The cittern, also called cithren in some languages (Fr. cistre, It. cetra, Ger. Cister, Sp. cistro, cedra, cítola), is a stringed instrument that was first used during the Renaissance. Experts are not sure about its exact history, but most agree it came from the medieval citole (or cytole). The cittern had a flat back, which made it easier and less expensive to build than the lute. It was also easier to play, smaller, sturdier, and easier to carry. Used by people from all social classes, the cittern was a popular instrument for casual music, similar to how the guitar is used today.
History
The cittern is one of the few Renaissance instruments with metal strings (others used gut strings). It usually has four groups of strings, which may be single, paired, or in threes, depending on the design or region. Some groups are often tuned in octaves, though instruments with more or fewer groups were also made. The cittern’s range is typically one octave between its lowest and highest strings, and it uses re-entrant tuning, where the top string is not the lowest. This is also true for the five-string banjo and most ukuleles. The tuning and limited range allow players to use simple chord shapes for songs and dances, though more complex music was also written for it. Its bright sound helps it stand out when played with gut-strung instruments. The Spanish bandurria, still used today, is a similar instrument.
From the 16th to the 18th century, the cittern was a common instrument in English barber shops, kept in waiting areas for customers to play. Sheet music for the cittern was published to encourage this use. The top of the pegbox was often decorated with a small carved head, though these carvings were not always artistically detailed. In Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost, the term “cittern-head” was used as an insult.
Just as the lute was enlarged and modified to become the theorbo and chitarrone for ensemble music, the cittern was developed into the ceterone, which had a longer neck and unstopped bass strings. However, the ceterone was much less common.
Gérard Joseph Deleplanque (1723–1784), a luthier from Lille, made many types of instruments, including citterns. Johann Wilhelm Bindernagel (around 1770–1845), who worked in Gotha, created a hybrid instrument called the “Sister” or “German Guitar,” which had seven gut strings.
The 18th-century Swedish songwriter Carl Michael Bellman often played the cittern. A portrait from 1779 by Per Krafft the elder shows him with the instrument, now in the National Museum of Stockholm.
In Germany, the cittern is still known as Waldzither and Lutherzither. The name “Lutherzither” comes from the belief that Martin Luther played this instrument. Other regional names include Thüringer Waldzither in Thüringer Wald, Harzzither in the Harz mountains, and Halszither in German-speaking Switzerland. In modern German, the words for cittern and zither are often used interchangeably. The term “Waldzither” became popular around 1900 to distinguish citterns from zithers.
The cittern family continues today as the Corsican cetara and the Portuguese guitar. The guitarra portuguesa is often used to play traditional music called fado. In the early 1970s, English luthier Stefan Sobell created a hybrid instrument called a “cittern” by combining the guitarra portuguesa and a 1930s archtop Martin guitar. This instrument is now popular among folk musicians.