Cetra

The Cetra was a stringed musical instrument well known for its use in ancient times, belonging to the chordophone family. The instrument was initially constructed in wood, similar to the lyre, but with a larger harmonic case.

The cetra with these characteristics spread from ancient Greece, where it was played by professional citaredi, its use also spread to Rome and Corsica. Over the centuries its structure was altered further, until the term 'cetra' came to signify a pear-shaped instrument with a flat sound-board and a long neck, whose pairs of metal strings were plucked.

The term cetra also is sometimes used to refer to the cittern, a Renaissance instrument similar to the lute.

The name La Cetra was also used by a number of composers to entitle sets of their works. These composers included Legrenzi, Marcello and Vivaldi.

In Monteverdi's opera L'Orfeo (1607, libretto by Alessandro Striggio) Orpheus refers to his instrument as a Cetra (e.g. in the aria "Qual honor di te fia degno, mia cetra onnipotente", act 4).

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