“Musica Lauten und Rybeben”: Lutes and String Instruments

In the Triumphzug, following somewhat after the pipers and drummers, comes the first musician carriage, titled “Music: lutes and viols” (» Abb. Triumphzug Lauten), aon 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 “for the sake of his artistic suitability and gracious inclination.” Subsequently, Artus is documented as “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 “discantista,” 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]

Abb. Triumphzug Lauten

„Musica Lauten und Rybeben“, Triumphzug, Holzschnitte 17 und 18 von Hans Burgkmair, 1517–18; koloriert von Joseph Hoeger, 1765. Universitätsbibliothek Graz.

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 “lutenist to His Imperial Majesty” (“lawtenslaher kays. Mt”) until the death of Maximilian, although in 1514 he was received as a citizen in Nuremberg to teach “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 “geyger to His Imperial Majesty” (“kay. Mt. Geygern”) 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 “trombonist to His Imperial Majesty” (“Kay. Mayt. busaner”) or “piper to His Imperial Majesty” (“Kay Mayt pfeyffer”), so he was not limited to a specific instrument.[20]