miss Headley during a masterclass given by her chamber group Philomel at the St Louis Conservatory in 1986. She was charming, self-deprecating, and profoundly and astoundingly musical. We have much to thank her for.
Absolutely! It is entirely down to Erin that most of the small lirone playing community are here - what a service to mankind!!
@@emiliabenjamin1782 And thank YOU, Miss Benjamin, for your lovely videos! We learn so much from them, and your playing is gorgeous!
@@jasonhurd4379 Thanks for your great introduction to such a beautiful and unfamiliar instrument. I've seen pictures of these but never really knew what it was. All of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment presentations are interesting and your performances are first rate. Thanks again
Sorry I missed that. I graduated from St. Louis Conservatory in 1986. Do you remember that in addition to cello I play viola da gamba? I was in the early music ensemble there, having had gamba lessons from my British cello teacher prior to coming to SLCM.
@@garylee7996 Yes Gary, I remember you well. I am glad to hear that you play gamba, which I consider the most beautiful instrument ever to have been invented. Nice to hear from you!
The sound reminds me of a cello crossed with a hurdy-gurdy tuned to play a specific style of music.
It's closer to the viola da gamba than to the cello.
@@TonyBittner-Collins yes, but I am not familiar with that and described it using the instruments my ear is familiar with
It's the hurdy-gurdy part that got me.
Also sounds like a fifth-higher morin khuur
@@wandereromur I will have to find audio of one of those now.
The sound of this instrument feels like a string based accordion. It's intense. I love it.
Yes, I thought it sounded like a Harmonium. Totally not like a string instrument.
This is fascinating.... as a modern guitarist, I'm both grief-stricken and intrigued by the tuning! It almost sounds accordion-like when playing chords.
Haha! "Both grief-stricken and intrigued" I hear ya! :)
Totally agree. I can definitely hear accordion type vibes
😂 grief-stricken 😂
It rounds the circle of 5ths like a mandolin but instead of going up a 5th then up a 5th, it goes up a 5th, down a 4th, up a 5th down a 4th etc. If you can play a mandolin or any of the violin family, this one shouldn't be too hard.
My last name is Straight. I wonder if we're on the same tree.
I would be perfectly happy listening to a whole album of solo Lirone
yes!
So davinci did freestyle with his own accompaniment? That's wonderful.
This musician is as precious and rare as the instrument she plays and expose us to those master musicians and instrument makers. We are so privilege to have around dedicated and passionate musicians that transform musicology into a great life musical experience.
and thanks to youtube the unsophisticated like me can enjoy the beauty and the learning.
I don’t see/hear why this couldn’t be a solo instrument, it has beautiful sound.
Think about what was going on with music in the baroque era, alot of the harmonic expression was controlled through figured bass. It makes more sense thinking backwards then forwards then looking on in the present and be looking back
Simple : its not melodic.
But the accompaniment sheets for it are perfectly listenable on their own nonetheless ! I'd be happy to practice with one on my own :)
(With maybe a CD of an opera chant on top at some point !)
This seems like an intimidatingly difficult instrument, but you play it with such facility and beauty that I am convinced of its virtues.
Yeah, I would imagine even more difficult than the cello or double-bass.
Well said
I think the main thing there is that the bow is tightened pretty tight, so it only touches a few strings. Then you use finger shapes like with a mandolin. Those are easier than on a guitar, since a guitar is tuned to intervals of 5,5,5,4,5 half-tones which makes the shapes all goofy. Of course you can tune a guitar to 5,5,5,5,5 Stanley Jordan style, or 7,7,7,7,7 mandolin style
@@woodybrison cool to see other stanley jordan fans here
@@freshpansen6313 I've tried to find out if Stanley has a harpejji and if he thinks it's the most magic thing in the world. If he hasn't I predict he will say that
Never heard of this instrument before, it’s truly amazing 🤩
Agreed
I hope the lirone makes a comeback. What a wonderful sound.
I use mine to play along Russian folk songs too. It fits very well! I basically learned the chords with this kind of music. It suites ''Hotel Californy'' pretty well too ;-)
From the point of view of a luthier, it looks like a nightmare. Love the sound though.
@@mplsmark222 It should use Steel Strings & Machine Heads
Glorious.
It has the timbre of the harpsichord but the attack of notes and sustain of a vocalist!
The baroque movement is definitely the most influential period of music in history, it never ceases to amaze me in the most unexpected ways and instruments!
"improvised lyric poetry" or,
15th century rapping
it makes me think of a rich man's hurdy gurdy,
that base and lowly instrument of the detestable villeins
Detestable Villains sounds like a dope rap group
Villeins? But what about the varlets?
@@horatiodreamt them too!...and the peons! let's not forget about them
These presenters are always nice, knowledgeable, charming and talented. There's something fantastic about being introduced to a niche instrument by someone who has lived and breathed it for years. Doubly so when it's also someone in a genre of music that I know very little about.
