Sixteenth-Century Vihuela Tablatures

Printed Spanish sources for the vihuela are relatively rare compared to Italian, French, and German sources, comprising only about 3% of the total output of known books. All of the sources use Italian tablature (although Luis Milán uses an inverse version sometimes referred to as Neapolitan tablature). Bermudo 1555 is a theoretical treatise with little actual vihuela music, the other 7 tablatures are the bulk of the repertory. Intabulations were less favored than songs for voice and vihuela; dances are extremely rare. None of the books utilizes reprinted material.

Each book is listed as to type of tablature (TAB), either Italian (IT), French (FR), or German (GER), and the contents are divided into four genre types: songs (with standard notation and tablature), intabulations (arrangements of pre-existing vocal models), abstract pieces (ricercari, fantasias, etc.), and dances. Finally, pieces reprinted from previous sources are listed separately. 


Vihuela Tablatures


            Books     IT/FR/GER  songs/intabs/abstr/dances  REPR. pieces   
1530-1539    2         2/ 0/ 0     29    11     58     7          0
1540-1549    2         2/ 0/ 0     93    47     95     5          0
1550-1559    3         3/ 0/ 0    158    32     79     1          0
1560-1569   [1]        0/ 0/ 0      0     0      0     0          0
1570-1579    1         1/ 0/ 0     38     2     22     0          0    

totals:      8 [+1]    8/ 0/ 0    318    92    254    13          0


 

Milán 1536
Milán, Luis. Libro de musica de vihuela de mano (s.l.?)

Voice and vihuela, vihuela in inverted Italian tablature

Narváez 1538
Narváez, Luis de. Los seys libros del Delphin de musica (s.l.?)

Voice and vihuela, vihuela in Italian tablature

Mudarra 1546
Mudarra, Alonso. Tres libros de musica en cifras para vihuela (Seville: Juan de Leon?)

Four-course guitar, vihuela, voice and vihuela, harp or organ in Italian tablature

Valderrábano 1547
Valderrábano, Enriquez de. Libro de musica de vihuela, intitulado silva de sirenas (Madrid: ?)

Voice and vihuela, vihuela, two vihuelas in Italian tablature

Pisador 1552
Pisador, Diego. Libro de musica de vihuela (?)

Voice and vihuela, vihuela in Italian tablature

Fuenllana 1554
Fuenllana, Miguel de. Libro de musica para Vihuela intitulado Orphenica lyra (Valladolid: ?)

Voice and vihuela, six-course vihuela, five-course vihuela, four-course guitar in Italian tablature

Bermudo 1555
Bermudo, Juan. Comiença el libro llamado declaracion de instumentos musicales (?)

Treatise for keyboard, voice and vihuela, voice and seven-course vihuela in Italian tablature

[Fuenllana 1564]
Fuenllana, Miguel de. Libro de música para Vihuela intitulado Orphenica Lira (Madrid: Francisco Sánchez)

Vihuela (five and six courses), four-course guitar in Italian tablature; = Fuenllana 1554

Daza 1576
Daza, Esteban. Libro de musica en cifras para Vihuela, intitulado el Parnasso (?)

Voice and vihuela, vihuela in Italian tablature


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