Strumenti ad arco nell’iconografia della Commedia dell’Arte cinquecentesca: la lira da braccio

The musical practices of the comici dell’Arte have left few traces behind. Nonetheless, it is possible to some extent to identify the fundamental features of these performers’ activity by means of analysing the visual records of the Commedia dell’Arte. The first outcome of this research is the identification of certain recurring musical instruments associated with the comici’s practice: amongst them, the lira da braccio occupies a prominent place. The analysis of visual records from the 16th Century, supported by contemporary literary sources, has shown a remarkable variety of layouts and performative situations in which the lira da braccio was used: as an accompaniment for the shows of the cerretani, to support vocal music, to perform lazzi, or to accompany comic sketches. This research also considers methodological issues around the use of visual records in music and performance studies and attempts to provide insight into the performance habits of the comici dell’Arte, establishing a connection with both folkloric procedures of accompanied singing and art music experiences (improvised poetry in musical settings in sixteenth-century Italian courts and the later frottola and villanesca repertoires).