As a bass violist, I’m utterly fascinated by it and even after over two decades of playing baroque and renaissance repertoire, have never heard of this gorgeous instrument!
You can tell Emilia is in the zone whilst playing, it’s like she’s coming out of a meditation when she stops! 🙌
Wow. Just wow. What an uniquely beautiful voice this instrument has. Jessica Cale's redition of Uccidimi Dolore brings me to tears. What a great video.
Me: What a fascinating instrument, let's hear the details.
Lady: "And the second annoying thing about tuning it is..."
You officially have a new subscriber :-)
Oh my gosh! 😲 It looks like a viola d'amore and viola da gamba got together and created the ultimate arco string monster! 👾 AAAAAAHHHHHH! 😱
I repair/restore old instruments at the store I work for and I recently had the joy of tuning a 100-year-old Viola da Gamba. Not fun. I'd imagine this is hell to tune lol
Also called lyra da gamba
The purity of the true major third is so superior to what we are used to hearing. This video demonstrates that beautifully.
it sounds a bit like an organ when changing bow strokes. incredible
And like accordion reeds too!! 😁
The lirone's sound has always captivated me. It's mysterious, melancholic, and so rich. It somehow reminds me of a regal.
@Vicky Zabaras Aww, thank you! 😊
What an amazing instrument, I've never heard of it before. It has an immediate melancholic rich sound. It reminds of both an accordion and an organ at once. I love that the number of strings mean it sounds in tune in both flat and sharp keys. But, what a complicated thing to manage and play though.
Our Modern Day Keyboard Eb & D# are the same
@@RockStarOscarStern634 today yes. but they weren't then. To be able to play in different keys perfectly in tune, D# and Eb are different notes. On my old flute, I have different fingerings for Gb and F# for example.
@@Rik77 I believe the Microtonal Keyboard in 41tet is like that too. Equal Temperment is a Modern thing & it's always compromised because all the notes are equally outta tune.
"I've certainly played along in sonatas by Marini, Castello, and Bieber"(9:35). Ah yes, classics such as "Sonata Prima" and "Where Are Ü Now"
Crazy difficult to wrap one’s head around, let alone to learn to play! The sound is so incredibly rich and alive! What an incredible and highly intelligent musician this woman is!
I've heard this in Renaissance recordings, but I thought it was some type of early pipe organ. I had no idea strings could make that sound. I think I've heard it as background in Lute duets.
Thank you for showing us this interesting instrument. Honestly, after watching this video, I still don’t understand how she could manage to play it without hitting unwanted strings. What a talented musician!
They've put a slight curve in the bridge to solve that problem. It's not a completely flat bridge.
The reentrant tuning helps too, i think (i'm still trying to wrap my mind around how that works
@@sifridbassoon You use Mandolin type Chords on 4 or 5 strings at a time.
@@sifridbassoon This instrument is both interesting and horrified at the same time, especially for violinists!
@@RockStarOscarStern634 You are incorrect. See 3:32 of the video, where she clearly states that the bridge is FLAT.
I got to sing with a lirone once, and decided then that it would go with my hypothetical collection of antique instruments, like my baryton and glass armonica.
The frets on the instrument, like most baroque stringed instruments, are made of gut and can be adjusted and tuned, although I cannot imagine that is a pleasant process.
Musical baroque instruments are so nice! I've never heard about lirone. It's always a great pleasure knowing about unknown musical instruments.
I've heard it in Baroque music and I always thought it was like four of them playing together. Never did I realize that's how ONE Lirone sounds. :-)
Amazing instrument.
Re-entrant tuning is still used in several modern instruments, like many "descendants" of the Portuguese rajao (ukulele, cak, cuk), and several Mexican mariachi instruments.
I love when I'm randomly scrolling TH-cam and learn of the existence of something magical like this. Thank you.
In nightmares where my violin teacher tells me to be careful not to hit any adjacent strings, this is what I'm holding.
I'm also wearing a tutu and a flower pot.
What a majestic instrument. ❤
This would be amazing for contemporary music!!! Such a beautiful instrument. I'd love to hear more solo repertoire for it. And the tuning possibilities!
If prog rock ever gets played on early instruments, I think we've found our mellotron!
Absolutely stunning! Emilia Benjamin is an unknown superstar. I play classical and modern fingerstyle guitar (and I'm an amateur luthier), which probably led TH-cam to suggest this to me. I am a big fan of Baroque music, but have never seen this instrument live. It looks like it ought to be a member of the viol family. One tiny technical point, it is by no means unique in having a re-entrant tuning (which does not concern intervals per se, but the characteristic of having string not tuned in ascending order. In modern music, the pedal steel guitar, the high strung 6 string guitar, the 12 string guitar (trivially as the re-entrance is a feature of courses) and certain lap steel guitar tunings also feature re-entrant tunings - although not as massive as 4ths and 5ths. "A shimmering, which is good for when gods descent from the heavens" - great quote Emilia! Finally, for a second, I was transported unwillingly to the music of JUSTIN Beiber! Thank you so much for this fascinating vid. I'm now a subscriber.
