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The Lute

Lute plucked string instrument early music
The lute, a plucked string instrument whose gentle and intimate sound shaped centuries of European music.

The lute is among the most ancient string instruments known to humanity. Its origins can be traced back more than 4,500 years to ancient Mesopotamia in the Near East. The Western lute, however, has a shorter and more specific history: it entered Europe during the period of Moorish rule in Spain, which lasted from 711 to 1492. The very name of the instrument derives from the Arabic al-ʿūd, meaning “wood.”

Lute virtuosos became highly esteemed figures at European courts, where the instrument’s refined and intimate tone was ideally suited for both solo performance and accompaniment. Throughout the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the lute played a central role in supporting the love songs of troubadours, its gentle resonance perfectly aligned with the aesthetics of courtly expression.

Two centuries later, German craftsmen settled in Italy and established celebrated centers of lute making in Bologna, Venice, Padua, and Rome. During this period, lutes were constructed in up to seven different sizes, corresponding to various vocal ranges. Despite this variety, much of the surviving repertoire was written for soprano, tenor, bass, and contrabass lutes. Among these, the tenor—or mezzo—lute was by far the most widely used.

The lute retained its prominence for several centuries, yet despite continued construction into the eighteenth century, its golden age had passed. Interest in the instrument was revived in the twentieth century, particularly through the work of Arnold Dolmetsch, who built lutes, taught the instrument, and gave influential recitals in England. Today, performers such as Anthony Rooley and Robert Spencer have contributed extensively to the modern rediscovery of lute music through numerous recordings.

How the lute works

Like other plucked string instruments, the lute features a pegbox that holds the tuning pegs. Each peg supports a string wound around its shaft, allowing the performer to adjust tension and pitch. When tuning higher, the peg is turned away from the player to increase tension.

The standard lute is equipped with two pegboxes. The primary pegbox, which carries the higher and middle strings, is angled backward to provide greater structural strength. These fingered strings are stretched under relatively high tension, producing a clear and bright sound. The second pegbox, aligned with the extension of the fingerboard, holds the bass or “free” strings. These are tuned at lower tension, yielding a deeper and more resonant tone.

Higher strings are sounded by pressing them against the fingerboard and releasing them with a lateral plucking motion. The bass strings, by contrast, are played with the thumb and are not fingered; they vibrate freely, enriching the instrument’s harmonic foundation. Through this refined balance of clarity and depth, the lute achieves its distinctive and timeless voice.



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