Daniel Zapico Plays the Chittarone

Concierto en Mahón. Obras de Kapsberger: Arpeggiata, Capona y Ciaccona. Abril 2008.

If I close my eyes, I would think that Daniel Zapico is playing some sort of muted banjo with a couple of extra low strings.

So when I open my eyes, a long neck banjo?

A really long neck banjo. Got you beat Pete Seeger!

No, it’s a Chittarone.

So what is a Chittarone?

Well according to http://www.medieval-life-and-times.info/medieval-music/chittarone.htm

“The Chittarone can be described as a lute which could reach 6 feet tall. Also referred to as a Theorbo and is a type of lute dating back to the 1580’s which was used to accompany the voice. A large musical instrument with a powerful sound having 14 courses of strings. 6 single which are plucked and stopped on a fretted fingerboard like the strings of a modern guitar and 8 long single basses which were played by the plucking hand.

Medieval Musical instruments, including the Chittarone, would be used by the musicians of the period including the Waits, Minstrels or Troubadours. There were three categories of musical instruments in the Middle Ages – wind, string and percussion. Terms of description were Bas instruments and Haut instruments. Bas referred to soft instruments (literally, “low,” but referring to volume, not pitch) which were suitable for the chamber which included the vielle, rebec and other bowed strings, the lute and other plucked strings. Haut referred to loud instruments (literally “high” but referring to volume, not to pitch) which were suitable for outdoors which included the shawm, sackbut, pipe and tabor. Read the above history, facts and information about the Chittarone.” see more

More info about Daniel Zapico:

“Born in 1983 in Oviedo, Asturias. From an early age directed their studies to the field of early music beginning his specialization in the theorbo in 1999. He completed his studies with the highest rating in the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya with Xavier Diaz-Latorre. In addition to his training has been taught by prestigious artists like Rolf Lislevand, Hopkinson Smith, Robert Barto, Eduardo Egüez, Laura Monica Pustilnik, Luca Pianca, Juan Carlos de Mulder and Juan Carlos Rivera, among others. In 2012 obtained the MA in Musicology, Music Education and Interpretation of Early Music at the Autonomous University of Barcelona with the greeting unanimous court from Robert de Visee project. founding member assembly Antiqva Form has participated in major festivals throughout Spain and several concert tours in Australia, Austria, Germany, Bolivia, Brazil, China, France, Greece, Holland, Japan, Serbia, Singapore, achieving great success with audiences and critics. With this ensemble has recorded seven albums: Bizarro!! , Unusual Stupor , Sopra Scarlatti , Amore x Amore , Concerto Zapico , The Four Seasons by A. Vivaldi and recently Opera Zapico , awarded top marks in some of the most important magazines in the music scene as a Scherzo or Pizzicato Supersonic. Currently Form Antiqva is set resident Auditorium – Congress Centre “Principe Felipe” in Oviedo (Asturias) and exclusive artist of the German label Winter & Winter . Along with Enrique Solinís and his brother Pablo Zapico as Pulsata3 , group selected by competition for Circuits Musical of INJUVE in 2004. It is customary in the Caravaggia (international winners in Toulouse Les Sacqueboutiers in 2006), The Ritirata (honorable mention in the contest Mirabent Josep Sitges 2008) and Seville Baroque Orchestra (National Music Award 2011).” read more here