I always enjoy these OAE presentations, but this one is quite special - an instrument I've never knowingly heard or seen before, and that sounds like a whole consort of viols. Magic!
I’m in love with this instrument!!!! The thing which is most fantastic to me is it’s capability of playing in tune in just intonation throughout sharp and flat keys!!!
Wow, absolutely amazing! I'm a Pianist and Composer and can't imagine how you can keep all those strings clear in your head! Great sound, great instrument, and great history. Thank you for saying that the skill of playing this instrument and improvising with voice is a lost skill. I really wish music education was more popular; but at least we have these historical instruments and these hisstorical composers were so generous and worked so hard for our benefit.
Emilia, you are absolutely delightful! And your tone control is heavenly. Thank-you for this demonstration and beautiful playing. Brava!
Miller grazie, Emilia. The LIRONE is one of those very few and rare instruments that capture the natural bittersweet state of our SOUL.
Amazing. I don't know how you train your fingers to that strange interleaved tuning! But what's also amazing is how simple the chord forms look -- mostly just 3 fingers. A trade off between simplicity of chording and complexity of tuning? much food for thought. And what a lovely voice it has. A great series, I'm hooked! the presenters are wonderful and some of the instruments are fantastical!
Yes, that tradeoff is exactly what happens!
When you've only read about this instrument in the books of your musicology department and finaly have the pleasure listening to it. Thank you for making and uploading this video 💛
Oh my goodness! I've never heard of this instrument but my goodness is gorgeous!
I could picture Howard Shore's "Ride of the Rohirrim" being played on this instrument
Was für ein wundervolles Instrument! Was für ein wunderschöner Klang! Dann auch noch äußerst kenntnisreich präsentiert!
This instrument was used in one of my favorite Norwegian folk metal songs.
I have no idea why, but the sound of this instrument makes me feel nostalgic for a time hundreds of years ago when I was never alive.
I can't get over how rich the Lirone tone colour is, I'm in awe of this instrument.
We need Twoset violin to react to this. This is amazing
Gosh those chords are so pure!
I love the name 'heaven's hoover' what a beautiful instrument.
Even if it does look like a 12-string and a viol had a lovechild ;)
Thanks for this! I’ve been in love with the lirone for over 15 years, since I heard Erin Headly play on some recordings. (One of my gambas was made by Henner Harders, who has also made lirones for Headly. When we were listening just now, my wife fixed me with That Look and said, “No!”
Harsh.
OMG!! It's that wonderful instrument that's all over the music in medieval/renaissance/early modern themed strategy games.
Idk but my pokémon brain is thinking this instrument as an evolved form of cello XD
What?!
Cello is evolving
*Fanfare*
Cello became a _LIRONE_
We are grateful you have given this instrument its due. I pray for you.
I am immediately to the films like "All the mornings of the world" ... thank you!
You have certainly won a new fan for the lirone today.
What a beautiful instrument!
It is like a little organ but with a more gentle sound. And the way it is tuned is amazing!
Definitively a heavenly instrument.
Everyone has such beautiful and thoughtful comments, but all I can say is that when she intentionally played it out of tune I inadvertantly howled like something had stepped on my tail. I'm still not sure if that was me or the Lirone. But what a lovely, full sound! And she's right about the shimmer.
Alas, if even one millionth of the resources dedicated to weapons were allotted to these fine arts, what a different world it would be! This was a wonderful and very enjoyable video, and the lirone an extraordinary instrument.Thank you for posting it.
This is the recording of sonatas by Fontana that Emilia referred to. It is a wonderful CD: violins and cornetts playing with a rich continuo ensemble of 'cello, dulcian, theorbo, arpa doppia, organ, harpsichord, virginals and lirone (not all at the same time - up to five per track) in wonderfully varied combinations:
www.amazon.co.uk/Fontana-Sonatas-Huggett-Various-Composers/dp/B000M2EH3M/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=fontana+sonatas&qid=1614420306&rnid=1642204031&s=music&sr=1-3
Quedé realmente muy intrigado de escuchar este disco. Gracias por la referencia. Ojalá gracias a este video se suba más contenido sobre el lirone.
Thanks, that CD is very good indeed. You should check out this one as well www.amazon.com/dp/B0077KUDNA/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_4HQ7RNWRS06C040XW325
Wonderful sound and playing, really.
@@carlapr97 Thank-you - it's funny, I always feel a bit 'cheated' if an early music CD is lacking a lute/theorbo component!!
