Remarks On An Unnoticed Seventeenth-Century French Lute in Sweden, The Swedish Lute (Svenskluta or Swedish Theorbo) and Conversions of Swedish Lutes

KENNETH SPARR
Remarks on an Unnoticed SeventeenthCentury French Lute in Sweden, the Swedish

Lute (Svenskluta or Swedish Theorbo) and
Conversions of Swedish Lutes
he Swedish lute provides a good example of

the conversions and transformations, minor
or substantial, that many musical instruments
were subject to due to changes in musical fashion and
preferences during the history of music. Completely
unchanged musical instruments are relatively rare,
thus of considerable importance. In this article I
will give some remarks concerning conversions, or
to use a modern term, recycling of Swedish lutes
(Svensklutor, sometimes called Swedish Theorbos)
primarily using two instruments by the same maker
in my own collection. The changes made to one
of these lutes provide information of a common
practice of converting this type of instrument. Often
it is difficult to tell when conversions were made, but
sometimes inserted repair labels or notations can give
information. Plucked instruments as the lute and the
guitar have very commonly been subject to changes,
often successive and, as is well known, lutes from
Bologna and Padua were sought-after for centuries
and highly treasured (not to say highly valued). Most
of them were converted more or less dramatically
during the seventeenth twentieth centuries, with
additional stringing, new necks, bridges and peg
boxes, reinforced barring of the soundboard etc.
Research of this kind sometimes leads to interesting
new information or useful combinations of known
information seen in a new context. This is the case
for this article, which is divided into three connected
parts. The first contains a preliminary report on an
unnoticed French seventeenth-century lute in the

Stockholm Music Museum. The second provides
an overview of the Svenskluta or Swedish Lute/
Theorbo, and the last part deals with conversions of
Swedish lutes.
AN UNNOTICED FRENCH LUTE IN SWEDEN
The seventeenth century was a golden age for lute
music in France. French lute music had an enormous
impact all over Europe with the oeuvres of Mesangeau,
Vieux Gautier, Denis Gaultier, the Dubut family,
Jacques Gallot and Charles Mouton to mention only
the most important composers for the instrument.
The late American lute maker Robert Lundberg has
speculated on how to find the ideal French lute,
the marvellously proportioned hybrid instrument
that the Gaultiers, Gallot and Mouton would have
known and played. Lundbergs suggestion is to
turn to examples of sixteenth-century Italian lute
making. There, perhaps, we can find Les Luths des
Dieux.1 This is probably correct at least to some
extent, but one should not forget that there were
several highly skilled plucked instrument makers
active in France in the seventeenth century, of which
the most famous are guitar makers such as Jacques
Dumesnil, and Ren, Alexandre and Jean Voboam.
Lavishly decorated guitars from their workshops
are still preserved. Indeed, the quality of their work
Lundberg, R., Les Luths des Dieux: The Enigma of the French Lute, Luths et luthistes en Occident. Actes du
colloque organis par la Cit de la musique 13-15 mai 1998. (Paris, 1999). pp. 319ff.
1
209
210
The Galpin Society Journal LXII (2009)
suggests a sophisticated and very skilled group

of plucked musical instrument makers in France,
particularly in Paris during the seventeenth century.
The lute enigma mentioned by Lundberg is of course
the astonishing lack of surviving seventeenthcentury French lutes. The need for good lutes may
to some extent have been satisfied, as Lundberg
suggests, by converted sixteenth century Italian
lutes. But from inventories we know that there was
a considerable production of plucked instruments
such as lutes in France. The workshop inventory
of the best-known lute maker, Jean Des Moulins,
mentions 354 instruments of which no less than 265
were lutes, theorbos or angeliques.2 Extremely few of
these instruments survive. A well known example is
the eleven course lute by Jean Des Moulins, dated
1644, now in the Muse de la Musique in Paris. It
seems, however, that the only original part of this
instrument is the back. 3 The possibility of another
preserved French lute by an identifiable lute maker
from the golden age is certainly of utmost interest. It
is indeed very surprising that there may be another
French lute from the seventeenth century that has
been generally unnoticed, even though most of
the relevant information has been available at the
Stockholm Music Museum since about 1900 and
the rather detailed description in the museums first
catalogue (printed 1902). See Figures 1 and 2 in the
colour section. The description in the catalogue4 is
as follows:
(36). Lute, marked: Du Paris 1672, (brand
marked at the bottom) and on a piece of paper inside:
Repareradt af Johan Jerner, Stockholm 1792. The repair
seems to have consisted of the addition of a new neck
of the same theorbo-type as the Swedish lute to the
decidedly French body. Gift from the music trader
Bengt Dahlgren Ltd.
The low inventory number and the inclusion of it in
the first catalogue suggest that this lute was among

the first instruments to form the collection of the
Stockholm Music Museum, which was started in
1899. The first cataloguer did not observe that
the information at the end-clasp could be read as
Dubua Paris 1672 (at even closer inspection
Dubuc or Dubut). Unfortunately, damage makes
the name difficult to read (see Figure3 in the colour
section). The cataloguer further did not record
another handwritten repair label beside the one
by Jerner. Unfortunately this repair label is partly
concealed by the Jerner repair label and by paper
reinforcement between two ribs of the back. This
makes the label difficult to read and interpret, but
the text seems to be the following: Renov: Holmi
/ 1738 et 55. Above this text is possibly the repairers
name - a fragment can be seen. The last letter of
the surname may be g, j or y. The identity of the
repairer is yet to be determined.5 Another repair was
done in 1755 and the final repair and conversion was
made by Jerner in 1792.
This converted lute (or at least parts of it) may
originally have been made by the French lute maker
Nicolas Dubuc (?Dubut, ?du But) in Paris. He was
born 1637/38, died after 1692 and of him it is noted:
en 1671, Nicolas [?Dubuc, ?Dubut] g de 33 ans, est
Matre faiseur dinstruments, lorsquil pouse StGermain-lAuxerrois, Barbe Caillot. Sans doute a-t-il
dj une situation sociale en vue, car il a pour tmoin
son ami Philippe Lallemant, peintre lAcadmie
royale. En 1691 et 1692, il est encore cite comme
facteur ou matre pour les instruments vent.
The name suggests a possible family relation with

the famous lutenist or lutenists with the surname
Dubut, of which Pierre Dubut (pre) is the most
famous. Dubut fils or Dubut et ses deux fils are also
mentioned in connection with pieces of lute music,
but the relationships and identities of these are still
2
Instrumentistes et luthiers parisiens XVIIe-XIXe sicles. Ouvrage collectif prsent par la Dlgation lAction
Artistique de la Ville de Paris rdig par Florence Getreau. (Paris, 1988), p. 39.
3
Les luths (Occidental). Catalogue des collections du Muse de la musique (vol. 1) Les Cahiers du Muse de la musique 7.
(Paris, 2006), p. 92f.
4
Musikhistoriska Museets i Stockholm Instrumentsamling. r 1902, (Stockholm, 1902). p. 21. Authors translation
of the Swedish text.
5
There are only very few professional string instrument makers in Stockholm who could possibly have done the
first repair in 1738 (if this date is correct): Sueno (Sven) Beckman (1717-1762) or Petter Hellstedt the elder (?-1772),
More fitting candidates would have been Jonas Elg and his apprentice Olaus Arling, but they were both dead in 1738.
Another possibility is Johann hberg the elder (1723?-1779) but in 1738 he was only 15 years old.
Sparr Swedish lutes
obscure. Due to the common lack of Christian

names and the variations in spellings of the surname
(Dubu, Dubut, Dubuc) it is difficult to be certain
about the identity of Nicolas Dubuc (?Dubut); and
the mention of him as a wind instrument maker in
1691 and 1692 may seem problematic.7 It is hardly
likely that an instrument maker is active both in
making wind and stringed/plucked instruments as
the workshops must be equipped quite differently
from one another. The simple explanation can be that
there are two different instrument makers with very
similar names. As mentioned above, seventeenthcentury French lutes are now extremely rare and
if this lute is by Nicolas Dubu[?c] (?Dubut) it is the
only surviving instrument by this maker and from
a period when French lute music reached its peak
with Denis Gaultiers printed lute books. Normally
a makers name is found on the inside of the back as
a label or as brand mark on the soundboard; in this
case we cannot be certain that the makers name,
place and date were actually put there by the maker
himself. The original label may have disappeared
when the lute was restored and changed, and the
restorer may have transferred the makers name to
the end-clasp.
In my opinion the only original part of the M36
Dubu[?c] lute is the back. This applies to many other
old lutes; it also seems to be the case with the Des
Moulins lute in Paris. Several details show, however,
that the back comes from a very old lute and that it
originally may have been built as an eleven-course
baroque lute of the type used by French lutenists in
the latter part of the seventeenth century. The back is
made of an unidentified hardwood, with an irregular
and knotty structure; it consists of nine ribs without
spacers. The inside linings of the back are probably
from the repair or conversion in the eighteenth
century. The back has a very classical form used by
early Italy-based lute makers such as Laux Maler
and Hans Frei. Interestingly the width and length
of the body are close to those of the other French
seventeenth century lute with nine ribs made by Jean
Des Moulins, dated 1644 and now in the Muse de la
musique in Paris, inventory number E.979.2.69. The
outline of the body of the M36 lute is however more
6
211
slender than the Des Moulins lute. The body width of

