The vihuela (Spanish pronunciation: [viˈwela]) is a 15th-century fretted plucked Spanish string instrument, shaped like a guitar (figure-of-eight form offering strength and portability) but tuned like a lute. It was used in 15th- and 16th-century Spain as the equivalent of the lute in Italy and has a large resultant repertory.

The Mexican vihuela ([biˈwe.la]) is a guitar-like string instrument from 19th-century Mexico with five strings and typically played in mariachi groups. Although the Mexican vihuela has the same name as the historical Spanish plucked string instrument, the two are distinct.

Jun 27, 2018 · What is the Vihuela? The VIHUELA MEXICANA is a traditional instrument used in Mariachi music. It is physically similar to the Guitarrón but on a smaller scale. The sound produced from this musical instrument is that of a tenor guitar. The body or the sound box is much smaller than a guitar, and the vihuela has a convex back.

There were seven significant collections of music for the vihuela published during the sixteenth century containing fantasias, sonetos, and sacred & secular choral music presented as vocal solos with accompaniment, as well as purely instrumental transcriptions (intabulations) of polyphonic vocal music, both sacred and secular.

Mar 8, 2024 · The Style of Vihuela Music. The vihuela books of the mid-sixteenth century contain complex contrapuntal works combining the style of Catholic vocal music and the Italianate fantasia of the lute. An established tradition of composition existed in the minds of the vihuelistas, and this determined the content of the music. The present-day musician ...

Vihuela, stringed musical instrument that in Spanish Renaissance art music held the popularity accorded the lute elsewhere in Europe. Built like a large guitar, it had six, sometimes seven, double courses of strings tuned like the lute: G–c–f–a–d′–g′.

The vihuela, essentially a flat-backed lute, evolved in the mid-15th century Kingdom of Aragon and was in common use in Spain and Italy by the late 15th through to the late 16th centuries. The viol developed from the vihuela when players in the second half of the 15th century began using a bow instead of plucking.

Vihuela is a guitar shaped stringed instrument that became one of the most popular instruments of 15th and 16th century Europe, especially in its Eastern and southern parts (Italy, Portugal and Spain).

Sep 5, 2024 · Details of each of the c. 700 known piece of vihuela music, with notes about sources, concordances, musical structure, song texts, and other technical characteristics. A searchable database of the approximately 1200 themes that are used within the 219 surviving Fantasias for the vihuela.

Feb 22, 2023 · This article traces the vihuela/viola da mano through its medieval origins; explains its relationship to the lute; illustrates the connection between the bowed vihuela/viola and the plucked vihuela/viola; describes the three surviving instruments; shows, through iconography, the difference in plucking style between the Spanish vihuela and the ...