Just the idea that someone could look at a painting of an extinct instrument and bring it to life is entirely satisfying. I must have heard this instrument in the pit at Glyndebourne, to see it being played is a wonderful treat. Thank you
This would go great with a cornett played softly...
That is the most beautiful string instrument I've ever heard!
What a beautiful sound!
I love the viola da gamba and until now have never heard of the lirone. Great sounding instrument! Thanks.
She’s a great speaker as well
What a beautiful instrument, both in looks and sound. Behind the melody, it's almost as if there are playable drones, which of course they are.
It's like a chapman stick and a cello put together... Fascinating.
Well that had me spellbound. Amazing when instruments are reconstructed from paintings, moreso when they're played in the flesh. Kill me, grief, with ambient joy :D
3:45 - "you can get a pretty horrible sound".
*Proceeds to play hotest mixtape string backing of 2021*
4:16 Although the Outer Two Strings are tuned to the same note, the 1st string is tuned slightly flatter because we use True Temperament so that every key sounds in Tune.
I want one of every strange instrument you have presented. i have an obsession with learning any and instruments i touch. my last name was first used by Jon Luther in england in the 1500’s. As he was a lute player and Luthier. My parents didn’t know this when they named me the same as him. But since birth, pretty much, i have been autistically obsessed with all music from all regions and studying them archeologically. Fascinating. Your channel has taught me things i can learn nowhere else.
bruh same i have like 70 instruments
Same here, I play Hurdy-Gurdy, Concertina, Melodica, Claviola, Double Bass, Guitar, Sitar, Ukulele, Piano, Tenor Horn, Ocarina, Tuned Percussion, Didgeridoo, Hulusi, Jaw Harp, Mandolin, Kalimba and Recorder :)
I really want to learn the Lute next!
@@googleuser3163 no bassoon :(
@@billbilly1999 Bassoon is amazing but there's no way I can afford even a basic one right now!
Incredible! Every serious musician should at least have access to one of these. Cheers!
I love these videos on baroque instruments. I usually have some idea of what it would take to sample an instrument for playback on a digital synthesiser, but the lirone seems like it would be a great challange for masters of the craft. And quite worthwhile.
3:56 Pretty soothing sound, it's quite a versatile Gizmo
Thxs for showing us the Monteverdi ritornello , now I know what instrument’s sound that was supposed to be. I love playing accords on the viola da gamba but that‘s the real one instrument for it ! Admiration !
as for another modern comparison in lieu of those of us wanting a Lirone “comeback”, it is also true that some of the electro musicians are able to layer sounds electronically in a manner quite similar. So delightful, both!
Every now and then, one finds a pearl among the oysters...
Thank you for this, Emilia.
Subscribed.
Thank you so much. This machinbe is a dream. Pärt should compose for it.
What a beautiful instrument, thank you for the demonstration dear lady.
I have played cello and guitar, of which this looks like the most curious mixture. A beautiful sound! These sounds take me back to my medieval lifetime. I have dreamed of many of my lifetimes and it always makes me wonder when I see musicians like this, if this isn't the second time with this style of music or indeed, instrument.
It looks like the love-child of a viol da gamba and a bowed psaltery. Lovely, this! Bass accompaniment needed, innit?
Ancient music is wonderfull beautifull everlasting music
It creates an almost accordion like effect. That’s crazy
I love this video, thank you very much for sharing it, I am a musician who plays the viola da gamba!
Sounds from a better, lost world. Great vid!
3:56 The Tuning is Eb3, Bb3, F3, C4, G3, D4, A3, E4, B3, F#4, C#4, G#3, D#4.
Thanks immensely for sharing this❤ What beauty!!
nowadays, you have some electro musicians doing “electro classical” renditions and things. I like them. I would also love to see a “reverse blues” idea tried out with this here Lirone which I am just introduced to. That is to say, I think if it would be so much fun to arrange some American style Delta Blues or Chicago Blues on the Lirone! 😅Because of how she mentions in the history how it was used for doleful laments (compared as classical, or baroque “blues”). I dunno if it would be possible and I am no musician. But just ideas!
Just to say - I DO use graphite on the nut, as some of you have rightly suggested! It helps but doesn’t cure the problem!! I even use soap sometimes.
Absolutely stunning.
The best episode in this series. Very inspiring presentation. Incredible instrument. I can't imagine how rich it sounds in person.
Such a lovely sound.
playing the entire orchestra all at once!!!
Thank you Emilia Benjamin for this fascinating tour of the Lirone! You play it so beautifully! I have a Lira da Braccio but haven't yet figured out how to make music with it. I take inspiration from you!
Close your eyes while listening. I would've never guessed that I was hearing a stringed instrument. Crazy cross between a Accordion, Hurdy-Gurdy and Cello. Absolutely amazing sound.
#ObscuredMusicalInstrumemts