Chitarrone
A large bass lute with an extended neck for open bass strings; a basso continuo instrument.
What it means
The chitarrone is a particularly large and deep bass lute that emerged in late 16th-century Italy. Its defining feature is a greatly extended neck carrying a second pegbox, over which additional, unstopped bass strings (diapasons) run. These freely vibrating strings extend the range downward and give the instrument a full, sustaining bass sound.
The name comes from the Italian word for guitar, though the instrument is built much closer to the lute family than to the guitar.
Musical use
The chitarrone was among the most important continuo instruments around 1600, especially in early opera and accompanied solo song as cultivated by composers of the Roman and Florentine schools. Its ability to combine deep, sustaining bass notes with light, transparent chords made it ideal for accompanying the new, text-driven solo singing of that period.
It is closely related to, and often confused with, the archlute (theorbo): both share the principle of extra bass strings on an extended neck, but differ in origin, tuning, and construction details. In modern historically informed performance the two names are sometimes used loosely as synonyms.
Performance practice
When you listen to historically informed performance, notice how plucked chords in the upper register interact with the freely ringing, low diapason strings — that contrast carries the chitarrone's distinctive sound.