After the ‘small’ Frei    66.5 cm    f'A440    10 frets    11 ribs    Model Z

A small and elegant lute in the characteristic long Bologna style (the ‘pearl’ mould of Thomas Mace) so much favoured by French players of the early Baroque. It is modelled closely on the smaller of the two lutes by Hans Frei in the Vienna Kunsthistorischesmuseum, no C34, the body of which was probably made in the first half of the 16C. This fine, and plainly much played, instrument was converted to 11c in the early 17C, and is close in appearance to the lute Charles Mouton plays in the famous painting by Francois De Troy in the Louvre. I make it of 11 ribs of maple (as the original), but it can as well be made in ash, yew, walnut, fruit- or other woods. Plain pegbox and neck in plum or maple, or various veneered and decorative schemes are possible. It has a cambered fingerboard with treble rider for the chanterelle.

The picture shows the 7-course version of this lute.