Period Sources of Printed Music for Cittern

Last updated Thursday, January 10, 2008.

The following is a table of period printed (as opposed to manuscript) sources for cittern music. The list is derived mostly from the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians articles on "cittern" and "ceterone," as well as my own research.Clicking on a title in blue will display the contents for that book. I hope eventually to have links to the contents for all extant prints. If there are any other sources you know of that have been missed, or if you have a correction, please contact me and I will be more than happy to include them.

N.B. A title in brackets denotes a lost source.


Title Composer / Publisher Year of Publication Place of Publication Type of Cittern Type of Tablature Notes
[Cythare Germanice Tabulature] Schlumberger, J. 1525/1532 Mainz?      
[Briefve et facile instruction] Le Roy, Adrian 1551 Paris: ?      

Quatriesme livre contenant plusieurs fantasies . . .
Morlaye, Guillaume 1552 Paris: Michel Fezandat 4c. diatonic French tab French tuning. Book of guitar pieces; contains 9 cittern works. Early (strictly?) diatonic cittern, missing 1st fret.
[Carmina Quae Cythara Pulsantur] Vreedman, Sebastian 1563 Louvain: Pierre Phalèse      
Second Livre de Cistre Le Roy, Adrian 1564 Paris: Adrian Le Roy and Robert Ballard 4c. diatonic French tab French tuning.

Nova et Elegantissima in Cythara
Viaera, Frederico 1564 Louvain: Pierre Phalèse 4c. diatonic French tab French tuning. Includes cittern pieces to accompany Pacoloni lute trios followed by solo cittern works.
Breve et facile instruction pour apprendre la tablature Le Roy, Adrian and Robert Ballard 1565 Paris: Adrian Le Roy and Robert Ballard 4c. diatonic French tab French tuning.
[The Breffe and Playne Instruction to Lerne to Play on the Gyttron and Also the Cetterne] Rowbotham, James 1568 London: James Rowbotham     Reprint of Le Roy and Ballard 1565?

Nova Longeque Elgantissima Cithara
Vreedman, Sebastian 1568 Louvain: Pierre Phalèse 4c. diatonic French tab French tuning.
[Carmina Italica, Gallica & Germanica Ludenda Cythara] Kargel, Sixt 1569        
[Renovata Cythara] Kargel, Sixt 1569        

Carminum quae cythara pulsantur liber secundus
Vreedman, Sebastian 1569 Louvain: Pierre Phalèse 4c. diatonic French tab French tuning.
[Livre de Tabulature de Cistre] Gorlier, Simon 156? Lyon: Simon Gorlier      
[Troisième Livre de Cistre] Le Roy, Adrian 156?        
Hortulus Cytharae Phalèse, Pierre, and Jean Bellère 1570 Louvain: Pierre Phalèse and Jean Bellère 4c. diatonic & chromatic French tab Part I contains works for 4c diatonic, French tuning; Part II contains works for 4c. chromatic, Italian tuning

Il Primo Libro di Tabolatura di Citthara
Virchi, Paolo 1574 Venice: Girolamo Scotto 6c. & 7c. chromatic Italian tab Italian tuning. Includes some songs.
[Jardinet de Cistre]   1575 Paris: ?      
[Renovata Cythara] Kargel, Sixt 1575        

Toppel Cythar
Kargel, Sixt, and Johan Dominico Lais 1575 Strassburg: Bernhard Jobin 6c. chromatic Italian tab  
[Hortulus Cytharae] Phalèse, Pierre 1575 Louvain: Pierre Phalèse      

Renovata Cythara
Kargel, Sixt 1578 Strassburg: Bernhard Jobin 4c. diatonic Italian tab, inverted Italian tuning.
Toppel Cythar Kargel, Sixt, and Johan Dominico Lais 1578 Strassburg: Bernhard Jobin 6c. chromatic Italian tab  
Renovata Cythara Kargel, Sixt 1580 Strassburg: Bernhard Jobin 4c. diatonic Italian tab, inverted Italian tuning.
[Anleitung die Zither zu Spielen] Brambilla, Ambrosius 1582        

Hortulus Citharae
Phalèse, Pierre, and Jean Bellère 1582 Antwerp: Pierre Phalèse and Jean Bellère 4c. diatonic & chromatic French tab  
[Le Jardinet du Cistre Vulgaire] Bellère, Jean 1592 Anvers: Jean Bellère      
[A New Booke of Citterne Lessons] Barley, William 1593 London?      
[A Moste Perfect and True Instruction] Danter, J. 1593? London: ?      

The Cittharn Schoole
Holborne, Anthony 1597 London: Peter Short 4c. chromatic French tab Italian tuning. Works for cittern solo, cittern with voice, and cittern with bass.

The Psalmes of David in Meter
Allison, Richard 1599 London: William Barley 4c. chromatic French tab Italian tuning. Consort songs set for voices, lute or orpharion and cittern. (Bandora is also specified as an option on the title page, but no bandora tablature is included.)

