An archaic keyboard instrument that merges the clavichord mechanism with the cittern (a plucked string instrument), producing a unique hybrid sound.
Combining Medieval Latin 'clavis' (key) with 'cittern,' a lute-like plucked instrument from the Renaissance. The term represents 16th-17th century experimentation in instrument design.
Many of these hybrid 'clavi-' instruments were created by Renaissance craftsmen trying to give keyboard players access to the warm, resonant tones of lute and cittern, but they mostly failed because they were mechanically complicated and acoustically underwhelming.
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