The Lute became popular in Europe during the thirtheenth century. It was a fairly easy to play instrument and, in a later time period, the Italian composer, Antonio Vivaldi, recognizing this, adapted it for use in a home for unwed mothers, the residents of whom he felt could make themselves useful and satisfying lives through music. Thus, Vivaldi composed numerous pieces that were intended to take advantage of the smaller fingers and hands of the ladies, making the lute, as well as, the mandolin, mainstays of his music.
The first lutes seemed to have appeared in Mesopotamia around 2,000 BC, and designs in Renaissance Era lutes often incorporated religious symbols dating the lute to its Middle-Eastern roots. Lutes came into their own as a mainstream instrument during the Renaissance. A soloist could provide an audience with a melody of chords, and even counterpoint. Italian madrigals were frequently performed by a soloist, with the remainder of the vocals being transcribed to play on the lute.
The Mandolin is one of the mainstay Celtic instruments. Though it closely resembles the Lute, and clearly evolved from the Lute variation called a Mandola, it did not make its appearance until after the Renaissance Period. The origin of the deeply bowled Mandolin appears to have been in Naples. The Twentieth Century brought an explosion of popularity to the Mandolin, from American Bluegrass music, to Celtic and folk music. It is a fairly straight-forward and comparatively easy instrument to learn while being very flexible in its applications.
