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Rebec
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The rebec (sometimes rebeck, and originally various other spellings) is a bowed string musical instrument. In its most common form, it has three strings and is played on the arm or under the chin, like a violin.
rebec dates back to the Middle Ages and was particularly popular in the 15th and 16th centuries. The instrument is European, but was derived from the Arabic instrument, the rebab. The rebec was first referred to by name around the beginning of the 14th century, although instruments very similar to it had been played since around the 10th century.
number of strings on the rebec varies from one to five, although three is the most common number.
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Encyclopedia
The rebec (sometimes rebeck, and originally various other spellings) is a bowed string musical instrument. In its most common form, it has three strings and is played on the arm or under the chin, like a violin.
Origins
The rebec dates back to the Middle Ages and was particularly popular in the 15th and 16th centuries. The instrument is European, but was derived from the Arabic instrument, the rebab. The rebec was first referred to by name around the beginning of the 14th century, although instruments very similar to it had been played since around the 10th century.
Tuning
The number of strings on the rebec varies from one to five, although three is the most common number. The strings are often tuned in fifths, although this tuning is by no means universal. The instrument was originally in the treble range, like the violin, but later larger versions were developed, such that by the 16th century composers were able to write pieces for consorts of rebecs, just as they did for consorts of viols.
In use
In time, the viol came to replace the rebec, and the instrument was little used beyond the renaissance period. The instrument did remain in use by dance masters until the 18th century, however, often being used for the same purpose as the kit, a small pocket-sized violin. The rebec also continued to be used in folk music, especially in eastern Europe and Spain. Andalusi nubah, a genre of music from North Africa, often includes the rebec.
Artists
- The original Michael Nyman Band included a rebec before the band switched to a fully amplified lineup.
- Les Cousins Branchaud, a folk music group from Quebec, Canada, includes a rebec player.
- Ensemble Micrologus, an Italian medieval music group, has a member who performs on rebec.
- Tina Chancey is a multi-instrumentalist specializing in early bowed strings like the rebec. She also plays in Hesperus, an early music and folk music group.
- Dominique Regef is a French musician, composer and improvisor who performs on, among other instruments, the rebec.
- Giles Lewin, while being more famous for his work on violin and bagpipes, also plays the rebec in the Dufay Collective.
- Rossen Genkov is a rebec virtuoso. He appeared onstage with the Bulgarian band Epizod.
- Sisters Shirley and Dolly Collins have released a number of albums that include the rebec.
- Oni Wytars, a European music group, often includes the rebec in their performances.
- Helen Johnson plays the rebec, and its close relative the violetta, in the British early music group Cancionero.
The rebec in popular culture
Hugh Rebeck is a minor character in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, one of the musicians called by Peter in an oft-cut scene. Presumably, he is named for the instrument that he plays.
A scene in Don Quixote has a goatherd play a rebeck and sing a song of love in order to entertain Don Quixote and Sancho Panza.
A rebec was featured prominently in one of Ellis Peters's (12th century) Brother Cadfael stories: Liliwin, the title character of The Sanctuary Sparrow, earned his living by playing that instrument. His rebec was damaged by a mob that accused him of murder, but it was repaired by one of the monks and returned to him at the end of the story.
'Rebec' is also a common name used to abbreviate the name Rebecca, it is famously used as the nickname for the female suffrage pioneer of New Zealand, Rebecca Lea.
See also
- Kemenche: a type of rebec from the Black Sea region of Asia Minor.
- Kamencheh: a four-stringed instrument similar to the kemenche.
- Dramyin: a Himalayan folk music instrument.
- Gadulka: a Bulgarian stringed instrument believed to be descended from the rebec.
External links
- – Short history of the rebec, and sound sample.
- – Origins, morphology, construction, and sound sample.
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