AR.GOT
ceramics workshop

                              
      Nº1 KING MUSICIAN WITH CITOLE

  The instrument opening the Portico series is a citole. It is a monoxile element, a single piece of wood dig to conform the body of the instrument, the sides and the neck. Obviously the harmony cover was made of another piece of wood or sometimes of leather. The citole keeps slight curves or bouts, possible reminiscence of the previous use of the bow with these instruments.
   There are numerous representations in other iconographic contemporary sources and in all of them the instrument is held by the musician in the same way: resting on the left forearm, and strumming the strings with a simple turn of the wrist. The strings are plucked with a smooth plectrum, a feather probably, between the ring, index and thumb fingers of the same hand.
  The instrument has five strings, grouped in three courses. Comparing the large number of iconographic sources available of this instrument, we would suggest that both the first and the second are two courses, and the third is lowest.

  Harps are also widely represented in the medieval iconography. The present one has six strings in the left hand and seven in the right, what would make us hazard that the notes of both hands are chromatically alternate, so the instrument would cover a complete octave with all its semitones. But the two longer strings of each lateral do not seem to have adjusting or tuning pegs, what would turn them into mere ornaments of the instrument. In that case, the number of strings would be only nine, and the instrument would just have a diatonic scale.
   The front of the instrument is made up by a neck with seven soundholes on it and is crowned by a zoomorphic carving.

  This instrument does not appear in any other iconography of the period or subsequent. It is a psaltery with transversal strings that could be described as "flag" or "axe" shaped. The neck, with holes probably ornamental, allows the musician to hold it without putting his hands on the soundboard. The wider part gently rests under the face of the performer like a viola da braccio. The right hand holds, between the annular and the index fingers, a thick plectrum, probably made of wood or horn, plucking the double strings of the instrument.
   Atypical instrument as it can be, it has attired all sorts of hypothesis. The luthier Jesús Reolid made a reproduction for the Museum of Music of Luis Delgado (Urueña, Spain) that has been played in several concerts and recordings.

  We have here a very detailed representation of an instrument that remains the same to our days. It only differs from the actual "alboka" in the position of the performer. The horn serving as mouthpiece in now placed taking the mouth of the musician completely in so that no air is wasted. For this reason, the instrument is placed almost perpendicular to the body of the musician. In the representation of the Portico, the performer places the instrument close to his chest, as if it was a recorder. This may be due to the already mentioned problems of solidity, because the swollen cheeks of the musician would rather suggest he is using circular breathing and for that technique the above mentioned perpendicular position is recommended.
   Besides, and although the fingerholes represented are eight, if we admit the presence of more holes under the fingers, the position of the other fingers, bent under the instrument, suggests they are used more for holding the instrument than for playing it. Reasoning this way, we would think the visible fingerholes are just ornamental or used to adjust the tuning of the pipe, but the fingers can also come in and out from behind according to the requirements of the melody. It should be noted how frequently fingers are represented in this position in other figures of the Portico also carrying wind instruments in spite of its lack of logic from a performing point of view.

        Nº16  KING MUSICIAN WITH HARP

  This also is a rather peculiar instrument, as the shape of its "shield" forces the longer strings to meet in the centre, while their length diminishes towards the sides. Although there are only eight strings, this could mean there is a different scale in every area of the instrument, a very practical idea when playing. The musician is tuning one of the strings with the help of a key that has a very ingenious design at its end.
  It is remarkable how usual it is to have harpists represented while tuning their instruments.

  This is a viola with an "eight" shape, similar to those found in other sculptures of that period such as in the Pórtico de la Gloria at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. In this occasion there are three strings and the musician is trying to tune the first. You could tell he is using the heel of the bow to hold the peg tighter.   The soundboard has six ears, four of them with the shape of a half moon and two smaller circular ones.