The lyra viol is a small type of bass viol that was mainly used in England during the 17th century. It is called "the smallest of the bass viols." In 17th century England, the consort bass was much larger than most bass viols today. The string length of the consort bass was about 78 to 80 centimeters, while the division viol had a string length of about 76 centimeters. According to James Talbot, who lived at the end of the 17th century, the lyra viol had a string length of 72 centimeters.

A lot of important music was written specifically for the lyra viol. Because it has many strings arranged in a flat layout, it can play many different musical lines at the same time. Its small size and wide range also make it better for fast, detailed melodies than larger bass viols.

The lyra viol was praised by musicians like Tobias Hume and Roger North, who compared it to the lute and the violin, respectively. The name "lyra viol" came from the way it is played, as its style of playing bowed chords is similar to that of the lirone.

Structure

The lyra viol's structure changed over time. In 17th century England, sympathetic strings were added to the instrument. John Playford said this addition was done by Mr. Farrant. This use of sympathetic strings may have influenced the creation of the baryton, but this change did not last for the lyra viol. Most lyra viols had six strings, though some had four, five, or seven strings. John Playford described the lyra viol as the smallest of three types of bass viol: the consort bass, division viol, and lyra viol. Christopher Simpson noted that the lyra viol's strings were lighter, and its bridge was flatter compared to other bass viols. The strings on the lyra viol were also closer to the fingerboard than those on the consort bass. These changes likely made it easier to play chords. The first written description of bowed polyphonic music for the viol appears in a treatise by Johannes Tinctoris. The development of this music's repertoire began with Sylvestro di Ganassi dal Fontego in the mid-16th century. This style of writing music with many chords and detailed decorations became important for French viol composers.

Although the lyra viol had some structural differences, it is not much different from other bass viols. Music written for the lyra viol can be played on any bass viol. However, during the 17th century, instrument makers created specific lyra viol designs for this type of music.

Repertoire

During the 17th century, some of the most well-known English composers created music for the lyra viol, including John Cooper, John Jenkins, Christopher Simpson, Charles Coleman, and William Lawes. These composers wrote various types of pieces, such as single melodies, trios and duets for the lyra viol, combinations of the lyra viol with other instruments, and the lyra viol as accompaniment for songs. Most of the music for the lyra viol was written in tablature, primarily French lute tablature, but also some Italian and a small amount of German lute tablature.

Music with multiple voices, called polyphonic music, was common for the lyra viol. This style is similar to lute music because the number of voices in a piece can change, unlike harpsichord music, where the number of voices usually stays the same. Since the lyra viol is played with a bow, all chords must be formed using adjacent strings. This creates very close harmonic movement, which may explain the frequent use of unison double stops in lyra viol music. These double stops might also mimic the double strings on the lute. Because chords must be formed using adjacent strings, special tunings called scordatura were often used. Over 60 different tunings from the 17th century have been discovered. These tunings were designed to place important notes on open strings and were grouped into sets of pieces to avoid frequent retuning.

One technique for the lyra viol was called the "thump," where the player plucked the open strings with the fingers of the left hand. This may have been an early version of the technique used to pluck sympathetic strings on the baryton. The lyra viol was sometimes held in the lap and played in a lute-style manner. The first mention of this practice appears in Tobias Hume's The First Part of Ayres (1605), written before Claudio Monteverdi's Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda (1624), which is often considered the earliest example of pizzicato. Hume's work also describes playing col legno on the lyra viol.

Many manuscripts of lyra viol music still exist, showing how popular this style was. The last published collection of solo lyra viol music was by John Playford in 1682. In total, Playford published five collections of solo lyra viol music, forming the largest published collection (1651, 1655, 1661, 1669, and 1682). Dating Playford's second collection is difficult because surviving copies lack the final number in the date. Some sources suggest it was published in 1652, while more recent research by Pullens proposes a date of 1655.

Collections of lyra viol music also exist from France, Germany, and Sweden. Music for multiple lyra viols was also written. This style influenced the works of French bass viola da gamba virtuosos in the late Baroque period.

Solo lyra viol music from the 17th century was often called "lessons." These works typically included dance music, patriotic music (mainly by loyalists), purely instrumental music (such as preludium and symphony), or secular vocal music, often based on popular songs of the time. Musicians were allowed to improvise on pieces, using ornaments, divisions, polyphonic textures, or adding their own music.

Lyra viol music often includes ornaments, but the symbols used to indicate ornaments were not always consistent, even within the same publication or manuscript. This issue remained unresolved during the 1600s and continues to challenge players and editors today.

Even into the 20th century, lyra viol music was sometimes incorrectly labeled in library catalogs. Some catalogs still contain these errors. Distinguishing between lute tablature and lyra viol tablature requires careful examination by an expert. Broken chords and strings marked below the tablature lines are clear signs that the music is not suitable for the lyra viol. Some catalogs also group lyra viol music with division music, though this is a minor point. Lyra viol music is traditionally written in tablature, while division music is usually written in staff notation.

With the revival of lyra viol performance, some modern composers have written music using tablature. These composers include Martha Bishop, Carol Herman (a student of Dr. Frank Traficante), and Peter H. Adams (a student of Carol Herman). Both Martha Bishop and Carol Herman have published materials to help musicians learn to play the lyra viol. Peter H. Adams is also publishing new editions of historic collections and has composed over 100 lessons for solo lyra viol.

Research is ongoing to answer basic questions, such as how many lyra viol lessons currently exist, how many compositions can be attributed to specific composers, and whether the composer of anonymous lessons can be identified. To help with this, Gordon Dodd published The Thematic Index of Music for the Viola da Gamba. This online database is a large collection of music for the viola da gamba and can only be searched by visually examining the index. The database is not limited to lyra viol lessons but includes all historic music for the viola da gamba. The index is hosted by the Viola da Gamba Society of Great Britain.

Recordings

Pavan from the Manchester Lyra Viol Book is a lyra-viol created by John Pringle in 2014, based on measurements from the late 17th century by John Talbot. The piece "Pavan" by Gervise Gerrarde is archived on March 19, 2016, by the Wayback Machine.