A natural question arises from the rich iconography of stringed, wind or percussion ensembles and chant in the Middle Ages: how did a citole or lute performer behave when facing a medieval piece on its own, given that this music was not written for any particular instrument? It is almost impossible to assert that the medieval musician did not face this repertoire as a soloist but all the iconographic evidence seems to indicate that both collective and soloist interpretation were possible in this period.

In his article “lute, guitar and citole” (Indiana University Press. Indiana, 2000, pp 355-375), Professor Crawford Young, from the Schola Cantorum in Basel, recommends to rearrange the music of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries for plucked string instruments: ‘professional musicians of the fifteenth century were composer-arrangers as well as instrumentalists or vocalists. The repertory for the fifteenth-century lute is all around us, in every notated form but “lute tablature” (with the exception of the few tablatures from the end of the century)’.

“THE EVIDENCE” is the title of the first chapter of one of the most important books about the interpretation of the dance music in the medieval period: “Medieval Instrumental Dances” (Indiana Press). In his book, Professor Timothy J. McGee explores the interpretation of this genre, confronting the principles of the medieval theorist Johannes de Grocheio with performance practice, examples of iconography (mainly sculptures and paintings) and literary references. Upon this foundation and given the lack of data or manuscripts that directly address the performance of medieval plucked stringed instruments, this project opts to convert the research parameters mentioned above into premises to create a syllogism. The result is the work that you have in your hands: The Medieval Art of the Plectrum.

Tracks 2, 6 and 11 are performed on a SPANISH MEDIEVAL LUTE inspired by the miniatures of the codex TI1 from the Monastery of El Escorial (Spain), from the thirteenth century. This manuscript contains an interesting amount of parchments of great help for the study of the instruments in the thirteenth century Spain. On track 6, a prelude on spanish medieval lute leads to the Cantigas de Santa María 179-322, the CSM 393-353 on track 11, and the two voices virelai Stella Splendens on track 2. This polyphonic composition in Ars Nova style belongs to the red book of Montserrat, which collects songs and dances dedicated to the Virgin Mary, mostly written for the common people that went on pilgrimage to the monastery. The tradition of dancing in temples is a well documented practice during the Middle Ages.

Another instrument from the same Alfonsí manuscript, the VIHUELA DE PÉÑOLA, appears on track 1. Cantigas de Santa María 384 and 2 with some variations on the melody are performed on this instrument, which is characterized by its long neck and two loops that join it to the body.