n. Music.
An ancient instrument resembling the lyre.
[Latin, from Greek kitharā.]
Dictionary:
cith·a·ra (sĭth'ər-ə, kĭth'-) also kith·a·ra
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An ancient instrument resembling the lyre.
[Latin, from Greek kitharā.]
| Music Encyclopedia: Kithara |
The most important string instrument of Greco-Roman antiquity, larger and heavier than the Lyre, which it resembles. It had two wooden arms rising vertically from the soundchest (also of wood), crossed by a yoke. Strings were stretched between yoke and the soundchest: three to five in early examples, seven or more from the 7th century bc. The soundbox could be rectangular or smaller and rounded (the ‘cradle kithara’). The left hand plucked, strummed or damped the strings from behind while the right plucked them with a plectrum.
The kithara probably originated in Asia Minor; in Greece it was indispensable in singing the praises of Hellenic heroes and in choral performances, while in Rome it appeared in virtually every area of musical life including the theatre, the convivium and cult music.
Harry Partch used the name ‘kithara’ for instruments he built resembling the Greek ones.
| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: kithara |
For more information on kithara, visit Britannica.com.
| Columbia Encyclopedia: kithara |
| Wikipedia: Cithara |
The kithara (Greek) or cithara (Roman) (Greek: κιθάρα, kitharā, Latin: cithara) was an ancient Greek musical instrument in the harp family. In modern Greece the word kithara has come to mean "guitar" (a word whose origins are found in kithara).
The kithara was a professional version of the seven-stringed lyre. As opposed to the simpler lyre, which was a folk-instrument, the kithara was primarily used by professional musicians, called citharedes. The barbiton was a bass version of the kithara popular in the eastern Aegean and ancient Asia Minor.
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The kithara had a deep, wooden sounding box composed of two resonating tables, either flat or slightly arched, connected by ribs or sides of equal width. At the top, its strings were knotted around the transverse tuning bar (zugon) or to rings threaded over the bar, or wound around pegs. The other end of the strings was secured to a tail-piece after passing over a flat bridge, or the tail-piece and bridge were combined. Most vase paintings show kitharas with seven strings, in agreement with ancient authors, but these also mention that occasionally a skillful citharede would use more than the conventional seven strings.
It was played with a rigid plectrum held in the right hand, with elbow outstretched and palm bent inwards, while the strings with undesired notes were damped with the straightened fingers of the left hand.
The kithara was played primarily to accompany dances and epic recitations, rhapsodies, odes, and lyric songs. It was also played solo at the receptions, banquets, national games, and trials of skill. The music from this instrument was said to be the lyre for drinking parties and is considered an invention of Terpander. Aristotle said that these string instruments were not for educational purposes but for pleasure only.
Sappho is closely associated with music, especially string instruments like the kithara and the barbitos. She was a woman of high social standing and composed songs that focused on the emotions. A Greek mythology story goes that she ascended the steep slopes of Mount Parnassus where she was welcomed by the Muses. She wondered through the laurel grove and came upon the cave of Apollo, where she bathed in the Castalian Spring and took Phoebus' plectrum to play skillful music. The sacred nymphs danced while she stroked the strings with much talent to bring forth sweet musical melodies from the resonant kithara.
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![]() | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() | Music Encyclopedia. The Concise Grove Dictionary of Music. Copyright © 1994 by Oxford University Press, Inc.. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() | Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() | Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/ Read more | |
![]() | Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Cithara". Read more |
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