the M36 is 311 mm, the body length is 536 mm and
the body depth is 160 mm. Very similar body outlines
and measures can be found in near-contemporary
lutes by Joachim Tielke, dated 1676, 1680 and 1696.
The end-clasp is simple and very neat, though it has
perhaps been somewhat trimmed when fitting a new
soundboard. The strap button on the end-clasp lies
too near the soundboard which suggests a later and
simple misplacement of the button.
The changes to this lute are immediately apparent:
the strange bridge placement, the rose and the
theorbo arrangement typical of Swedish lutes in the
1790s and quite in accordance with the conversion
made by Jerner, the lack of points at the joint of the
fingerboard to the soundboard, the rather narrow
neck. The soundboard shows no traces at all of an
earlier bridge placement and the wood quality of the
spruce is rather modest (similar to other Swedish
lutes). The half-binding (purfling) around parts
of the soundboard is rather thick and looks very
unconvincing. It has unfortunately not been possible
to do a closer study of soundboard barring, but it
seems highly unlikely that the original barring was
transferred to the new soundboard. The soundboard
has one transverse bar under the centre of the
rose, one transverse bar between the rose and the
neck placed 200 mm above the front of the bridge,
one transverse bar between the rose and the bridge
placed 50 mm above the bridge and finally two
transverse bars between the front of the bridge and
the end-clasp placed at 35 mm and 110 mm below
the front of the bridge. This gives a total of five bars,
whereas the standard Swedish lute only had four.
The additional bar between bridge and end-clasp was
probably added due to the long distance between the
bridge and the end-clasp. The neck and fingerboard
of the lute originally had a width of 99 mm where the
fingerboard meets the soundboard, which is quite in
accordance with other eleven-thirteen course lutes.
The joint between body and neck shows obvious
signs of conversion, patched with wood from the
fitment of a new neck. As the strap button on the
back lies very close to the neck joint we cannot rule
out the possibility of loss of material of the original
6
Laurencie, L. de la, Quelques luthistes franais du XVIIe sicle, Revue de musicologie, Tome 4e No. 8e, 1922,
p. 149, Ltgendorff, W., Die Geigen- und Lautenmacher vom Mittelalter bis zur Gegenwart. Ergnzungsband erstellt
von Thomas Drescher, (Tutzing, 1990), p. 139. [Dubut] uvres des Dubut. dition et transcription par Monique Rollin et
Jean-Michel Vaccaro. Corpus des luthistes franais, (Paris, 1979), p. XIV Les luths (Occident) catalogue des collections
du Muse de la musique (vol. 1). Les cahiers du Muse de la musique. 7. (Paris, 2006), p. 92ff. Helwig, G., Joachim Tielke.
Ein Hamburger Lauten- und Violenmacher der Barockzeit, (Frankfurt am Main, 1980), pp. 147, 160 and 238.
7
Some information with attribution of lute music to Nicolas Dubut has been distributed with CD releases and
concerts, but I have not seen any evidence of such a connection.
212
Figure 4. Detail of the crudely made joint with wooden

infill between neck and body of the Dubu[?c] lute. The
oversized purfling is clearly visible. The Stockholm Music
Museum inventory number M36. Photo: Author.
neck block and the body. The strap button is most

likely a later addition.
The austerity of the back suggests a utility lute,
not the flashy type which we often encounter in
collections and museums, and this makes it even
more interesting. The provenance of the lute before
it was owned by Bengt Dahlgren Ltd (who donated
it to the Stockholm Music Museum around 1900)
is not known. The repair labels suggest that it came
to Sweden before 1732 (?), or even in the latter part
of the seventeenth century, when it originally was
built. It seems reasonable to consider that the last
repair and conversion was the one made by Johan
Jerner in 1792. There are no signs of later repairs or
changes to the lute. The name, place and date on the
end-clasp are enigmatic, but they may be the makers
original brand-marked signature. Another possible
explanation is that the text of the original makers
signature or label was transferred in connection with
an earlier repair or conversion. There is no reason
to believe that the makers signature is a fake as all
other facts about the back confirm that it is a true
seventeenth century lute, and that it was intended
for a lutenist and not primarily for decoration!
There is no evidence to contradict the possibility
that this lute may have arrived and been used in
Sweden in the late seventeenth century. There were
many musical connections between Sweden and
France during this century. Many French lutenists
were employed at the Royal court, or by Swedish
noblemen. If we look at the ten most copied pieces
in Swedish tablature collections for keyboard and
plucked instruments from the period 1650-1720,
French compositions dominate almost completely.
The most popular pieces seem to have been Courante

La Belle Homicide by Denis Gaultier followed
by Courante Dubut and Courante LImmortelle
by Ennemond Gaultier, and other pieces. As the
tablatures are of Swedish provenance, they reflect
musical preferences in Sweden during this period.
Many Swedish noblemen, accompanied by
their tutors, made peregrinations through Europe
during the seventeenth century, and a stay in
Paris was mandatory. An example of this is the
Swedish king Charles X Gustavus illegitimate son,
Gustaf Carlson, who together with his tutor Erik
Lindschld (1634-1690) travelled through Europe in
the 1660s and 1670s. In the educational scheme for
Gustaf Carlson there was one hour of lute playing
each day (in which by the way the tutor also took
part!). Lindschld writes in a letter from Strasbourg
in 1660: The lutenist arrives at 10 oclock and gives
them alternately exercises. In the beginning of
December 1666 they arrive in Paris and soon start
their lute playing activities again, probably with a
Parisian lute teacher. Another visitor to Paris was
the young count Claes Johansson Ekeblad (16691737), who in his diary for May 1687 noted: I started
to play the lute with Gallot and I paid one louisdor
each month for three lessons a week. Two years later,
in 1689, Ekeblad studied the lute with Jacques Gallot
again and in the same year he attended Gallots
private concert with an admirable, great and lovely
music. Ekeblad furthermore had flute lessons from
one of the members of the Hotteterre family for
which he paid one Dukat a month (noted on 14 May
1687). Another young nobleman, Hans von Fersen
(1683-1736), during his peregrination together with
his preceptor Carl Gustav Heraeus, met the famous
lutenist and composer Charles Mouton in 1699-1700.
Hans von Fersen and Carl Gustav Heraeus arrived
in Paris with their servant Peter de la Rose on 14
November 1698. They lodged at lHotel du Man, rue
des Grands Augustins, in the St- Germain-de-Prsarea, a central point in Paris. Very soon they got a
singing teacher for Hans von Fersen, a M. Preston,
and a M. Le Seure as his teacher on the angelique.
However, Hans von Fersen soon wanted to change to
the baroque lute; evidently he had fallen seriously in
love with this instrument although his father did not
really approve. Heraeus points out to Hans von Fersen
that the baroque lute is a very difficult and slow
instrument to master. Nevertheless, von Fersen was
eager to learn and in May 1699 Heraeus contacted
Charles Mouton to arrange lessons for Hans von
Fersen. Mouton then lived at Rue Saint-Andrdes-Arts, quite nearby Heraeus and von Fersens
lodgings. At first Heraeus hired a lute from Mouton
Sparr Swedish lutes
at two livres per month. On 30 May 1699 Heraeus

bought Moutons Musicbuch for one livre. Von
Fersens interest in and progress with the lute seems
to have been growing fast and it did not take long
before they bought a lute from Mouton at the price
of 56 livres. We have an exact date for this purchase,
13 October 1699, and this was the highest single
expense during the whole peregrination. Hans von
Fersen had lute lessons with Mouton for a monthly
fee of 14 livres and these lessons probably went on for
many months. Evidently Mouton was a good teacher
and von Fersen a motivated pupil. Perhaps it was
Mouton who arranged (and under his supervision)
that Hans von Fersen could perform on the lute for
the Polish envoy general Jordan and his daughters in
April 1700. The last information about the contacts
between Mouton, von Fersen and Heraeus dates
from March 1700, when Heraeus bought a copy of
Mr. Moutons Notenbuch for the rather high price
of 6 livres. Whether this was Moutons second and
lost lute book we may only guess. Later in 1700 Hans
von Fersen was called back to Sweden as a voluntary
in the Swedish army in Poland.8
French influence on lute music in Sweden is obvious
even at the beginning of the eighteenth century. In
an important and extensive manuscript (Kalmar
County Museum, KLM 21.072) that contains over 200
pieces, quite a few are by French composers including
Dufaut, Mouton, Mercure, Gallot and Gaultier.9 The
last lute tablatures of Swedish provenance where
French music is represented are two manuscripts
in Lund University Library (Wenster G 34 and G
37). Both manuscripts have in some instances the
same content. G 37 is dated 30 November 1712 and
contains a short lute instruction in Swedish. In the
manuscript one can find music by Ennemond and
Denis Gaultier, Mouton, Pinel, Campra and Dubut.
G 34 contains the pieces of Israel Pourell, lutenist
in Stockholm, whose father was of French origin.10
Thus there are satisfying explanations to support
a hypothesis that the Dubu[?c] lute may have come
213
to Sweden in the last decades of the seventeenth

century. This lute offers a good example of early
conversions of older instruments to make them fit
for changes in musical taste.
AN OVERVIEW OF THE SWEDISH LUTE:
SVENSKLUTAN
The Dubu[?c] lute described in the previous section
was converted in 1792 to a so-called Swedish lute
or Svenskluta. This unique Swedish plucked string
instrument will be unfamiliar to many readers so
a summary of its nature and development may be
useful. The Swedish lute was first researched and
described by Hedvig Boivie in connection with her
overview of string instrument making in Sweden, and
in more depth by Tobias Norlind in his article Den
svenska lutan, where he gives a general introduction
and the first more thorough description of the
instrument and its music.11 Additional information
can be found at the present authors website The
Improved Cittern. Printed and Manuscript Music for
the Swedish Lute and a List of Swedish Lutes, where
the main focus is, however, the preserved music for
the instrument. The latter article is supplemented
by summary information about all known Swedish
lutes.12 Little further research has been carried out
concerning this particular instrument.
The Swedish lute can be characterised as a hybrid
instrument with elements of both the cittern
and the lute. Originally it probably developed
from the cittern, through the English guitar or its
French equivalent cistre or guittare allemande,
all in turn revivals of the cittern. If we add the
guitarra portuguesa we get a good conception of
the terminological hotchpotch concerning plucked
instruments during earlier periods. Athough only
few surviving instruments are known, plucked
string instruments were certainly made in Sweden
throughout the eighteenth century.13 Among the
8
Hammarlund, A., Monsieur Mouton, lutan och civilisationsprocessen, Svensk tidskrift fr musikforskning 88/2005,
pp. 27-44. Hammarlund, A., Ett ventyr i staten. Carl Gustav Heraeus 1671-1725 Frn Stockholm till kejsarhovet i
Wien, (Stockholm, 2003), pp. 101, 106-107
9
Rudn, J.O, Stormaktstidens 10 i topp, Svensk tidskrift fr musikforskning 58/1976 pp. 25-52
10
Sparr, K. French Lutenists and French Lute Music in Sweden, Le luth et sa musique II, (Paris, 1984), pp. 59-67 and
an augmented and updated version at http://www.tabulatura.com/FRELUTE.htm
11
Norlind, Tobias, Den svenska lutan, Svensk tidskrift fr musikforskning 17(1935) pp. 5-43. Boivie, H. Ngra
svenska lut- och fiolmakare under 1700-talet, Fataburen 1921 pp. 51-73.
12
http://www.tabulatura.com/SWELUTE1.htm A Swedish version, Den frbttrade sittran. Musik i tryck och
handskrift fr den svenska lutan samt frteckning ver svenska lutor can be found at http://www.tabulatura.com/
SITTRA1.htm
13
An overview of Swedish musical instrument making is given in Helenius-berg, E. Svenskt instrumentmakeri
1720-1800, Svensk tidskrift fr musikforskning 59:1 (1977) pp. 5-43.
214
Figure 5. An early 11-course cittern with English watch-key tuning mechanism by Mathias Petter Kraft with
label Matth. P. Kraft. / Kongl Hof Instrument Makare / N36 Stockholm A:1780. The Stockholm Music
Museum, inventory number N34289. Photo: The Stockholm Music Museum.
makers who we know made plucked instrument in

