Bohemian harp
The Bohemian harp is a Central European variant of the “continental” type of harp with a straight rod and a pegged neck. It has become known as the instrument of Bohemian traveling musicians who traveled through Europe and Asia in the 19th century, sometimes in organized music bands. Accordingly, it was built very lightly so that it could be carried as a "traveling instrument" over long distances - compared to the rather heavy, robust construction of other European harps, which were used more as a stationary "court instrument".
Throughout its history, the Bohemian harp was a “simple” instrument built by carpenters. The most common building material for the neck and pole is spruce , and only spruce for the top. In the older models, the soundboard is grained lengthways, later in herringbone or diagonally grained (an extremely rare design feature). There are also a few specimens with cross-grained covers. The string material consisted of natural gut . Modern replicas use nylon or strings made of polyvinylidene fluoride (so-called "carbon strings").
Some of the preserved historical museum specimens from the 19th century have metal hooks on some strings. These had the function of increasing the frequency by a semitone by pressing the string. This was the forerunner of the later semitone mechanics, as it can be found today in a wide variety of styles on modern harps. These harps are called hook harps . Nancy Thym masters the playing of the hook harps in the tradition of " Preßnitzer Harfenmädchen" (traveling musicians).
In Bohemia itself, the Bohemian harp became extinct in the course of the 20th century. Historical specimens can still be seen in numerous Bohemian museums (Music Museum in Prague ; District Museum in Sokolov ; Museum Stredniho Pootavi in Strakonice ; Museum of Local History in Boží Dar ; Bohemian Forest Museum in Kašperské Hory ). Since around 2002, isolated instrument makers in Prague, Pilsen and Příbram have been reconstructing these harps using museum specimens or specimens from private collections.
Bohemian harp in Germany
Nancy Thym (Archive and Museum for Harp History, Freising) is researching the history of German-speaking Bohemian harpists in Germany , whose concert program also includes the fate of individual harp girls such as the Hildesheimer Nachtigall or Berliner Harfenjule as well as the Pressnitz harpists .
The instruments played today, which in Germany are often referred to as “Bohemian harps” (see picture), are mostly modified harps of the Bohemian type, such as those produced by the Klangwerkstatt Markt Wald company. These were developed by Christoph Löcherbach on the basis of the historical Bohemian harps, but are somewhat smaller and more compact, have sound holes on the back of the body (a feature that the historical Bohemian harps did not have) and modern semitone keys. The low weight of the harp and the compact dimensions, but also the perfection of the development by the instrument maker Andre Schubert with the possibility of assembling the instrument extremely inexpensively in building courses under supervision, made the harp one of the best-selling in Germany.
literature
- J. Kleňha (2002): Playing the harp in Bohemia: the story of the traveling musicians from Nechanitz. (Translated from the Czech by Gisela Rusá). 1st edition Granit Verlag, Prague.
- N. Thym-Hochrein (1992): Wanderharfner and Harfenjule. The hook harp in German-speaking countries. Folk-MICHEL 3, pp. 18-22.
- E. Werner (2005): Traveling musicians - a bohemian-saxon experience. In: Heike Müns (Ed.): Music and Migration in East Central Europe. pp. 153-166. R. Oldenbourg Verlag, Munich.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ various authors (including Stanislav Ded): Přísečnice-zatopena, ale nezapomenuta / Preßnitz-sunken but not forgotten; Sbornik / anthology, Czech / German, Chomutov Regional Museum, 2004, Czech Republic, without ISBN. Music ethnologist Nancy-Thym-Hochrein pp. 113–114