Tunings / string arrangement

Cistre:

The 18th century French cittern went by various names, including cistre, guitthare allemande, or cytre/cythre. Today it is referred to simply as "cistre." The instruments were larger than the 18th century "English" guittar, typically with a vibrating string length of around 46-50 cm (compared to the guittar's usual 42-45cm). Though similar in tuning to the guittar, the larger cistre was tuned a minor 3rd lower than the guittar. The strings were arranged like the guittar's with four doubled courses for the uppermost courses and single-strung courses for the remaining courses [but see Note 1, below].

Corrette's (1772) brief instructions on the cistre suggest that the cistre could have anywhere between five and seven courses [Note 2], but from other sources and surviving instruments, seven fingered courses appears to have been the standard. Surviving sources show that the tuning of the seven fingered courses was, with few exceptions (low to high): E-A-d-e-a-c#'-e' [but see Note 3, below]. 

An unfretted eighth course tuned to D is called for in the tuning diagram in Carpentier (c.1770) as well as in the music of Demesse (1776).

Archcistre:

Although referred to as the archcistre or "18th century French arch-cittern" today, in the 18th century writers like Carpentier (c.1773) simply differentiated archcistres by the feature of the extended neck, referring to them as being "exmanches" or "manches tourbés". Although archcistres of the time vary in the number of unfretted bass diapasons, five diapasons (for a total of twelve courses) seems to have been the most common. Although the tuning of the top seven courses was generally based on the cistre tuning above, the tuning of the five bass diapasons varied from source to source (low to high):

• A'-B'-C-D-D#:  Benoit Pollet (c.1775) [but see Note 4, below]

• A'-B'-C#-D-D#:  C.F. Pollet (1782-1784) [tuning inferred from notation] and Reynvaan (1795)

• G#'-A'-B'-C#-D:  Lefevre (c.1787) [Note 5]

String material

Corrette (1772) tells us that the top strings are "de laiton blanc et jaune" (white and yellow brass), by which we might assume that the "white" strings are actually iron or steel. He states that the bottom two (single) basses should be "de soie filées" (of wound silk). It is unclear from his phrase as to whether these are pure silk (silk core wrapped with silk?) or a silk core with a wire wrapping. Most modern scholars assume the latter. 

Carpentier (c. 1773) indicates the following string types and gauges, in two different sets, depending on which pitch standard he was using:

• Course 1 "Mi": Number 7 white (iron/steel) or Number 8 white (iron/steel)

• Course 2 "Ut#": Number 6 white (iron/steel) or Number 7 white (iron/steel)

• Course 3 "La": Number 3 yellow (brass) or Number 4 yellow (brass)

• Course 4 "Mi": Number 1 yellow (brass) or Number 4 white thread ["No. 4 blanc file"] (silver wound on a core of wire?) or wound silk ["soye fileés"]

• Courses 5 and below: Gut or wound silk ["en boyaux, où en soye file"], in proportion to the gauges of the other strings.

When Carpentier refers here to strings of gut, we can assume that he means gut that has been wound with silvered wire, just as he labels them on his diagram (c.1770) ["de boyaux et fileés en argent"].  

From the above, we can assume that like the guittar in England, the top two courses of all cistres were strung in iron or steel while the next two courses were strung in brass.  Unlike the guittar, the lowest strings were comprised of either a gut or silk core wound with silvered wire.

Notes

1. Corrette (1772) is a notable exception, where it is stated that the top five courses are doubled.

2. Corrette's provides the following possible tunings for 5, 6 and 7 courses:

3. In his string/fretboard diagram, Carpentier (c.1770) states that other tunings were sometimes used: "Some people tune it differently by making G instead of E for the top strings. Others mount it according to the tuning of the Mandore or the Spanish Guitar." ("Quelques personnes l‘accordent différent en fasiant faire Sol au lieu de Me, a la Chantrelle. d’autres le montent Sue l’accord de la Mandore ou de la Guitthare Espagnolle.")

4. Although Benoit Pollet's instructions indicate tuning with C-natural ("a cinq Cordes ainsi montees Re#, Re, Ut, Si, La"), his music indicates the use of C#, which would make his tuning identical with both C.F. Pollet's and Reynvaan's.

5. Lefevre's small volume appears to have been a short-lived attempt to get the English interested in the larger French arch-cistre, though it did not catch on. As such, his tuning of the diapasons may have been unique to him or the desired English market rather than being typical for the instrument. 

Sources

• Carpentier, Joseph. I.er recueil de menuets, allemandes &c. entremelés d'airs agreables à chanter. (Paris: c.1770) 

• Carpentier, Joseph. Methode pour apprendre en peu de temps à joüer de l'instrument appellé cytre où guitthare allemande. II.eme partie. (Paris: c.1773) 

• Corrette, Michel. Nouvelle méthode pour apprendre à jouer la Mandoline (Paris: 1772)

• Demesse, M. Ier Recueil de menuets, allemandes et autres morceaux variés... (Paris: 1776)

• Lefevre. Joseph. A Concise Method to attain the Art of playing on the Cistre (London: c.1787)

• Pollet, Benoit. Recueil d'ariettes de différens auteurs avec accompagnement de cistre ou guitarre allemande (Paris: c.1775)

• Pollet, C.F. IXe-XIIe Recueil de musique arrangé[e] pour le cistre ou guitarre allemande... (Paris: 1782-1784) 

• Pollet, C.F. Méthode pour apprendre à pincer du Cistre, ou Guitare Allemande, précédée d'un Abrégé des principes de musique... par Pollet. Op. 5. (Paris: 1786)

• Reynvaan, Joos Verschuere. Muzijkaal Kunst-Woordenbook (Amsterdam: 1795)