Rosimary Parra introduces us to the Renaissance lute

28.mar 2021

The European lute is derived from the Arabic instrument known as ‘al Ud’, which means ‘the wood’. The reasons for this name refer to the fact that the instrument had a wooden top, differentiating itself, therefore, from instruments built with stretched skin or also for being built with wooden strips. The main features of the instrument are: domed body, made of separate slats placed together; top or flat soundboard containing one or more ornamental rosettes; neck attached to the scale with movable frets; pegs placed approximately at right angles in which the pegs are placed laterally and use of nylon strings or gut. Read more >>

Source: HARWOOD, I. A brief history of the lute. In: The Lute Society Booklets, n.1. London: The Lute Society, 1975.

Songs featured in the video:

1) Excerpt from “Goe from my window” by Thomas Robinson (c. 1560-1610)
2) Ballet – Vicenzo Capirola (1474-1548)

Rosimary Parra is a member of the “Música Antiga Group” at UFF – Universidade Federal Fluminense (RJ), Brazil, specializing in plucked strings. Master’s in music and Bachelor in Classical Guitar from UNESP (Universidade Estadual Paulista). Classical guitar teacher at Fundação das Artes de São Caetano do Sul (SP). In acting for over 25 years, she has regularly participated in musical and cultural programs in Brazil and abroad. She works as a soloist and chamber musician in various guitar formations and with old plucked string instruments. In her career, she played in concerts presented in several Brazilian states and in countries such as Portugal, Spain, and the Czech Republic (Prague) through musical circulation projects. Parra has been active in recording works on CDs; the most recent was the album “Las Brujas: Música do Renascimento Ibérico” (singing and plucked strings) (2020) by the SerTao label.