the first half of the century we can mention Jonas
Elg, (?-1732) and Sueno Beckman (?-1761 or 1762),
both highly skilled plucked instrument makers.
Citterns with their different spellings (zittra, sittra,
cittra) were built in Sweden during the second part
of the eighteenth century by Carl Magnus Nystrm
(active 1757-1760) and he was granted a privilege to
make violins, cellos, violas, lutes and citterns. Other
makers who are known to have produced plucked
instruments are Petter Hellstedt the elder (?-1772
and active 1742-1772), Johann hberg the elder
(1723-1779 and active 1758-1779), Eric Sandberg
(active 1773-1778) in Stockholm and Carl Johan
Broberg (active 1769-1802) in Gothenburg.14 There
is also information about both metal (brass and
steel) and gut string manufacturing in Sweden in
the eighteenth century.15 However, three makers of
the Swedish lute stand as the most productive and
important: Mathias Petter Kraft, Johan Jerner and
Krafts apprentice Lorents Mollenberg. The most
influential in the development of the Swedish lute
was Mathias Petter Kraft (1753-1807), born in Gvle,
but active in Stockholm 1780-1807.16 He moreover
built many keyboard instruments in his workshop
and had a very flourishing business enterprise.
From 1779 Kraft made instruments of the cittern-
family (see Figure 5), as did hberg and Broberg, but

in Krafts instruments you clearly can discern the
development from cittern to Swedish lute.
Kraft introduced a theorboed cittern (see Figure 6)
and this feature later was transferred to the Swedish
lute.
Important developments were the change from
metal strings to gut (possibly including overspun
strings) and the attachment of the strings to a bridge
glued on the soundboard. On the cittern some of
the higher strings were paired in courses, while they
were single on the developed form of the Swedish
lute. This may represent an influence from the guitar,
which in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth
centuries changed from paired to single strings, with
the possible exception of Spanish guitars, where
the six course arrangement continued well into the
nineteenth century. Other modifications were that
the fingerboard changed from a slightly convex form
to a flat form, and the gradual addition of diapasons.
At first the Swedish lute had a rather flat back,
similar to the cittern, but from c.1795 the flat back
was changed to a more vaulted form. The first
Swedish lute with a vaulted back is in fact Jerners
conversion of the Dubu[?c] lute, described above. One
may speculate that perhaps this conversion was so
successful from an acoustic point of view (the bigger
Norlind, Tobias, Den svenska lutan, Svensk tidskrift fr musikforskning 17(1935) p. 10. Boivie, H. Ngra svenska
lut- och fiolmakare under 1700-talet, Fataburen 1921 pp. 51-73. Helenius-berg, E. Svenskt instrumentmakeri 17201800, Svensk tidskrift fr musikforskning 59:1 (1977) pp. 29ff.
15
Boivie, H. Ngra svenska lut- och fiolmakare under 1700-talet, Fataburen 1921 pp. 52 and 56. Helenius-berg, E.,
Svenskt instrumentmakeri 1720-1800, Svensk tidskrift fr musikforskning 59:1 (1977) pp. 37f.
16
Helenius-berg, E. Mathias Petter Kraft, Svenskt biografiskt lexikon 21, (Stockholm, 1975-77), pp. 522-523.
14
Sparr Swedish lutes
215
Figure 6. A 15-course theorboed cittern/Swedish lute with English watch-key tuning mechanism by
Mathias Petter Kraft with label Pet: Kraft / Kongl Hof Instrum:Makare / Stockholm / N12 A:177?.
The Stockholm Music Museum inventory number M1898. Photo: The Stockholm Music Museum
volume improves the sound of the bass strings) that it

encouraged both Jerner and his competitor Mathias
Petter Kraft to change to vaulted backs.17 If this is
the case it seems to have been Kraft who was the
first to use the vaulted back in Swedish lutes from
1795. However, the flat back can be found on a later
instrument, a lute by Johan Jerner, dated 1797 and
it seems that Kraft was the more industrious and
innovative of the two makers, who swiftly grasped
and developed new ideas.18 He replaced the movable
bridge with a bridge of the lute type with the strings
attached as in Figure 10.
Figure 10. Bridge (with new strings) from a Swedish

lute by Mattias Petter Kraft No. 299, 1787, in a private
collection. Photo: Lars Jnsson.
This type of bridge appears on lutes up to c.1812, but

seems gradually to have been replaced by the pin
bridge type as shown in figure 26.19 The pin bridge
type appears to have been used from c.1801.20 The

tuning of the Swedish lute came initially from the
cittern. In its most developed form the Swedish
lute was tuned in A major: from the diapasons to
the highest string in the following manner: A, B,
c#, d, e, f#, g#, a, b, c#1, d1, e1, a1, c#2 and e2. In some
pieces the tuning is different, but it seems as if the
basic intervals were maintained. Many lutes had a
simple capo tasto feature whereby the pitch could
be raised at least three semitones, quite similar to
the eighteenth century citterns. This is described in
greater detail below. The eight highest strings lie on
the fingerboard, while the four to seven diapasons
lie off to the side. Most of the lutes were equipped
with an ingenious brass thumb-lever mechanism for
changing the pitch of the diapasons a semitone. An
early example of this mechanism can be seen on a
cittern/lute by Mathias Petter Kraft.
The diapasons furthermore have a capo tasto
feature which can be seen in Figures 36 and 38 below.
Most likely this feature was added to each instrument
in the building process, at least on the instruments
made after c.1790.21 However, this feature may in
some cases have been added later and such a change
Krafts estate inventory 1807 mentions two lutes of the older type with flat back. The inventory further mentions
two cittror by Jerner. See Boivie, H. Ngra svenska lut- och fiolmakare under 1700-talet, Fataburen 1921 pp. 66ff.
18
The Stockholm Music Museum, inventory number N164731.
19
In fact the lute type of bridge can be found on a very late instrument by A. Lindberg dated 1831 (Kulturen. Lund
inventory number KM 16437, but this is an isolated case.
20
The pin bridge can be found on lutes made by Kraft in 1781 and 1795 (The Stockholm Music Museum, inventory
numbers M124, M1535 and N32001). These lutes seem however to have been changed later.
21
Early examples from the period 1790-1792 are lutes by Kraft in The Stockholm Music Museum, inventory numbers
M215, M219, F442, F443,
17
216
Figure 11. The diapason capo mechanism on a cittern/lute by Mathias Petter Kraft No. 181, 1784 in The Nydahl Collection
(The Foundation for the Advancement of Music Culture), Stockholm, inventory number IKN 39. Photo: Author.
is very difficult to see. The Swedish lute had developed

its standard stringing and tuning c.1793-1795 and a
good example of this fully developed lute is shown in
Figures 7-9 in the colour section.
Tobias Norlind has summarised the development
of the Swedish lute as follows22 (dates in square
brackets are the present authors suggestions based
on a study of more instruments than were available
to Norlind):
A. Preforms with English tuning mechanism; string
holder at the end-clasp
1. Non-theorboed cittern 1770-1785 [1778-1784]
2. Theorboed cittern 1780-1785 [1776-1789]
B. Preforms with lateral [wooden] pegs; string holder
at the end-clasp23
1. Non-theorboed cittern 1780-1785 [1780-1781]
2. Theorboed cittern 1780-1785 [1787]
C. Preforms with flat back; string holder/bridge on
the soundboard
1. 4 free diapasons 1780-1786 [1784-1793]
2. 5 free diapasons 1786-1793 [1784-1797]
3. 7 free diapasons 1793-1795 [1794-1797]

D. Fully developed Swedish lute
1. Vaulted back 1795-1820 [1795-1821]

Norlinds classification may be enlarged or reduced
by considering the following elements:
Number of all strings, not just diapasons
String lengths
Single strings or double/triple courses
String material (steel, brass, gut, over spun)
Capo tasto lever
Capo tasto attachment for diapasons
Bridge type
Valid classifications should only be based on original,
unchanged instruments. Some conclusions, however,
can be made from a study of a greater number of
original instruments than were available to Norlind:
1. The flat back was used until c.1797
2. The vaulted back was commonly used from
c.1795
3. The English tuning mechanism was used until
c.1789
4. The wooden lateral tuning pegs was used from
c.1790
5. The cittern type of bridge was used c.177?-1789
6. The lute type of bridge was used c.1790-181224
22
Norlind, Tobias, Den svenska lutan, Svensk tidskrift fr musikforskning 17(1935) p. 20. The very late instrument
by A. Lindberg dated 1831 (Kulturen. Lund inventory number KM 16437 is an exception.
23
This group and classification is based on a few single instruments, as Norlind himself noted, which cannot really
be used as a basis for a classification.
24
Norlind gives the earliest date for this type of bridge in two lutes by Mathias Petter Kraft, No. 28 from 1780 and
No. 45 from 1781. No. 28 (The Stockholm Music Museum, inventory number M2745) has probably been changed later
and No. 45 has not been seen by Norlind himself.
Sparr Swedish lutes

7. The pin bridge type was used from c.1801
8. The capo tasto mechanism with brass lever was
used from c.179026
9. The capo tasto attachment for the diapasons
was used from c.1802
10. The string arrangement with 8 strings on the
fingerboard and 4 diapasons or 7 strings on
the fingerboard and 5 diapasons was used
c.1781-1793
11. The string arrangement with 8 strings on the
fingerboard and 5 diapasons was used c.17901798
12. The string length on the fingerboard varies
from 430 mm to 578 mm, but the most
common span is 480-550 mm. The longest
string length is on the latest instruments
13. The string length of the diapasons varies from
599 mm to 760 mm, but the most common
length is 680 mm, The longest string length is
on the latest instruments
14. The fully developed single string arrangement
with 8 strings on the fingerboard and 7
diapasons was used from c.1794.
25
The development of the Swedish lute can be roughly

summarised as these three phases:
1. The cittern period c.1776-1790
a. flat back
b. movable bridge
c. strings fastened to hitch pins at end-clasp
d. English tuning mechanism
e. 11 (3x2+5) strings or 15 (3x2+5+4) with
diapasons
f. metal strung
g. string length on fingerboard 500-550 mm
h. string length of diapasons 660-700 mm
2. The transition period c.1790-1800
a. flat or vaulted back
b. bridge of lute type
c. wooden lateral tuning pegs
d. 12 (8+4 or 7+5) or 13 (8+5) single strings
e. gut strung and over spun gut/silk (?)
f. string length on fingerboard 500 mm
g. string length of diapasons 670-680 mm.
217
3. The fully developed Swedish lute period c.18011820

