Owain Phyfe almost always performs with an unusual guitar tucked
under his arm. What is it? The chitarra battente, often called
the "renaissance guitar", comes to us from Italy. The story of
the instrument itself is almost as fascinating as the music it produces...
The chitarra battente is an instrument of cultured musical origin
(XVII century) adopted by the Calabrian peasants
and adapted to such an extent as to assume characteristics and functions
quite autonomous from those of the historical model.
The instrument is elongated in form with barely accentuated shoulders
and sides, the back is curved, while the high lateral bands sometimes
contain tiny holes called ears. The body is made from ribs of walnut or
chestnut separated by very slender strips of lighter-coloured wood. The
sound-board, in spruce, is bent at the base and decorated with various
patterns in red and blue. The sound-hole is covered with a cylindrical
rose in coloured cardboard pierced and cut out, from the centre of which
emerges a paper 'flower'. The bridge which is mobile and low, is placed
just beyond the bend in the board. The neck, in pear- wood or poplar,
ends in a flat pegboard, slightly bent backwards and containing
posterior pegs. On the palisander fingerboard, or else directly on the
neck, are inserted nine metal frets and a nut in wood. The instrument
uses four wire strings of a very small gauge (0.20 - 0.25 mm), some of
them are frequently doubled. Often there is also a high-pitch drone
string called scordino held by a peg that pierces the neck between the
sixth and seventh metal frets. The strings are tuned as follows: a2.
d3, b2, e3 (a3: the -scordino). There is also a chitarra battente with
five double strings which is not, however, used much at popular level.
The chitarra battente is made in three sizes: the large chitarra about
100 cm long, the medium-sized mezza chitarra, about 90 cm long, and the
small chitarrino, about 70 cm long.
In Calabria there is one of the principal Italian centres for the
construction of the chitarra battente, it is It Bisignano (province of
Cosenza) where the instrument-making family of the De Bonis lives and
has been working since the eighteenth century. There are also a number
of minor centres to be found at different points in all the three
provinces. It is probable that in the past, the instrument was to be
found all over the whole regional territory. Today, its area of
diffusion is limited to an area in the Ionian hinterland in the province
of Cosenza, and to a lesser degree to Catanzaro. In this area the
chitarra battente still enjoys a certain vitality and functionality and
represents for many players the only ,Guitar and more in general the
musical instrument par excellence. In an area further south (the
province of Catanzaro and that of Reggio) the instrument is to be found
in a simplified model with a flat back and its organological
characteristics are strongly influenced by the guitar (see Pl. V (b)).
The chitarra battente is used above all for the accompaniment of singing
and for this type of use the instrument is considered particularly
suited. In fact, the wealth of the harmonics that can be produced on it
as well as the narrowness of the range, creates a sound texture that
favours vocal emission and firmness of singing. The players express
this characteristic by staring that the chitarra battente 'envelops and
sustains the voice'.
The accompaniment repertoire of the instrument includes serenades (of
love, scorn, friendship), alms gathering for Christmas and Easter and
polyvocal songs. A very frequent type of serenade is that called a
strofette (in verses) where two voices alternate the verses according to
a fixed scheme: the first voice sings the strophe, the second takes it
up and completes it, following a complex game of repetition, breaking up
and recomposition of the lines-There is also an instrumental repertoire
of - tarantellas and pizziche.
Of particular interest is the performing technique, which is what
probably gives the instrument its name (battente literally means
striking'). The right hand runs the fingers over the length of the
strings and at the same time rubs and/or strikes the soundboard thus
creating a double harmonic-percussive effect of particular efficacy
(ribbummu). A particular rotation movement of the right hand, called
rotuliata, permits the playing of triplets. The left hand fingers the
chords on the first three strings. The fourth string is never stopped
and acts as a fixed drone in the dominant which. if there is a scordino,
is doubled an octave higher.
Folk Musical Instruments in Calibria
Calabria is the extreme south-western corner of the Italian peninsula
(see map). it is washed to the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea, to the east
by the Ionian, and the Appenine mountain range (Sila, Serre, Aspromonte)
runs along its length from north to south. For administration purposes
it is divided into three provinces: Cosenza, Catanzaro and Reggio
Calabria. The region's economy is based essentially on small-time
farming, pastoral activity and fishing; tourism is highly developed
while industry is not.
