The rebec, sometimes spelled rebecha, rebeckha, or in other ways, is a bowed string instrument from the Middle Ages and early Renaissance. It usually has a narrow, boat-shaped body and can have between one and five strings.

Origins

The rebec was widely used in Western Europe from the 13th to the 16th centuries. Its introduction to Europe happened at the same time as the Arabic conquest of the Iberian Peninsula. However, there is evidence that bowed instruments existed in Eastern Europe as early as the 9th century. A 9th-century Persian geographer named Ibn Khurradadhbih described the Byzantine lira (or lyra) as a common bowed instrument of the Byzantines, comparing it to the pear-shaped Arab rebab.

The rebec became an important instrument in Arab classical music. In Morocco, it was used in Arabo-Andalusian music, a tradition preserved by Muslim descendants who fled Spain after the Reconquista. The rebec was also popular in the tea houses of the Ottoman Empire.

The rebec was first called by that name around the start of the 14th century. A similar instrument, known as the lira da braccio (arm lyre), was played as early as the 9th century. The name "rebec" comes from the 15th-century Middle French word "rebec," which changed from the 13th-century Old French word "ribabe." This word is linked to the Arabic term "rebab." An early version of the rebec was called "rubeba" in a 13th-century music treatise from Moravia. Medieval sources also used other names for the instrument, such as "kit" and the general term "fiddle."

A key feature of the rebec is its solid wooden bowl (or body), which is carved from a single piece of wood. This design sets it apart from later Renaissance instruments like the vielles and gambas.

Tuning

The rebec has a different number of strings, ranging from one to five, with three strings being the most common. Earlier versions of the instrument often had two strings. The strings are usually tuned in fifths, though this is not always the case. Many pictures of the rebec show a flat bridge, which suggests that multiple strings were played together at the same time. This indicates the strings were likely tuned in fifths and fourths, similar to the fiddle and mandora. The instrument was originally designed for high-pitched music, like the violin, but larger versions were later created. By the 16th century, composers wrote music for groups of rebecs, just as they did for groups of viols.

In use

The rebec was often played by professional musicians at feasts. In northern Europe, musicians usually held the rebec against their shoulder, while musicians in southern Europe and northern Africa held it in their lap and held the bow from below.

The use of frets on the rebec is unclear. Many scholars have described the instrument as having no frets. However, some drawings from the 13th century and later show frets on the rebec. This difference might be because frets on bowed instruments became common in Europe during the early Renaissance, but not in England until the 15th century.

Over time, the viol replaced the rebec, and the instrument was rarely used after the Renaissance. However, the rebec was still used by dance teachers until the 18th century, often for the same purpose as the kit, a small, pocket-sized violin. The rebec also remained in use in folk music, especially in eastern Europe and Spain. Andalusi nubah, a type of music from North Africa, often includes the rebec. The Chilote Waltz, a variation of traditional waltz played on Chiloe Island, Chile, also uses the rebec. The name "Rabeca" was used in Portuguese to describe bowed instruments similar to a "fiddle" before the term "violin" became common in the 20th century. The rebec is still played in folk music in Portugal and Brazil.

Artists

• The original Michael Nyman Band included a rebec before the band changed to a lineup that uses electric instruments.
• Les Cousins Branchaud, a folk music group from Quebec, Canada, has a musician who plays the rebec.
• Ensemble Micrologus, an Italian medieval music group, has a member who plays the rebec.
• Tina Chancey is a multi-instrumentalist who focuses on early bowed string instruments like the rebec. She also plays in Hesperus, a group that performs early music and folk music.
• Dominique Regef is a French musician, composer, and improviser who plays the rebec among other instruments.
• Giles Lewin, who is more well-known for playing the violin and bagpipes, also plays the rebec in the Dufay Collective.
• Sisters Shirley and Dolly Collins have made several albums that feature the rebec.
• Oni Wytars, a European music group, frequently uses the rebec during their performances.
• Sérgio Roberto Veloso de Oliveira (from Mestre Ambrósio and Siba e a Fuloresta), and Antônio Nóbrega play the rebec in a traditional Brazilian style, which is popular in the northeastern region.
• Shira Kammen plays the rebec in the song "Kingfisher" on the 2010 album Have One On Me by American multi-instrumentalist Joanna Newsom.
• Fractio Modi, a medieval music group from Brisbane, Australia, has a member who plays the rebec.
• Percival, a Polish folk metal band from Lubin, uses the rebec played by Katarzyna Bromirska in many songs, creating a Slavic folk sound.

In popular culture

Hugh Rebeck is a small character in William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. He is one of the musicians called by Peter in a scene that is often removed from performances. It is likely that he was named after the instrument he plays.

In a scene from Don Quixote, a goatherd entertains Don Quixote and Sancho Panza by playing a rebec and singing a love song.

A rebec plays an important role in one of Ellis Peters' (12th century) Brother Cadfael stories. In The Sanctuary Sparrow, the main character, Liliwin, makes a living by playing the rebec. His instrument was broken by a group of people who accused him of murder. Later, one of the monks fixed the rebec and gave it back to him at the end of the story.