a. vaulted back
b. bridge of pin type
c. wooden lateral tuning pegs
d. brass lever mechanism
e. capo tasto feature for the diapasons
f. 15 (8+7) single strings
g. gut strung and over spun gut/silk (?)
h. string length on fingerboard 500-580 mm
i. string length of diapasons 710-760 mm.
What seems to be quite constant through all three
phases is the A-major tuning and the string lengths.
The lute of Mathias Petter Krafts design continued
to develop after his death in 1807, though the changes
were more of a qualitative than of an innovative
nature. The leading maker among Krafts successors
was his apprentice Lorents Mollenberg (1765?-1824)
by whom many Swedish lutes are preserved. Other
makers building Swedish lutes were the earlier
mentioned Johan Jerner (1758?-1820 and active 17911820), Pehr Lundborg (active 1771-1808), Carl Eric
Sundberg (1771?-1846) and Anders Odendahl in
Stockholm, J. Andersson in Skara, Erik Ryberg in
Uddevalla, Hans Westerdahl (active 1792-?) in Lund,
Anders Grnberg in Sveaborg, Finland, the master
carpenter and violin maker Carl Petter Sundqvist
(1803-1845) active in Turku 1831-1845, Finland as
well as A. Lindberg and Stenvik. There is information
about Carl Eric Sundberg who made Harpor, Sittror
and Gitarrer and also keyboard instruments. He
ceased as a musical instrument maker in 1833.27
However, of all these makers three are outstanding
in terms of production and preserved instruments:
Kraft, Jerner and Mollenberg.
The number of Swedish lutes preserved shows that
their production was fairly even during the period
c.1780-1820. After 1820 the production suddenly
stopped. The last (?) built and known Swedish lute of
the old type, by A. Lindberg, raslf, dated 1831, is
in the collection of the museum Kulturen in Lund. It
is difficult to know how large was the total production
of 15-stringed Swedish lutes. The only safe basis for
estimation is the number of preserved instruments
and other reliable sources of information. Kraft
Many earlier lutes have the pin bridge type, but they do not seem to be in original condition.
There is a similar mechanism on a cittern/Swedish lute, dated 1784, by Kraft (no. 181) in the Nydahl collection,
inventory number IKN 39.
27
Boivie, H. Ngra svenska lut- och fiolmakare under 1700-talet, Fataburen 1921 pp. 51-73. Helenius-berg, E.,
Svenskt instrumentmakeri 1720-1800, Svensk tidskrift fr musikforskning 59:1 (1977) pp. 5-43. Information about lute
makers in Finland also kindly provided by Aki Arponen.
25
26
218
and Mollenberg both dated and numbered their

instruments. The numbering does not always
fit the date and can be a less reliable source. For
example, Mathias Petter Kraft shows an inconsistent
numbering of many of his instruments regardless of
type (clavichords, fortepianos, lutes etc.). Norlind
estimates from the numbering that Kraft altogether
had made 750 citterns and Swedish lutes, so this
estimate based on the numbering is problematic.
We have more or less reliable information about
approximately 110 Swedish lutes. Barely half of these
are preserved in public collections and a relatively
large number are in private hands. My estimate of the
total production is that well over 1000 instruments
were made during the period 1780-1820.28
One may of course speculate why this unique
type of instrument developed in Sweden during
the last decades of the eighteenth century. One
possible explanation is the import ban on musical
instruments which applied for 60 years, from 1756
until 1816. This restriction may have stimulated
developments in Sweden, while it was isolated
from the musical trends on the continent. Another
example of a fairly unique Swedish development
is the Swedish clavichord, which is in this respect
similar to the Swedish lute.29 Some hints about the
use and distribution of the Swedish lute are provided
by surviving instruments, surviving music and
contemporary sources. Stockholm is completely
dominant both regarding the making of lutes and
the provision of music for them. However, lutes were
also made in other Swedish towns: Skara, Lund and
Gothenburg, as well as in the Swedish province of
Finland (Turku and Helsinki), but production in these
places seems to have been on a very small scale. There
are advertisements in local newspapers such as one
in Uppsala Tiding on 10 November 1819: A lute in
good standing, together with scales and easy music,
is for sale for 20 Red Bo.30 As with the lute making
business most of the preserved music seems to have
been produced in Stockholm. It is however interesting
to note the music for the lute and the lutes which are
kept in Turku, Finland. According to the record of

damage from the big fire in Turku 1827 there were at
least four zittror and a lute in the homes of musicians
and music lovers of the Musical Society in Turku. The
musical connections between Turku (which at that
time was a Swedish town in the province of Finland)
were very active during the Gustavian period. 31
Sources other than the instruments themselves
help provide a fuller picture of their development.
That the standard baroque lute was played in Sweden
as late as the end of the 1760s and that a distinction
was made between the cittern and the lute, is clear
from the diary of Johan Gabriel Oxenstierna. On
19October 1769 he wrote:
Since I listened to Olsson playing the cittra this
summer it occurred to me that I should learn to
play it. Since I could not get any instruction from
him I decided to learn to play the lute instead. With
much effort I have found out that a court trumpeter
Kuhlau in Stockholm is the only one who knows this
instrument [the lute]. 32
This Kuhlau is probably identical with Christian

Ludvig Kuhlau (1733-1796). He performed with
Lutha at several concerts in Stockholm 1768-1769,
to which also some of the other music is composed
by him recently. 33 The lute that Christian Ludvig
Kuhlau played upon was most likely the baroque
lute, which differs in many ways from the Swedish
lute: tuning, stringing, construction etc. In 1793,
the nephew of Christian Ludwig, Conrad Gottfrid
Kuhlau (1762-1827), published his Tre Andanter med
variationer utur J. Pleyels Quartetter, lmpade fr
Zittra och Violin [Three Andantes with Variations
from the Quartets by J. Pleyel, Suitable for zittra and
Violin]. 34 Later, in 1773 (thus some time after the
diary notes of Oxenstierna), Abraham Abrahamsson
Hlphers clearly distinguish between the cittern and
the lute in his Historisk Afhandling om Musik och
instrumenter [Historical Dissertation on Music and
Musical Instruments]:
Norlind, Tobias, Den svenska lutan, Svensk tidskrift fr musikforskning 17 (1935) pp. 16ff. See also the present
authors Preliminary List of all Known Swedish Lutes and Citterns at http://www.tabulatura.com/SWELUTE7.htm
29
Helenius-berg, E., Svenskt klavikordbygge 1720-1820, (Stockholm, 1986).
30
Jonsson, L., Offentlig musik i Uppsala 1747-1854. Frn representativ till borgerlig konsert, (Sthlm, 1998), p. 172.
31
Dahlstrm, F., Instrumentariet i det gustavianska bo, Det gemensamma rikets musikskatter. Den gemensamma
tonen. Red. av Hannu Apajalahti. (Helsingfors, 1990), pp. 33ff.
28
32
Oxenstierna, J.G., Dagboksanteckningar. I. r 1769, (Upsala, 1881), p. 55. Authors translation.
Vretblad, P., Konsertlivet i Stockholm under 1700-talet, (Stockholm, 1918), pp. 178ff.
Copy in The Music Library of Sweden (shelf mark E2/Sv.-R). Described in Sparr. K. The Improved Cittern. Printed and
Manuscript Music for the Swedish Lute and a List of Swedish Lutes at http://www.tabulatura.com/SWELUTE2.htm
33
34
Sparr Swedish lutes
219
Figure 12. Drawing by W. Meyer with unknown provenance and dating. Authors collection. Photo: Author.
Larger and smaller citterns with steel and metal
strings can be found with substantial changes from
four to twelve Chor-strings, which are played through
plucking with the fingers The lute (Testudo) had in
the beginning only four double Chor-strings, but this
number was later increased to 12 Chor. 35
Hlphers observes the terminological confusion

between the harp, the cittern and the psaltery. Several
records of the cittern/Swedish lute in Sweden can be
found from the end of the eighteenth century and
these provide good examples of the terminological
ambivalence. An estate inventory of the mill owner
Olof Swenson Heidegger (d. 1784), gives the following
information:
The gentlefolk were very musical; there was a new, so
called positive with 3 1/2 stops (organ), one fortepiano
(!) and one claver, one lut-sittra, one violin (signed
Steiner) and four other Swedish [violins], among them
a basviol; a lot of sheet music...
From the festivity at the wedding of Christina

Hedengren in 1787 the following ode can be quoted:
May also the pretty sound of the Claver

And the tender tunes of the Zittra
Sometimes refresh the soul, the mood
And dispel the sad moments. 36
Svenskt musikaliskt lexicon, by Carl Magnus

Envallsson, an early Swedish music dictionary
printed in 1802, during the heyday of the Swedish
lute provides an interesting description of the
instrument. The text sheds some light on the
changing terminology and, interestingly, appears
under the CHITARRA, not under LUTH (Lute).
Envallson make a clear distinction between the
normal cittern and what he calls the improved
cittern:
CHITARRA. GUITARRE- Sittra The normal Cittern
has six strings partly in brass or steel, tuned in thirds
and with double courses.The improved Cittern, or
the Swedish Sittra, nowadays more used and so sought
after abroad, and whose improvement is credited to
the gentlemen ANKAR and KRAFT. It is supplied with
gut strings and is similar to a Lute in its construction,
but concerning its tuning more similar to the Cittern.
35
Hlphers, A.A., Historisk afhandling om musik och instrumenter.... (Vsters, 1773) pp. 81f. Authors translation
36
Hedwall. L. En fwersigt af musiken inom Wermland. Bidrag till belysningen av det sena 1700-talets svenska
musikliv, (Stockholm, 1995), p. 101. Authors translation of the Swedish text.
220
In addition to eight strings on the fingerboard it has

seven contrabasses fixed on a special extended neck,
thus fifteen strings in total and which according to
the tuning and the number of frets constitutes four
octaves. It also has a flap by which, during playing
the instrument, you can change every contrabass a
semitone. - The greater perfection of this instrument
and its construction, combined with a more pleasant
sound is the reason nowadays for naming it Lute
rather than Cittern. 37
The improved cittern described by Envallsson

is thus completely in accordance with the fully
developed Swedish lute.
The terminological change from sittra, zittra,
cittra to lute thus probably took place c.1800, but
both terms were used for the same instrument later.
In a letter to Eva and Anna Myhrman (May 1802)
Mrs. Wennerstjerna writes that they are playing
on the cittra, claver, sings etc. 38 The term zittra
was sometimes used synonymously with the term
guitar. One example of this is a sonata by Johan
Wikmanson where both terms are used. 39 Thorough
research of the inventories from Gothenburg during
the period 1690-1854 has been carried out by Berit
Ozolins. From the eighteenth century there are
many annotations of interest concerning plucked
instruments including citterns and lutes. Some of
these may refer to the Swedish lute.40
Probably the Swedish lute was used primarily for
domestic music making, even if to a limited extent
it was also used in concerts. A few examples of this
are described below. There are few contemporary
pictures showing the Swedish lute being played. One
of these is in the authors collection but its further
provenance is unknown (see Figure 12). It appears to
be taken from a printed book.
It shows a musical evening entertainment in a
middle-class home in first part of the nineteenth
century. The artist is named W. Meyer, but whether

