The oud is an Arabic lute of Persian origin. The name is derived from al`ud (“the tree”). It is a direct ancestor of the renaissance and baroque lutes of the Western cultures, appearing from approximately the thirteenth century when it was probably introduced via the crusades.
The oud has no frets and is ideally suited to the quarter tones played in Middle Eastern music. It survives in these cultures today where it is considered the “king” of instruments. It commonly has 11 strings comprising 6 courses, but the number of strings can vary.
The instrument played in Trio Grosso was made in Syria.
To find out more:
- The Oud home page. Plenty of info on the Oud.
- Nikos Dimitriadis Oud page. Interesting info and some nice music to download.
- The Oud web. Lots and lots of Oud related links.