The First Booke of Consort Lessons
Morley, Thomas 1599 London: William Barley 4c. chromatic French tab. Italian tuning. Works for "English Consort" (2 viols, lute, bandora, flute, and cittern). Of the two cittern partbooks, only the 1599 edition survives.
[Niew Chyterboek] Sweelinck, J.P. 1602 Amsterdam?      

Secondo Libro D'Intavolatura di Citara
Vincenti, G. 1602 Venetia: Giacomo Vincenti 6c. diatonic* Italian tab. * Tablature is for a "strictly" diatonic instrument (i.e. no partial frets in chromatic positions), but uses asterisks to indicate chromatic notes between the diatonic frets. The tablature system appears to be an attempt to fit later music to a more archaic(?) instrument.
Does the fact that this is a "secondo libro" indicate that there had been a previous book for cittern by Vincenti?

New Citharen Lessons
Robinson, Thomas 1609 London: William Barley 4c. chromatic & 14c. chromatic French tab Italian tuning. Contains works for cittern, 2 citterns in unison, voice and cittern, cittern and bass, and 6 works for 14c. arch-cittern.
Consort Lessons Rosseter, Philip 1609 London: Thomas Este 4c. chromatic French tab Italian tuning. Works for "English Consort" (2 viols, lute, bandora, flute, and cittern).
[The First Booke of Consort Lessons] Morley, Thomas 1611 London 4c. chromatic French tab Italian tuning; works for "English Consort" (2 viols, lute, bandora, flute, and cittern). Second edition of 1599 volume. Of the two cittern partbooks, only the 1599 edition survives. Based on the other surviving partbooks from 1611, the cittern 1611 edition contained two additional pieces.

The Teares or Lamentacions of a Sorrowfull Soule
Leighton, Sir William 1614 London: William Stansby 4c. chromatic French tab The first half of this work contains religious consort songs set for what appears to be an "English Consort" (2 viols, lute, bandora, flute, and cittern) plus voices.
Note: the 1613 edition does not contain music.

Intavolatura di Liuto Attiorbato, Libro Quarto
Melii, Pietro Paulo 1616 Venetia: Giacomo Vincenti 9c. ("Citara Tiorbata") chromatic Italian tab Italian tuning ("Cordatura del Signor Paolo Virgo": A-B-c-d-f-b-g-d'-e'). Primarily works for lute; however, the volume contains a Ballet for 9c. cittern, 3 lutes, violin, bass viol, flute, harp, and clavicembalo.

Neder-Landtsche Gedenck-Clanck
Valerius, Adrian 1626 Haerlem 4c. diatonic French tab French tuning. Works for voice, lute and cittern.
[A Booke of New Lessons for the Citharen]? Playford, John [var. editions, 1650 ... 1658]*       * See Ward, "Sprightly and Cheerful Musick," p. 83-93 for a detailed explantion of Playford's publications for cittern

A Booke of New Lessons for the Cithern & Gittern
Playford, John 1652 London: T.H. 4c. chromatic French tab Italian tuning.
[Cithren and Gittern Lessons] Playford, John 1659 London      
[Musicks Solace on the Cithren and Gittern]? Playford, John [var. editions, 1662 ... 1696]*       * See Ward, "Sprightly and Cheerful Musick," p. 83-93 for a detailed explantion of Playford's publications for cittern.

Musick's Delight on the Cithren
Playford, John 1666 London: W.G. 4c. chromatic French tab Italian tuning.
[Treasury of Musick for Cithern, Therobo-Lute and Viol]?           * See Ward, "Sprightly and Cheerful Musick," p.93


Conjectural Works

Title Composer / Publisher Year of Publication Place of Publication Type of Cittern Type of Tablature Notes
[Primo Libro D'Intavolatura di Citara?] Vincenti, G. pre-1602? Venetia: Giacomo Vincenti? 6c.? diatonic? While not listed by any other source, the fact that Vincenti's known book is called the Secondo Libro D'Intavolatura di Citara indicates that there was an earlier, first book. That such a book is for a 6-course diatonically fretted cittern is purely conjecture based upon the Secondo Libro.
[Der Violen-Cythaer mit vyf Snaaren, en niewe Sorte melodieuse inventie, twe Naturen hebbende, vier Parthyen spelende, licht de leeren, half Violens half Cyther...]? Vreedman, Michael 1612 Arnheim: ? violin-cittern?   * Mentioned in Waldbauer, pp.297-8 (see also footnotes 88 and 89). Michael Vreedman was the son of Sebastian Vreedman and was a maker of violins and citterns in Utrecht from 1583 on. He supposedly invented a violin-cittern, for which this method (in tablature) was published. Waldbauer also goes on to note that Vander Straeten, La musique au Pays-Bas VIII, pp.419ff prints a 17th-century list of musicalia which contains mention of "Obras de Cythara, Miguel Vreedman." Whether or not this was for the violin-cittern or was another book for regular cittern is unknown.

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