the picture has a Swedish provenance is uncertain.
The drawing is rather crudely executed. In the
background a woman playing the Swedish lute (?) can
be seen. In front of her is a man holding a plucked
instrument which resembles the older type of the flat
backed Swedish lute/cittern.
A more interesting picture in the form of an
anonymous family portrait was recently offered for
sale by auction in Stockholm (Figure 13 in the colour
section). This painting shows a clear depiction of a
Swedish lute, probably by Mathias Petter Kraft. The
woman who plays it is next to a female singer and
another playing a square piano or a large (Swedish?)
clavichord. The present author has published a study
(in Swedish) of this painting as Den svenska lutan
i en anonym mlning frn 1800-talets brjan (The
Swedish Lute in an Anonymous Painting from the
Beginning of the Nineteenth Century).41
Music for the Swedish lute is rarely found in
printed editions. A few examples, however, are
to be found in the worlds oldest and most long
lasting music periodical: Musikaliskt tidsfrdrif
[Musical Pastime], in the issues of 1789, 1790 and
1794. Printed music can be found in a few separate
editions as Samling af nyare valda Sngstycken med
Musique [Collection of songs with music], printed
in Stockholm in 1820, but the music of the Swedish
lute is mainly preserved in the form of manuscripts.42
The prices noted on some of these manuscripts imply
they were produced for sale. It was not easy at that
time to get music printed in Sweden as the publisher
Olof hlstrm had exclusive privileges to print
music until 1818 when lithography was introduced
in Sweden. His privilege to print engraved music
lasted until 1823.
Johan Jacob Preusmark (1773-1828), violin-player
at the court orchestra 1790-1828 and a member of the
fraternal order Par Bricole was a diligent copyist. Par
Envallsson, C., Svenskt musikaliskt lexikon, (Stockholm, 1802), pp. 50 Authors translation of the Swedish text.
Hedwall. L., En fwersigt af musiken inom Wermland. Bidrag till belysningen av det sena 1700-talets svenska
39
Ljung, H., Frklassik fr knppinstrument. En studie kring en sonat fr cittra av Johan Wikmanson, (C-uppsats,
2008). Institutionen fr musikvetenskap Uppsala universitet.
40
Ozolins, B. Musiknotiser I bouppteckningar ren 1690-1854. Arkivstudier infr en underskning om Gteborgs
musikhistoria. Uppsats fr seminariet i musikvetenskap vid Gteborgs universitet, hstterminen 1970. These
annotations are also cited in my article The Improved Cittern. Printed and Manuscript Music for the Swedish Lute and
a List of Swedish Lutes at http://www.tabulatura.com/SWELUTE1.htm
41
Sparr, Kenneth, Den svenska lutan i en anonym mlning frn 1800-talets brjan, Dokumenterat 34 - Bulletin frn
Statens musikbibliotek, (Stockholm, 2003), pp.25ff. Also available at http://www.tabulatura.com/dokumenterat_34.pdf
42
For a description of these prints and manuscripts see Sparr, Kenneth, The Improved Cittern. Printed and Manuscript
Music for the Swedish Lute and a List of Swedish Lutes at http://www.tabulatura.com/SWELUTE1.htm
37
38
Sparr Swedish lutes
Bricole was founded in 1779 and had its background

in Carl Michael Bellmans parodical chapter of an
order. Preusmark was accepted as a pupil at the
opera in 1790 and on the permanent staff from 1804.
He was enrolled at the royal court as a musician
from 1812 until his death in 1828. Furthermore he
was librarian at the Musikmagasinet from 1816 until
1828 and secretary at the nke- och pupillkassan [the
fund for widows and children]. Preusmarks name is
frequently found in manuscripts, where his neat hand
is easily discernible. In many instances he noted the
year, which simplifies dating the manuscripts. From
his employment contract dated 1807 it is clear that
he copied music professionally: I [Jacob Preusmark]
also pledge myself to the copying of music for
the Royal Theatre whenever the Royal board of
directors so tells me to the same price as Mr. G.Fr.
Ficker receives. Preusmark was probably not only
a copyist, but may also have been responsible for
arrangements, and perhaps contributed pieces of his
own. Unlike Ankar (see below) no lute is mentioned
in the inventory of Preusmarks estate, only two
violins, and three bows in a case, as well as various
music. At the time of Preusmarks death in 1828, the
Swedish lute had fallen out of fashion and had been
replaced by the guitar.43
An acquaintance and probably a close friend of
Preusmark was Johan Wilhelm Ankar (1759-1816).
He was violin-player at the court orchestra 17781792. The friendship between Preusmark and Ankar
is expressed in Preusmarks commemoration speech
at the annual meeting of the nke- och pupillkassan
[the fund for widows and children] on 31 December
1816 in connection with Ankars death. The aim of
the nke- och pupillkassan was to support widows
of and children after deceased members of the court
orchestra. Ankar had in fact bequeathed some of
his property, as well as his music, to the nke- och
pupillkassan. Ankar is said to be the illegitimate
son of Jacob Johan Anckarstrm, whose legitimate
son, Johan Jacob Anckarstrm, assassinated king
Gustav III in 1792. The Finno-Swedish lawyer and
judge Per Jusleen lived in Stockholm at the time of
the assassination and described the rumour that
Anckarstrm had a half-brother, N.B. du cot
gauche, who was the best cittern-player in the city.
221
Jusleen writes furthermore:

He [Ankar] lives opposite me and he has been at my
place with his Cithra last winter. Several years ago
he followed a violin-player, Grafstrm by name, to
Finland and they gave some concerts in bo (Turku)
at the hall of the academy44
Ankar and his other very near friend Mathias

Petter Kraft are very important in the history and
the development of the Swedish lute. They became
acquainted in 1780, lived together for 27 years and
surely co-operated closely on the development
of the Swedish lute. Ankar moreover composed
music for the instrument and there is a little notice
saying that the hofmusicus [court musician] Johan
Wilhelm Ankar accompanied Mrs Marcadet on
zittra at a concert in the great room of the House of
the Nobility in Stockholm on 21 April 1782.45 The
lady of the manor rsta, Mrta Helena Reenstierna,
recalls the following musical entertainment on 11
November 1798:
We had dinner and supper there together with captain
Rnngren and his sister, also a lieutenant Bjrnberg
and a gentleman called Anker [Johan Wilhelm
Ankar?]. The latter together with two of the young
ladies Buckt entertained us with music on the Clavr,
violin and Zittra...
Ankars estate inventory shows his musical interests.

The inventory includes the following: Two lutes
with cases, two ditto smaller. One violin with bow,
one alto violin with bow, one case for violins, ten
small music stands and one small wall chart with
common musical instruments.47 The great number
of music stands suggests that Ankar taught music in
groups. From his will it is clear that he had claims
for unpaid tuition. In the estate inventory, printed
and manuscript music is mentioned with reference
to a now-lost catalogue, as well as lute strings. Ankar
seems to have been a very disciplined person. When
he suspected his death is drawing near he wrote a
detailed and precise will (16 April 1816). He wished
to be buried, without much expenses and quietly,
in the same grave as his close friend Mathias Petter
Karle, G., Kungl. Hovkapellet i Stockholm och dess musiker 1772-1818, (Uppsala, 2000), pp.334ff.
Karle, G., Kungl. Hovkapellet i Stockholm och dess musiker 1772-1818, (Uppsala, 2000), pp.211. Authors translation
45
Vretblad, P., Konsertlivet i Stockholm under 1700-talet, (Stockholm, 1918), p. 217.
43
44
46
47
Reenstierna, M.H., rstadagboken. Del I 1793-1812, (Stockholm, 1946), p. 185.

Bouppteckningar ca 1750- efter allmnna personer, Stockholms stadsarkiv.
222
Kraft. Two months later, on 17 June 1816, he was

dead.48
That the Swedish lute was used outside the capital
Stockholm is well documented, for example in a
letter from Stina Hlphers (born Waern) to Knut
Lilliebjrn, dated 14 January 1808:
Dear Knut, we had summoned all the best amateurs
on violin, Claver, Lutha in Vstmanland for your
reception, All had tuned the best they could, both ears
and strings. Imagine what a disappointment it was for
us to receive your last letter! Yes, Knut it was a real box
on the ears.49
Another example is the violin player Johan Gottfrid

Zaar (1754-1818) about whom it is written:
In Carlskrona Zaar resided until 1779 partly as an
innkeeper and running billiards and partly as a music
instructor. Now and then he appeared as an actor at
the theatre and also as a performer on the violin and
on the Zittra. 50
As noted above, the Swedish lute probably

disappeared gradually during the 1820s. A significant
factor was the increasing importance of the guitar
as a solo and accompaniment instrument. Following
the revocation in 1816 of the import prohibitions
on musical instruments, it suddenly became easy
to get hold of foreign guitars. It is documented that
some lutes were altered so that they could be played
as guitars. This alteration is simple work: take away
the lowest nine strings, put on new suitable strings
and it is ready to use as a guitar. The string length of
the Swedish lute was, however, shorter than that of
the contemporary guitar. An example of alteration
is documented in Frans Anton Ewerlfs diary,
which he wrote when working as a private tutor at
the Fsked mill in Vrmland 1818-1820. When he
arrived to Fsked he noted the following:
My wardrobe was limited to the absolute necessary,
but the flute, the violin and the cittra transformed to a
guitar were brought too. 51
The Swedish production of guitars was very small

during the first decades of the nineteenth century. In
some of the Swedish lute manuscripts, pieces for the
guitar are inserted. As was the case with the Swedish
clavichord the lute surely was used after 1820. There
are some references to this. On 10 September 1833 a
musician by the name of Cedergren gave a concert
in Gothenburg where he alternated between the lute
and the guitar according to the programme:
1) Theme with variations for luta by Ankar.
2) Aria from La Dame blanche by Boieldieu, for
guitar
3) The Tyrol Waltz for guitar with variations
4) Barcaroles from the opera Maria by Herold, for
luta
5) Norrland, accompaniment for guitar
6) The Romance Axel by Tegnr, for luta
7) The Tyrol Waltz with variations by Ankar for
luta
8) Romance from Folke Birgersson by Dalayrac,
for lute
9) Recitative and aria from Tancred by Rossini for
guitar
10) La Sentinelle for luta
11) Aria for luta by Hildebrand
12) The Swiss longing for home for luta
Tickets at 1 rix-dollar.52
A month later, on 23 November 1833, a J. P. Cedergren
from Stockholm, in all probability identical with
the Cedergren who performed in Gothenburg,
gave a concert in Skien, an important trade town in
Telemark, Norway. According to the advertisement
the following program was performed:
Soire for Song, Lute and Guitar with the
following content:
First Part
1) Ouverturre de lopera Calif de Bagdad;
2) Solo by Anker, for Lute;
Karle, G., Kungl. Hovkapellet i Stockholm och dess musiker 1772-1818, (Uppsala, 2000), pp.207ff.
50
Sjstrm Carl, Blekingska nationen 1697-1900 : biografiska och genealogiska anteckningar jemte historik (Lund,
1901), p. 205. Detailed information about Johann Gottfrid Zaar can be found in Karle, G. Kungl. Hovkapellet i Stockholm
och dess musiker 1772-1818, (Uppsala, 2000), pp.297ff.
51
52
Berg, W., Bidrag till musikens historia i Gteborg, I, (Gteborg, 1914), p. 171.
48
49
Sparr Swedish lutes
223
3) Aria from the opera La dame blanche, the