A large portion of the population still shares an archaic agro-pastoral
type of culture, transmitted orally and partially functional to the life
of the communiry. In this kind of environment music assumes an
important role.
In Calabria there are about thirty traditional musical instruments, some
of which have strongly archaic characteristics and are in part, or
entirely, extinct in other parts of Italy. Primary instruments are used
exclusively to perform popular music, whereas secondary instruments are
present in other socio-cultural sectors - there is a marked prevalence
in Calabria of primary instruments, some of them constructed in
specialised craft workshops, others made directly by the players
themselves. This prevalence indicates a high degree of cultural
cohesion, even if the acquisition of instruments from without is a sign
of disintegration. Often the secondary instruments are totally
revisited and adapted to the folk musical environment so hat they become
autonomous with regard to the original models. A 'historical' case of
this kind is that of the chitarra battente which has died out
within the dominant culture, but has been adapted and adopted by the
Southern peasant world and constructed in specialised craft-shops. The
most striking case of all is that of the diatonic accordian, an
instrument produced industrially and which the popular musicians of
central and southern Italy, as well as of Sardinia, have taken
possession of in a highly creative manner.
However, the prevalence of the primary instruments reflects also precise
choices of timbre, obtained through the use of particular materials and
specific craft techniques. Thus, for example, the triangle must be of
wrought iron, and the membrane of the tambourine of cured skin, and so
on. The culture is conductive to the manufacture of musical instruments
and there are many workshops where they are made. The craft-shop is a
very important place for the continuity of the musical tradition because
it is the place where the instruments are renewed, and also acts as a
meeting-place for the players.
Among the approximately thirty popular musical instruments in Calabria,
we can distinguish two basic socio-economic levels of use:
agro-pastoral (peasants, shepherds, fishermen) and smalltown-artisan
(barbers, tailors, butchers etc.). The first level is characterised by
a prevalence of primary instruments, especially of the archaic variety,
total lack of knowledge of Western musical theory, use of modal scales
extraneous to the tempered one, instrumental specialisation (for example
the zampogna-player - zampognaro) in no way akin to professional
practice in the modem sense. The second level is characterised by a
prevalence of secondary instruments, for the most part modem, sometimes
electrified, elementary notions of musical theory, prevalently tonal
musical forms, semi-professional or professional practice (for example
plectrum groups, bands).
The instrument is elongated in form with barely accentuated shoulders
and sides, the back is curved, while the high lateral bands sometimes
contain tiny holes called ears. The body is made from ribs of walnut or
chestnut separated by very slender strips of lighter-coloured wood. The
sound-board, in spruce, is bent at the base and decorated with various
patterns in red and blue. The sound-hole is covered with a cylindrical
rose in coloured cardboard pierced and cut out, from the centre of which
emerges a paper 'flower'. The bridge which is mobile and low, is placed
just beyond the bend in the board. The neck, in pear- wood or poplar,
ends in a flat pegboard, slightly bent backwards and containing
posterior pegs. On the palisander fingerboard, or else directly on the
neck, are inserted nine metal frets and a nut in wood. The instrument
uses four wire strings of a very small gauge (0.20 - 0.25 mm), some of
them are frequently doubled. Often there is also a high-pitch drone
string called scordino held by a peg that pierces the neck between the
sixth and seventh metal frets. The strings are tuned as follows: a2.
d3, b2, e3 (a3: the -scordino). There is also a chitarra battente with
five double strings which is not, however, used much at popular level.
In Calabria there are about thirty traditional musical instruments, some
of which have strongly archaic characteristics and are in part, or
entirely, extinct in other parts of Italy. Primary instruments are used
exclusively to perform popular music, whereas secondary instruments are
present in other socio-cultural sectors - there is a marked prevalence
in Calabria of primary instruments, some of them constructed in
specialised craft workshops, others made directly by the players
themselves. This prevalence indicates a high degree of cultural
cohesion, even if the acquisition of instruments from without is a sign
of disintegration. Often the secondary instruments are totally
revisited and adapted to the folk musical environment so hat they become
autonomous with regard to the original models. A 'historical' case of
this kind is that of the chitarra battente which has died out
within the dominant culture, but has been adapted and adopted by the
Southern peasant world and constructed in specialised craft-shops. The
most striking case of all is that of the diatonic accordian, an
instrument produced industrially and which the popular musicians of
central and southern Italy, as well as of Sardinia, have taken
possession of in a highly creative manner.