Mandore
Mandore Front View
Mandore Front
Mandore Back View
Mandore Back

The first mention of a mandore is in Virdung's “Musica Getutscht” in 1511. Its popularity grew quickly, and it became a common instrument from the mid 16th century to the late 17th. It has largely been forgotten, but there is an attractive surviving repertoire, from England, Scotland, France, and Germany.

The mandore existed in various sizes and shapes, but all of them resembled a miniature lute. Some larger versions were constructed like a lute, but many were tiny, and carved from the solid.

Typical early mandores had four courses, often double-strung (two strings per course, like a lute or renaissance guitar), but sometimes single-strung, which was unusual for plucked instruments of the period. Later instruments tended to have five single-strung courses. There were several characteristic tunings, all based on fifths and fourths - again, an unusual tuning scheme for the period.

Ian Pittaway playing his mandore
Ian with his mandore. Yes, it really is that small.
Mandore pegbox, showing snake head and pegs
Head and Pegs
Rose
Rose
V&A Mandore - front and back views
Original V&A “Boissart” mandore

One of the finest survivng mandores is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. In 2015, Ian Pittaway and I went down to the V&A to take measurements and photographs. Ian wanted to commission an instrument closely based on it.

Having studied the instrument at length, and discussed it with curators at the V&A, we concluded that the attribution of "Boissart 1640" (supposedly written on the body, but now invisible) should read "repaired and modified by Boissart, 1640". We believe that it started life in around 1570 as a 4-course mandore, double-strung apart from a single top string. Boissart converted it to a 5-course, single-strung instrument.

We decided that I would reproduce the instrument with the 17th century modifications, to allow 5-course repertoire to be played. I reduced the original 7 pegs to 5 (two of them being redundant after Boissart's conversion), and made a slight adjustment to the body shape to allow 9 tied-on frets.

We experimented extensively with stringing, eventually finding a set that responds well across the range at modern pitch (a' = 440Hz). The basic tuning is g c' g' c'' g'' . It will accept being retuned to g c' g' c'' e'' and f c' f' c'' f'' without having to change strings. That covers most of the tunings in the surviving sources.

The V&A instrument is one of the smaller types of mandore. It has a string length of only 281mm - less than half that of a typical lute. The photograph of Ian playing my reproduction shows just how small it is. It's not unplayable, though. Ian had surprisingly little trouble making minor adjustments to his playing technique to make it sing nicely.

Despite its size and pitch, the mandore gives little impression of being deficient in the bass register. The projection in the mid range is remarkable, and the top is delightfully brilliant and "tinkly".

More Information

Ian Pittway's blog has an extensive article on the mandore, in three parts :
  • Part 1 covers the history of the mandore.
  • Part 2 covers the V&A mandore, and explains our conclusions.
  • Part 3 is a record of the construction of the first Diabolus mandore.

This article by James Tyler gives more background on the mandore and its repertoire.

The Wikipedia entry for the mandore is also worth a look .

Mandore in case
Mandore in case

Sound Clips


“Comoedians Maske” from the Skene Manuscript, c. 1630
Played by Ian Pittaway


“I longe for your virginitie” from the Skene Manuscript, c. 1630
Played by Ian Pittaway


“Ioy to the personne” from the Skene Manuscript, c. 1630
Played by Ian Pittaway

Prices

  Carved as above
Choice of head
Plain with
Simple head
5-course, single-strung mandore
£2500
£1500
4-course, double-strung mandore
£2600
£1600
     
Options
Single strung four course? Six course? Different carvings? Cheaper version without the carving? I'm open to suggestions.

To order or enquire, pleasecontact me

 

Cases - Excellent cases can be ordered from specialist manufacturers such as Kingham MTM, but they're pricy. I can supply an attractive, custom-built plywood case, black with chrome fittings, for £220 when ordered with an instrument.

Delivery - the price depends on where you live. Please enquire.

I hate it when websites say "Phone for a quote", so to give you some idea - getting a baroque guitar in its case to America, including insurance, is currently about £170. Getting one to Kent is about half that.

Waiting time, from placing an order to clutching your new baby, is currently about 16 months. It's very approximate, because the schedule often contains items that are somewhat experimental, and they may take more or less time to complete than anticipated. Usually more.

Deposit- I usually ask for £150 (non-returnable unless I'm dead, insane, incapacitated or incarcerated) to secure an order and cover materials. Once that's paid, your order is entered into my Magic Book. Nothing happens for several months, then you receive an email to tell you I've started construction. A few weeks later, a big parcel arrives, and you squeal with delight.

Anote on HUMIDITY - delicate wooden instruments are remarkably resilient, but they can have major problems with both high and low atmospheric humidity levels. I keep my workshop at the recommended humidity level, between 45% and 50%, and I strongly recommend that instruments are kept as close to that range as possible. Electronic humidity meters are available cheaply on the Internet. They're small enough to keep in your instrument's case.
Low humidity can shrink wood, resulting in cracks and distortion. Case humidifiers, again available quite cheaply, should prevent this.
High humidity can swell the wood enough to cause cracking and warping, but the main risk is the formation of water droplets, either from condensation or perspiration while playing. These can damage varnish and slowly dissolve glue joints. A silica gel sachet can be kept in the case, but use a humidity meter as well. Take care it doesn't reduce the case humidity too far.

shim