music by Boieldieu;
4) La Sentinelle (Song);
5) Schweitzerens Hjemvee;
6) Recitative and Aria from the opera Tancred,
for Guitarre by Rossini
Second Part
7) Ouverture de lopera Lodoiska;
8) Aria from the Lesclave Persan,
accompaniment with Lute;
9) Mathilde (Song) the music by Crsell;
10) Couplets from The new Garrison;
11) Aria from the opera Maria, the music by
Herold;
12) Farewell song for lute, the music by
Hildebrand53
In some parts the program in Skien is the same as
the one performed in Gothenburg. It is interesting
to note that Cedergren played both guitar and lute,
the latter most probably a Swedish lute. It would be
interesting to know whether the lute of this otherwise
unknown musician had the ordinary tuning or was
tuned like the guitar? In the latter case Cedergren
would have been a forerunner to the rebirth of the
Swedish lute, which Sven Scholander started in the
late nineteenth century. Thus the Swedish lute was
used in the 1830s, probably mostly in connection
with domestic music making, and otherwise may
be considered as uncommon. Clear evidence for
this is the fact that Abraham Mankell in his musical
handbook Harmonia (1833), almost completely
ignores the lute but pays some attention the guitar.
The music preserved for the Swedish lute is varied
in both form and content. There is music for solo
lute, duos for two lutes, and duos for lute and violin
(see Figure 15 below and Figures 14 and 16 in the
colour section).
Almost 47% of the c.1100 preserved pieces consists
of songs with lute accompaniment and over 35% is
solo pieces or duets for two lutes. In contrast to what
what Norlind states in his article Den svenska lutan
mentioned above, the songs to lute accompaniment
clearly dominate. An unusual aspect of several of
the songs with lute accompaniment is a parallel
version for lute solo. Music for the lute in ensemble
constitutes a smaller part of the repertory: lute and
violin is approximately 9% of the total and lute and
pianoforte approximately 6%. The songs are often
(approximately 17% of the total) collected from the
so called hlstrms song repertoire contained in
53
Figure 15. Manuscript 14 b in the authors collection.

The lute part.
the periodical publication Musikaliskt tidsfrdrif

(mainly from 1791-1810) and in Skaldestycken satte i
musik (particularly from 1793-1806), both published
by Olof hlstrm (who, as mentioned above, had a
privilege to engrave and print music from 1788-1823,
though there was an easing-off from 1818). This span
of time, 1790-1810, is not so clear when considering
the many arrangements from operas; they represent
a longer period, from the 1770s until the 1830s. As in
guitar music of the time many of the contemporary
operas and other scenic works are represented and
most frequent are songs from Le Calife de Bagdad
by Franois Adrien Boieldieu (first performed in
Sweden in 1803), Aline, reine de Golconde by Henri
Montan Berton (first performed in Sweden in 1811),
Natalia Narrischin by Johan Fredrik Grenser and Les
visitandines by Franois Devienne (first performed
in Sweden in 1794). Not far from these come the
Swedish operas Gustav Vasa (first performed in
1786) and Gustav Adolf (first performed in 1788). The
earliest manuscript is dated 1808, but we may assume
several of them are older. The latest is dated 1837.
I thank Erik Stenstadvold who kindly supplied this information. Authors translation of the Norwegian text.
224
The Swedish lute obviously fulfilled a noteworthy

role in Swedish music during the period 1780-1820,
though primarily in what we may call Hausmusik.
Its tuning made it easy to learn and to play simple
accompaniments, but at the same more difficult to
perform more advanced music. This role was taken
by the guitar, which superseded the Swedish lute
completely in the 1820s. However, a considerable
number of Swedish lutes were left hanging on walls
or placed in attics; probably few of them were played
during the rest of the nineteenth century. A true
revival (and change) came in the 1890s when singer
Sven Scholander, and somewhat later the musical
instrument maker Alfred Brock, re-awoke interest
in the Swedish lute.
THE CHANGES AND CONVERSIONS APPLIED
TO SWEDISH LUTES
A common misconception is that the present
so called Svenskluta (known as Scholander-luta
or Brock-luta) lute is an unbroken development
from the ancient Swedish lute. This is not entirely
accurate. There is a break in the development from
c.1830 until c.1890 when Sven Scholander (18601936) made the song to lute accompaniment into an
almost international movement. Scholanders point
of departure certainly was the old Swedish lute, but
his modifications of the instrument began a new
tradition, even though the body construction was
firmly based on the old Swedish lute; it is difficult
to date precisely the different steps of these changes.
In about 1880 Scholander equipped the lute with
twelve strings, six the on the fingerboard and six
diapasons. The tuning changed from A major tuning
to normal guitar tuning with the six diapasons tuned
chromatically downwards, The old wooden tuning
pegs were replaced with a modern guitar tuning
mechanism and the old capo tasto mechanism
was removed. The gut strings were replaced with
metal strings. It is likely that Scholander started by
modifying an original old Swedish lute. Aspects of
the changes (higher string tension, fewer strings,
change of peg mechanism etc) soon demanded
fairly radical structural adjustments of the old
lutes. Otherwise the result would perhaps have
been a warped neck, damage to the soundboard and
a torn off bridge. Scholanders immense success,
particularly in Germany, as a singer to the lute
certainly contributed to the later Wandervgel
movement which grew particularly in Germany
but also in Denmark during the first decades of
the twentieth century. For this movement the lute
Figure 17. A photo postcard c.1905, showing Sven

Scholander with his lute. Authors collection.
with a guitar tuning was indispensable.

Several factors lie behind these changes to the old
Swedish lute. An important one was the playability
of the instrument and its adaptation to current
musical taste. The A major tuned old Swedish lute
was easy to learn if the player was satisfied by using
the instrument for a simple accompaniment. The
guitars position as the main plucked instrument
became well established in Sweden from the 1820s
and onwards. The old A major tuning had its
limitations and it must have been very difficult to
combine playing an A major tuned lute with playing
a guitar in its normal tuning (this would not have
been a problem if the old lute tablature notation
system had been used!) The keeping of the diapasons
on the converted Swedish lute is not surprising as
guitars with diapasons were not uncommon during
the latter part of nineteenth century. Examples from
Sweden are ten string guitars made by the Swedish
instrument maker Otto Fredrik Selling (1804-1884)
and played by the guitarist and composer of religious
songs, Oscar Ahnfelt (1813-1882).
Sparr Swedish lutes
225
Figure 20. Lute by Lorents Mollenberg No. 83, 1817, repaired (converted to a 10-string lute)
by F.L.Wallin in 1900 and by Alfred Brock in 1902. The Stockholm Music Museum inventory
number M3371. Photo: The Stockholm Music Museum
Figure 21. Lute by Johan Jerner 181[7?]. Restored by Alfred Brock in 1907. This lute has 11 strings
and has a new fingerboard and a supportive rod. The Stockholm Music Museum, inventory
number M1790. Photo: The Stockholm Music Museum.
ALFRED BROCK MODIFIER AND INNOVATOR

OR FOLLOWER?
Sven Scholander was a member of the board of the
Stockholm Music Museum which, as mentioned
above, was started in 1899. The musical instrument
maker Alfred Nilsson (1876-1935) established himself
in Stockholm from 1900 and changed his surname
from Nilsson to N:son Brock and later to only Brock.
Brocks father, Nils Nilsson, was a musical instrument
maker and the family is still active in making and
selling violins in Malm. It seems as if Scholander
and Brock were in touch already a couple of months
after Brock had established himself in Stockholm.
Scholander brought an old Swedish lute made by
Johan Jerner to Brock and asked him to make it
playable according to modern demands. Alfred Brock
was commissioned to repair and restore some of the

old Swedish lutes in the early days of the Stockholm
Music Museum. It is unlikely that he was permitted
to modify or change the lutes in the museum and I
have not found any record of any such activity. Brock
also seems to have been commissioned for repair
work for the other important collection of musical
instruments in Stockholm, the private Nydahl
Collection (Stiftelsen Musikkulturens frmjande)
founded by Rudolf Nydahl. Brocks daughter recollects
her father having a veneration for old instruments
and that he was unwilling even to polish an antique
instrument to comply with Nydahls requests. 54 It is
however certain that he changed old Swedish lutes in
private ownership, a few of which were later included
in museum collections. 55 For Brocks trade sign, see
Figure 19 in the colour section.
226

a year. In a notebook he kept a detailed record of
every lute he made, including the type, the price
and who bought it. This notebook is still preserved
in the Stockholm Music Museum. 56 As mentioned
above, Brock repaired and changed several older
Swedish lutes of which the following two are good
examples and possibly show a development: the
first has a changed bridge and a guitar mechanism
added while the second has a new fingerboard and a
supportive rod (see Figures 20 and 21).
COMPARISON BETWEEN TWO LUTES BY
JOHAN JERNER
This section considers the changes made to two lutes
in my own collection. The original instruments were
made by the same maker and at similar dates. In my
opinion these lutes represent a good overview of the
changes and conversions that many Swedish lutes
underwent during the twentieth century. Both lutes
were built by Johan Jerner in Stockholm:
Figure 18. Oscar Ahnfelt with his 10-string guitar
probably made by Otto Fredrik Selling.
In 1903-1905 Alfred Brock started to build modern

Swedish lutes, whose body construction and
appearance were based on the old Swedish lute
and/or conversions of it. As he restored further
instruments for the Stockholm Music Museum
he had good access to the old Swedish lutes in the
collections. This concept was very successful and
he built 799 lutes (of which about 430 were of the
larger, 12-string type) during the three decades he
was active, which is an average of not less than 27
1. A lute, probably unchanged, but repaired, made in

