“Musica Lauten und Rybeben”: Lutes and String Instruments
In the Triumphzug, following somewhat after the pipers and drummers, comes the first musician carriage, titled “Musica Lauten und Rybeben” (Music: lutes and viols) (» Abb. Triumphzug Lauten), on which five musicians are seated, playing three different-sized lutes and two larger string instruments. These vertically held instruments can be described as violas da gamba, known at Maximilian’s court as “Ribebe.” This name is derived from the Arabic rebab (or rabāb) and was used primarily in Italy to refer to a larger string instrument. In any case, it is a loanword, associating the instrument with foreign origins; however, these instruments differ visually from contemporary Italian representations. The “Maister,” or the most distinguished of these musicians, is a certain Artus, likely the older man in the middle of the carriage. This Artus was actually named Albrecht Morhanns, but he was known as Artus von Enntz Wehingen.[15] Born around 1460, he participated in the famous pilgrimage of Baron Werner von Zimmern to the Holy Land in 1483 as a serf, tasked with the duties of a barber and lutenist. Maximilian specifically sought to bring him into his retinue due to his exceptional skills as a lutenist, and in 1489, he was freed from serfdom “seiner kunst schickligkeit und genediger neygung willen” (for the sake of his artistic suitability and gracious inclination). Subsequently, Artus is documented as “des Rö. kunigs luttesschlaher” (the lute player of the Roman king), often mentioned alongside a second lutenist with whom he apparently performed as a duo.[16] Such a lute duo is well-documented in the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries: one player, known as the “tenorista,” played the tenor or provided a sonic framework (for example, of a song, motet, or basse danse), while the other player, the “diskantista,” improvised over it. A hallmark of this playing style is the use of a plectrum, such as a quill, enabling particularly swift and virtuosic runs.[17]
One of the younger musicians on the same carriage could be Adolf Blindhamer (c. 1480–before 1532), who is documented as a lutenist at the court for the first time in 1503.[18] He retained the title “lawtenslaher kays. Mt” (lutenist to His Imperial Majesty) until the death of Maximilian, although in 1514 he was received as a citizen in Nuremberg to teach “den Jungen auf der lauten und anndern Instrumenten” (the young people on the lute and other instruments). Particularly significant is that a manuscript with compositions and arrangements for the lute by Blindhamer has been preserved, providing insight into the concrete music of the lutenists at Maximilian’s court (see the chapter “Lautenintabulierungen von Adolf Blindhamer”). This reveals a polyphonic playing style, where multiple voices are plucked simultaneously with the fingers.
The lutes and “Rybeben” were likely played by the same musicians, as the lute and viol were long considered related or similar instruments, as evidenced by the earliest instructional books for these instruments, such as those by Hans Judenkünig (Vienna 1523) or Hans Gerle (Nuremberg 1532), and as suggested by the similar setup of the strings, frets and tuning. It has been speculated that the mention of three to four “geyger” of the emperor (first noted in 1515) refers to an ensemble of such viols, as documented at Italian courts at the same time.[19] However, this must remain speculative, as besides the vague designation “kay. Mt. Geygern” (geyger to His Imperial Majesty) only the names of the players are known (Caspar and Gregor Egkern, Jorigen Berber, and Heronimus Hager), but nothing about their instruments. Caspar Egkern appears a few years earlier also as “Kay. Mayt. busaner” (trombonist to His Imperial Majesty) or “Kay Mayt pfeyffer” (piper to His Imperial Majesty), so he was not limited to a specific instrument.[20]
[15] See Gombosi 1932/33; Heinzer 1999, 92 ff.
[16] Polk 1992, 86 (with references from Augsburg archives).
[17] See Kirnbauer 2005.
[18] See Kirnbauer 2003, 243–248 (including the following).
[20] According to payments in the Augsburg (D-As) Baumeisterbuch 103 (1509), fol. 24v, and 104 (1510), fol. 28; kindly communicated by Keith Polk.
[1] For information on the Triumphzug, its different versions, and its complex history, see Appuhn 1979 and Michel/Sternath 2012; on its significance for Maximilian, see Müller 1982; on the relationship between depiction and reality, see Polk 1992; The quotation comes from the earliest surviving formulation of the iconographic program of the Triumphzug in 1512 in » A-Wn Cod. 2835, fol. 3v.
[2] Koczirz 1930/31, 531 f.
[4] Nedden 1932/33, 27 (quotation from the Augsburg Baumeisterbücher of 1491, the council’s account books for income and expenses).
[5] See Simonsfeld 1895, 267 f.
[6] See Strohm 2009, 98.
[7] Quoted in Waldner 1897/98, 2.
[8] Treitzsaurwein 1775, 78.
[9] See Schwindt 2012.
[10] She received 50 guilders “zu Irer vnderhaltung vnd Zerung” (for her maintenance and living) in June 1520 when the court chapel was dissolved after Maximilian’s death; Koczirz 1930/31, 535.
[11] Such as “Hannsen pfeiffer vnnd matheusen Trumelschlacher”, who were expressly paid for their services “bei Tanz” at the 1491 carnival; Waldner, 1897/98, 52.
[12] Appuhn 1979, 172 f.
[13] For a compilation of music-related illustrations, see Henning 1987, 69–94
[15] See Gombosi 1932/33; Heinzer 1999, 92 ff.
[16] Polk 1992, 86 (with references from Augsburg archives).
[17] See Kirnbauer 2005.
[18] See Kirnbauer 2003, 243–248 (including the following).
[20] According to payments in the Augsburg (D-As) Baumeisterbuch 103 (1509), fol. 24v, and 104 (1510), fol. 28; kindly communicated by Keith Polk.
[21] See Jahn 1925, 10 ff., and Kirnbauer 2000, 25 ff.
[22] Kirnbauer 1992, 131.
[23] Nedden 1932/33, 31.
[24] See Polk 1989a; Polk 1989b.
[25] Hintermaier 1993, 38.
[26] See the letter from Paul Hofhaimer to Joachim Vadian on May 14, 1524; Moser 1966, 56.
[29] Nowak 1932, 84.
[30] Praetorius 1619, 148.
[31] So the wording in the formulation of the iconographic program in » A-Wn Ms. 2835, fol. 8v.
[32] See Welker 1992, 189–194.
[33] Aich 1515, title page of the tenor partbook; for dating, see Schwindt 2008, 117 ff.
[34] See Bernoulli/Moser 1930, v–vii; McDonald/Raninen 2018.
[35] See Brinzing 1998, 137–154; Filocamo 2009.
[37] » A-Wn, Mus. Hs. 41950; facsimile and description in Kirnbauer 2003. For lute tablatures of the next generation from the southern German-speaking area, see » H. Lautenisten und Lautenspiel (Kateryna Schöning).
[38] Gerle 1533, fol. IIv.
[39] See Moser 1966, 26 and 182, footnote 35.
[40] See Moser 1966, 137–140; Radulescu 1978, 66 f.; see also » C. Orgeln und Orgelmusik.
Recommended Citation:
Martin Kirnbauer: “Instrumentalkünstler am Hof Maximilians I.”, in: Musikleben des Spätmittelalters in der Region Österreich <https://musical-life.net/essays/instrumentalkunstler-am-hof-maximilians-i> (2016).