The Langspil is a simple member of the zither family, examples of which are found all over Europe. Its closest cousin is the hummel, which originated in northern Germany and southern Scandinavia. Later on it was taken to Pennsylvania in the USA by German settlers and subsequently made its way down to Appalachia where it evolved into the Appalachian or mountain dulcimer. There are many variations in the numbers of strings and the ways that they are a layed out and attached to the instrument. Our langspils have a fairly typical set up of just three strings, two of which are drones, while the third one is positioned over a fret board and is used to play melody. The langspil is usually played with a bow.
The Icelandic fiðla (pronounced fithla with the ith pronounced the same as in the word with) is a rather strange beast. Very little is known about the instrument, because it died out and almost disappeared by the middle of the 19th century. Our instrument is a copy of an instrument that was made just over a hundred years ago, by a carpenter called Stefán Erlendsson who lived in the north of Iceland. His instrument is a copy, made from memory, of an instrument his uncle had played some fifty years before.
The Kantele not a traditional instrument in Iceland. It is most commonly found in Finland and the Baltic countries. We think it suits our Icelandic folk music very well so we are happy to make use of it.
Our langspils, fiðla and and kantele were made by Michael King, who specialises in making old and unusual instruments. Bára also plays a five string kantele, made by our friend Billy Horne in Turku, Finland.
The Langspil is a simple member of the zither family, examples of which are found all over Europe. Its closest cousin is the hummel, which originated in northern Germany and southern Scandinavia. Later on it was taken to Pennsylvania in the USA by German settlers and subsequently made its way down to Appalachia where it evolved into the Appalachian or mountain dulcimer. There are many variations in the numbers of strings and the ways that they are a layed out and attached to the instrument. Our langspils have a fairly typical set up of just three strings, two of which are drones, while the third one is positioned over a fret board and is used to play melody. The langspil is usually played with a bow.
The Icelandic fiðla (pronounced fithla with the ith pronounced the same as in the word with) is a rather strange beast. Very little is known about the instrument, because it died out and almost disappeared by the middle of the 19th century. Our instrument is a copy of an instrument that was made just over a hundred years ago, by a carpenter called Stefán Erlendsson who lived in the north of Iceland. His instrument is a copy, made from memory, of an instrument his uncle had played some fifty years before.
The Kantele not a traditional instrument in Iceland. It is most commonly found in Finland and the Baltic countries. We think it suits our Icelandic folk music very well so we are happy to make use of it.
Our langspils, fiðla and and kantele were made by Michael King, who specialises in making old and unusual instruments. Bára also plays a five string kantele, made by our friend Billy Horne in Turku, Finland.
Guitar Chris has been playing acoustic guitar to accompany his English songs for many years. When he first heard Bára singing her Icelandic songs he could see how his style, using altered tunings, would be a great way to accompany the often modal melodies of her Icelandic songs. Chris' guitars are made by Roger Bucknell of Fylde Guitars.
Hammer dulcimer is our latest acquisition. Chris has always hankered after playing one, ever since spending time in the company of traditional players like Reg Reader in Suffolk, England. We got our instrument just over a year ago and it made its way onto our new CD, where it fitted in perfectly, so we expect to be using it more in the future. Our instrument was made by Oakwood Instruments and you can check out their web site at:
•Culled from www.funi-iceland.com
•By Bára Grímsdóttir and Chris Foster
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