1809 according to the label inside the instrument:
Frferdigadt af Johan / Jerner Stockholm 1809. It
has a repair label: Reparerad / i mars 1899. If this
lute is identical with one sold at the Svensk-franska
konstgalleriet auction in 1933 (item 322) from the
collection of Jean Jahnsson, it was repaired by
P. Gardin, but probably not changed otherwise.57
On the upper peg box there is a painted label U
S Spr, perhaps indicating the first owner (yet to
be identified) of the instrument. 58 This lute may
be identical with the one by Jerner described by
Hedvig Boivie as Lute 1809. Owner: Mr Josef
Lundin, Kortebo.59 It was acquired by the author
[Sjstrand, Johan] Bermda lutbyggare i det gamla Stockholm, Sljd och ton 1931 p.21.
A good examples of Brocks conversions can be found in a lute signed Peter Kraft Kungl. Hofinstrumentmakare.
Stockholm, No 609, 1797 with another label saying Alfred Brock, instrumentmakare, violiner och lutor, Repar,
Stockholm, 1923, now in Lake Vnern Museum inventory number 5M16-5281. Another example is a lute by Johan
Jerner, dated 181[7?] now in the Stockholm Music Museum inventory number M1790.
56
Bergman, L., Vrlds-luto-mstaren. Om Alfred Brock och Brocklutan, Evert Taube-sllskapet. rsskrift 1991 pp.
57ff.
57
Auktionskatalog N:o 16 Frteckning ver mlningar, skulpturer, gobeliner, mattor och textilier, frggravyrer, mbler
och konstmobilier, silver, bronser och pretiosa samt ostindisk och europeisk keramik, glas och kristaller ur generalkonsul
Jean Jahnssons samlingar. Samlingen frsljes p auktion i Svensk-Franska konstgalleriet, Arsenalsgatan 9 - Stockholm
Torsdagen den 26, fredagen den 27 och lrdagen den 28 oktober 1933. This P. Gardin may be identical with Sven Peter
Gerdin who had a musical instrument and string factory in ml in 1888-1904. This information, first discovered by Eva
Helenius-berg, was kindly supplied to me by Hans Riben at the Stockholm Music Museum.
58
One possible owner may have been Ulrika Sofia Sprengtporten (1793-1869), but this has yet to be verified.
59
Boivie, H., Ngra svenska lut- och fiolmakare under 1700-talet, Fataburen 1921 p.73. Authors translation of the
Swedish text.
54
55
Sparr Swedish lutes

in 2001 from an antique shop in Stockholm
(Figures22 and 23 in the colour section).
2. A lute, converted probably in the early part of the

twentieth century but originally made in 1807
according to the label: Frferdigadt af Johan / Jerner
Stockholm 1807. It has no repair label. Acquired
by the author in 2003 from a private seller who
had bought it at an auction in Stockholm. Further
provenance unknown. The lute was slightly
damaged and strung with nylon strings and what
looks like overwound piano strings (Figures 24
and 25 in the colour section).
The conversions are described in more detail and
illustrated below. Although only two lutes are
compared here the observations may be applicable
to many other converted Swedish lutes.
Summary comparison of the changes to the Jerner
1807 and Jerner 1809 instruments:
1. The number of strings/courses is reduced
2. Gut strings were replaced with metal strings
3. Conversions of necks, fingerboards and peg
boxes
4. Change of bridge; other bridge
reinforcements (screws)
5. Removal and replacement of tuning
mechanism
6. Additions (supportive rod)
The Violin and Lute Maker Johan Jerner
(c.1758-1820)
Johan Jerners birthplace has not been identified, but
he worked as an apprentice in Stockholm 1779-1781
with Johan berg the younger (1753-1781), a son of
the above-mentioned Johann hberg the elder. The
younger berg was in partnership with his father
from 1776 until his fathers death. He continued the
enterprise along with other activities such as being
organist and preparing to start a music printing
business. It was probably Jerner and the other
apprentice Daniel Wickstrm who were active in the
workshop. Jerner received his master craftsmans
diploma 1788 and his masterpiece was a well made
227
cittern according to the examiners Pehr Lundborg

and Daniel Wickstrm. Jerner received his licence
in 1791 and established himself as a violin and lute
maker in Stockholm; the workshop did not close
until Jerners death in 1820. He seems to have worked
alone until 1810 but in 1814 he was paralysed in one
side and cannot earn anything. In spite of this he
seems to have continued his workshop and from
c.1816 he had two apprentices, D. Lindahl and Carl
berg.60 Unlike many of his colleagues in Stockholm
(Kraft and Mollenberg for example), who also
made clavichords and other keyboard instruments,
Jerner seems only to have made and repaired string
instruments as violins, lutes and guitars. His repair
label can be found in many old violins. In 1820 he
died of a stroke; his funeral was financed by an
old violoncello with case, some tools and timber!61
Jerners production of Swedish lutes seems to
have been small but regular. We have information
about approximately 30 Swedish lutes and citterns
spanning the period 1787-1818. He also made a
lyre guitar, dated 1807. That lutes by Jerner were
converted was described by Johan Sjstrand in the
1930s: Modernized his [Jerners] lutes sometimes
produce a good result.62
STRINGS, STRING LENGTH AND BRIDGE
The old Swedish lute probably used gut for the
highest strings while the lower strings were possibly
twisted gut or silver overwound on silk, as on the
contemporary guitar. When the tuning of the lute
was changed, the gut strings were replaced with
metal strings and it seems that the string tension was
raised considerably. In many cases a new fingerboard
was attached (Figure 32), which meant that the string
height had to be compensated at the bridge. As a
consequence the old simple, elegant and functional
bridge (Figure 26) was replaced with a new, clumsy
one (Figure 27) with greater mass, sometimes not
only glued, but also screwed to the soundboard.
As the basic structure and length of the old
Swedish lute neck remained unchanged, there is
only a slight variation in the string length. The string
length (vibrating length) of the 1809 lute is 54.9cm
and 54.2 cm on the 1807 lute which is indeed
60
There is a cittern by Johann hberg the elder, numbered 45 and dated 1777 in the Nydahl Collection (The
Foundation for the Advancement of Music Culture), Stockholm, inventory number IKN 42, that was converted to a
Swedish lute in 1821 by Carl berg, according to the handwritten repair label.
61
Boivie, H., Ngra svenska lut- och fiolmakare under 1700-talet, Fataburen 1921 pp. 72ff. Helenius-berg, E.
Svenskt instrumentmakeri 1720-1800, Svensk tidskrift fr musikforskning 59:1 (1977) pp. 17, 29ff. Nilsson, B. Svensk
fiolbyggarkonst. [Malm 1988] pp. 26ff.
62
[Sjstrand, Johan] Bermda lutbyggare i det gamla Stockholm, Sljd och ton 1931 p.50. Authors translation of
the Swedish text.
228
Figure 26. Lute 1809 by Jerner, bridge in original condition

for 15 strings with its clean, simple and elegant form. Most
of the bridge pins have been replaced. Photo: Author.
Figure 27. Lute 1807 by Jerner converse with a new, bigger

and clumsy bridge for 12 strings reinforced with screws.
Notice the thick over spun piano (?) strings in the lower
register. Photo: Author.
a small change. The consequence of this slight

shortening is visible in the new fret placement; this
can be compared directly to the old positions on the
converted 1807 lute (Figure 32).
CONVERSIONS AND CHANGES TO NECK
AND FINGERBOARD
The fingerboard of the old Swedish lute was always
level with the soundboard. The width of the neck
near the nut was narrowed to fit six strings instead of
eight. The holes in the neck and fingerboard for the
capo tasto were filled. A new fingerboard was glued
directly upon the old one after filling the old fret
grooves. This filling can clearly be seen in Figure 32.
The new fingerboard required a higher nut, which had
the effect of increasing the string height. As stated
above this meant that the bridge had to be converted
Figure 28. Lute 1809 by Jerner, part of fingerboard with

brass frets and holes for the capo tasto. Photo: Author.
Figure 29. Capo tasto, front view, on an anonymous

Swedish lute, the Stockholm Music Museum, inventory
number N52453. Another interesting detail is the
preserved strings of which some obviously are made of
twisted gut. Photo: The Stockholm Music Museum.
Figure 30. Capo tasto, back view, on an anonymous

Swedish lute, the Stockholm Music Museum, inventory
number N52453. Photo: The Stockholm Music Museum.
Sparr Swedish lutes
229
Figure 32. Lute 1807 converted by Jerner, side of neck and fingerboard showing
the new fingerboard glued to the old with filled in fret slots. Photo: Author.
or replaced. The frets on the added fingerboard are of

the bar type, which may suggests that this change
of the 1807 Jerner lute was done at least in the first
half of the twentieth century as the modern T-shaped
frets were not introduced until the mid 1930s.
Figure 31. Lute 1807 converted by Jerner, new fingerboard

covering the holes for the capo tasto. Photo: Author.
Figure 33. Lute 1809 by Jerner, neck in original condition

showing the holes for the capo tasto with obvious signs
of use. The third position seems to have been most used.
Photo: Author.
Figure 34. Lute 1807 converted by Jerner. A considerable

part of the neck and peg box has been expertly removed
and replaced with new wood. The narrowing of the neck
and fingerboard near the nut can clearly be seen. Part of
the supportive rod can also be seen. Photo: Author.
REMOVAL AND EXCHANGE OF THE PEG

MECHANISM
The original wooden pegs were removed and the peg
holes filled with wood. A reinforcement was placed
in the hollow part of the peg head and an ordinary
guitar mechanism was adapted and mounted on
the lower and upper peg boxes. The traces of these
changes are obvious on close inspection.
REMOVAL OF THE CAPO TASTO MECHANISM
FOR THE DIAPASONS
The practicability of the ingenious capo tasto
mechanism for the diapasons may be questioned, but
it was obviously once considered important as many
Figure 37. Lute 1807 converted by Jerner, lower part of

peg box showing the replaced tuning mechanism, the
inlaid support for the mechanism and the removal of the
capo tasto mechanism. Photo: Author.
230
Figure 35. Lute 1809 by Jerner, lower and part of upper peg box showing the
capo tasto mechanism for the diapasons. Photo: Author.
Figure 36. Capo tasto feature on the diapasons on an anonymous Swedish lute. This has been
misplaced as the strings run under the wooden plate. The small brass reinforcements have both a
protective and a decorative function. The Stockholm Music Museum, inventory number N52453.
Photo: The Stockholm Music Museum
Sparr Swedish lutes
231
Figure 38. Lute 1809 by Jerner, side view of part of upper and lower peg box
showing the capo tasto feature for the diapasons. Photo: Author.
Figure 39. Lute 1807 converted by Jerner, side view of

upper peg box showing the replaced mechanism, and
the filled original peg holes. Photo: Author.
old Swedish lutes had this mechanism. The wooden

construction parts were extremely fragile, though
not very difficult to repair. However the lute had to
be protected during transport by a hard case and the
mechanism made the instrument less easy to handle.
This mechanism was not considered necessary on
the converted lute so in most cases it was removed
without much effort. The filled screw holes make it
easy to detect whether a converted lute once had this
mechanism (see Figures 38-40).
INTRODUCING A SUPPORTIVE ROD
Heavier stringing of the bass register (sometimes
overwound thick piano strings!) led to higher string
tension, so reinforcements were necessary to avoid
structural damage, warping or deformation of the
soundboard, neck and peg box. This reinforcement
was a rod of brass fitted to the lower peg box and to
the edge of the side (see Figure 41).
Figure 40. Lute 1807 converted by Jerner showing the

filled holes for the bass string capo tasto mechanism
Photo: Author.
232
Figure 41 (above and below). Lute 1807 converted by Jerner showing the supportive rod
made of brass and its attachments to the peg box and body of the lute. Photos: Author.
The converted Jerner 1807 lute has an added, very

rough, reinforcement of a rectangular piece of wood
on inside of soundboard under the bridge, where the
protruding screws are clearly visible. Otherwise the
barring seems unaltered. There are no other signs
which indicate that the soundboard was removed.
CONCLUSION
REINFORCEMENT OF THE SOUNDBOARD

BARRING
Changes of the barring and strengthening of the
soundboard involved a more complicated working
process and probably was avoided in most cases. Such
a change would imply a removal of the soundboard
and to fit it back after the changes.
The barring of the old Swedish lute seems to have
been rather simple as can be seen in figure 42.63
63
Many old Swedish lutes have been subject to changes

and conversions to suit the current musical taste. The
changed tuning and stringing, and the conversions
that were consequently necessary, thus meant that
the proportions of the original lute were altered
to a considerable extent. These conversions and
changes have meant that many of the old Swedish
lutes have survived as they were used even in the
twentieth century. It is not very difficult to identify
the conversions though there still seems to be some
confusion and uncertainty even among specialists in
The author has not been able to investigate the barring of the many preserved Swedish lutes for this article.
Sparr Swedish lutes
233
Figure 42. The back of the soundboard of a

Swedish lute by Lorents Mollenberg No. 83, 1817,
clearly showing the barring of the soundboard.
Two of the bars are removed but there are clear
signs of their placement. The Stockholm Music
Museum, inventory number M3371. Photo:
Hans Riben, The Stockholm Music Museum.
old musical instruments.64 Completely unchanged

Swedish lutes are however not particularly difficult
to identify, and there are a considerable number of
converted instruments in both private and public
collections.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I want to express my sincere thanks to the following
individuals who have been very helpful in preparing
this article: Hans Riben and HansErik Svensson at
The Stockholm Music Museum for their expert
help and for the generosity to allow publication of
many photos from the museum, to Gran Grahn
at The Nydahl Collection (The Foundation for the
Advancement of Music Culture), Stockholm, to

Birgit Krge at The Kalmar County Museum, Karin
Vierth and Annika Klar at The Blekinge County
Museum, Kerstin Hallin at The Lake Vnern
Museum, Ulla Hallbck and Helene Rudholm at The
Vstergtland Museum, Skara, Dan Lorn and Ted
Chikasha at The County Museum, Gvle, Benjamin
Vogel at Kulturen, Lund, Erkki Salminen at The
Pohjanmaan Museo, Vaasa, Finland, Aki Arponen at
the The National Museum of Finland, Helsinki, Ture
Bergstrm at The Danish Music Museum. Finally I
would like to express my thanks to the editor of this
journal, Michael Fleming, for his valuable help in
improving my text.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
kerberg, E., Musiklifvet inom Par Bricole 1779-1890. Stockholm 1910.
Andersson, O., Musikaliska frbindelser mellan bo och Stockholm under det gustavianska tidevarvet, Svensk tidskrift
fr musikforskning 9 (1927), pp. 99ff.
[Andrasson, Rune], Matthias Petter Kraft. Ett 200-rsminne, Sljd och ton 23 (1953), pp. 40ff.
Auktionskatalog No. 16. Frteckning ver mlningar, skulpturer, gobeliner, mattor och textilier, frggravyrer, mbler
och konstmobilier, silver, bronser och pretiosa samt ostindisk och europeisk keramik, glas och kristaller ur generalkonsul
Jean Jahnsson samlingar. Samlingen frsljes p auktion i Svensk-Franska konstgalleriet, Arsenalsgatan 9 - Stockholm
Torsdagen den 26, fredagen den 27 och lrdagen den 28 oktober 1933.
Berg, W., Bidrag till musikens historia i Gteborg. I. Gteborg 1914.
Bergman, L., Den svenska lutan och den svenske lutsngaren, Musikrevy 1980, nr 7 pp. 314-317.
Bergman, L., Sna toner! Sdan takt. Evert Taube spelar p sin Brockluta, Evert Taube-sllskapet. rsskrift 1991,
pp. 101-111.
Bergman, L., Sven Scholander, Sumlen 1977, pp.125-167.
64
An example of this is the description of a Swedish lute in the Royal College of Music Museum of Instruments. In
the catalogue Wells, Elizabeth & Nobbs, Christopher. European Stringed Instruments. Royal College of Music Museum
of Instruments. Catalogue. Part III, (London, 2007), p. 82, it is suggested that the capo tasto mechanism on the RCM
135, a lute by Lorents Mollenberg, 1817, might be an addition. This is however not the case and this lute seems to be in
perfect original condition and a typical example of the developed Swedish lute.
234
Bergman, L., Vrlds-luto-mstaren Om Alfred Brock och Brocklutan, Evert Taube-sllskapet. rsskrift 1991, pp. 57-100.
Boivie, H., Ngra svenska lut- och fiolmakare under 1700-talet, Fataburen 1921, pp. 51-73.
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202
KENNETH SPARR
Remarks on an Unnoticed Seventeenth-Century French Lute in Sweden, the Swedish Lute
(Svenskluta or Swedish Theorbo) and Conversions of Swedish Lutes
Figure 1. Front and back view of lute by Dubu[c?]a Paris 1672 repaired in 1738(?), later repaired again in 1755(?)
and ultimately repaired and converted to a 13-string Swedish lute by Johan Jerner in 1792. The Stockholm Music
Museum inventory number M36. Photo: Photo: Olav Nyhus, The Stockholm Music Museum.
Colour Section
Figure 2. Side views of the Dubu[?c] lute. The Stockholm Music Museum inventory number M36.
Photo: Olav Nyhus, The Stockholm Music Museum.
203
204
Figure 3. The note on the end-clasp showing the attribution of the back to a dubu[?c] a paris /
1672 and the misplaced strap button. The Stockholm Music Museum, inventory number M36.
Photo: Olav Nyhus, The Stockholm Music Museum.
Fully developed Swedish lute (Anonymous instrument, probably unchanged, c.1800-1815).

The Stockholm Music Museum inventory number N52453.
Figure 7 (above). Front view. Figure 8 (below). Back view.
Photos: The Stockholm Music Museum.
Colour Section
Figure 13. Anonymous oil painting, in all probability of Swedish provenance.

Present owner not known. Photo: Hans Winter.
Figure 9. Case belonging to a Swedish lute. The Stockholm Music Museum inventory number N52453.
Photo: The Stockholm Music Museum.
205
206
Figure 14. Manuscript 14 b in the authors collection.

Front cover to the lute part.
Figure 16. Manuscript 14 a in the authors collection.

The violin part.
Facing page.
Figures 22 and 23 (above).
Lute by Johan Jerner 1809.
Front.
Back.
Authors collection. Photo: Author
Figure 19. The sign of Alfred Brock.

The Stockholm Music Museum, inventory number K1846.
Photo: The Stockholm Music Museum.
Figures 24 and 25 (below).

Converted lute by Johan Jerner 1807.
Front.
Back.
Authors collection. Photo: Author
Colour Section
207

Remarks On An Unnoticed Seventeenth-Century French Lute in Sweden, The Swedish Lute (Svenskluta or Swedish Theorbo) and Conversions of Swedish Lutes

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KENNETH SPARR

Remarks on an Unnoticed SeventeenthCentury French Lute in Sweden, the Swedish

he Swedish lute provides a good example of

unnoticed French seventeenth-century lute in the

The Galpin Society Journal LXII (2009)

suggests a sophisticated and very skilled group

The low inventory number and the inclusion of it in

the first catalogue suggest that this lute was among

The name suggests a possible family relation with

Sparr Swedish lutes

obscure. Due to the common lack of Christian

slender than the Des Moulins lute. The body width of

The Galpin Society Journal LXII (2009)

Figure 4. Detail of the crudely made joint with wooden

neck block and the body. The strap button is most

The most popular pieces seem to have been Courante

Sparr Swedish lutes

at two livres per month. On 30 May 1699 Heraeus

to Sweden in the last decades of the seventeenth

The Galpin Society Journal LXII (2009)

makers who we know made plucked instrument in

family (see Figure 5), as did hberg and Broberg, but

Sparr Swedish lutes

volume improves the sound of the bass strings) that it

Figure 10. Bridge (with new strings) from a Swedish

This type of bridge appears on lutes up to c.1812, but

type appears to have been used from c.1801.20 The

The Galpin Society Journal LXII (2009)

is very difficult to see. The Swedish lute had developed

1. Vaulted back 1795-1820 [1795-1821]

Sparr Swedish lutes

The development of the Swedish lute can be roughly

3. The fully developed Swedish lute period c.18011820

The Galpin Society Journal LXII (2009)

and Mollenberg both dated and numbered their

kept in Turku, Finland. According to the record of

This Kuhlau is probably identical with Christian

Oxenstierna, J.G., Dagboksanteckningar. I. r 1769, (Upsala, 1881), p. 55. Authors translation.

Sparr Swedish lutes

Hlphers observes the terminological confusion

From the festivity at the wedding of Christina

May also the pretty sound of the Claver

Svenskt musikaliskt lexicon, by Carl Magnus

The Galpin Society Journal LXII (2009)

In addition to eight strings on the fingerboard it has

The improved cittern described by Envallsson

century. The artist is named W. Meyer, but whether

Sparr Swedish lutes

Bricole was founded in 1779 and had its background

Jusleen writes furthermore:

Ankar and his other very near friend Mathias

Ankars estate inventory shows his musical interests.

Reenstierna, M.H., rstadagboken. Del I 1793-1812, (Stockholm, 1946), p. 185.

The Galpin Society Journal LXII (2009)

Kraft. Two months later, on 17 June 1816, he was

Another example is the violin player Johan Gottfrid

As noted above, the Swedish lute probably

guitar were brought too. 51

The Swedish production of guitars was very small

Sparr Swedish lutes

3) Aria from the opera La dame blanche, the

Figure 15. Manuscript 14 b in the authors collection.

the periodical publication Musikaliskt tidsfrdrif