Gusli
Gusli is a fretboard-less box zither that is widely used in Russian folk and popular music. The gusli exists mainly in three forms: 1) a wide, helmet-shaped box zither with typically 20 to 25 strings, 2) a slender "wing-shaped" zither (similar to the Scheitholt ), which around 1900 developed into an instrument in three sizes with 13 strings each and 3) a table-shaped version with 55 to 66 strings from the beginning of the 17th century.
origin
For the origin of the name and distribution, see also: Husle .
The first mention of the instrument goes back to traditions from the 6th century. Greeks discovered the instrument in Slavic prisoners. According to the descriptions it was shaped like a simple wooden box with five strings.
In the 12th and 13th centuries, the gusli was also mentioned in contemporary Slavic documents. It is also described as a simple wooden box with five strings in the tuning A, C, E, G, A. Initially, the instrument was only used to accompany hymns of praise and other kinds of poetry and was mainly used by traveling singers. Its construction was later refined and the number of strings increased further: from five initially to ten strings and then further up to a number of three to four octaves. This also changed the way of playing and the instrument was tuned chromatically.
The first piano-shaped models, the description of which can be found below, were built in St. Petersburg in the 18th century . In 1890, the founder of the Balalaika Orchestra, V. Andrejev, equipped the instrument with a key mechanism, which made it much easier to play without affecting the sound of the instrument. The way of playing the instrument (the right hand), which is actually relevant for the sound, as well as the timbre were also retained in the new key model. This model of a gusli can therefore also be counted among the traditional Russian folk instruments.
Hand-made originals of the instrument from the late 12th and 13th centuries can be found in the Moscow Music Museum , the former "Glinka Museum of Music and Culture".
The instrument is not only known in Russia. It exists under other names in Finland ( Kantele ) and the neighboring states of the Baltic States, where it is used in a similar way.
Design
- Like zither (Шлемовидные гусли, Schlemowidnje gusli, helmet-shaped); this version largely corresponds to the zither in structure and playing style.
Version 1: similar to the zither
- Hand version (Крыловидные гусли, Krylowidnye gusli, wing-shaped) is usually smaller and is handled like a guitar, whereby the left hand can dampen individual strings with the fingers through an opening in the body of the instrument. This way of playing enables a certain type of chord.
Version 2: manual version
- more modern, table-like, with buttons. The third version is played with both hands so that the left hand sets the pitch with the help of a piano-like keyboard in octave length. With the right hand, the person playing plucks the strings with their fingers or with the help of an opening pick . As when playing the balalaika in lower voices, it is made of sturdy leather.
Version 3: more modern table design
Function and sound
In terms of sound and function, the instrument is similar to the zither or harp. The sound is created - as with all stringed instruments - through vibrations of strings (made of metal or another material such as nylon), which are transmitted to a resonance body and thus amplified. As with almost all older instruments, the vibrations are caused by plucking with the fingers of the hand or the plectrum. The resonance body then transmits this transmitted vibration to the environment (air). It can then be heard as a tone of a certain pitch.
After the instrument has been used by various Russian composers in orchestral music, it can be assigned a function as a sound basis. In classical music, this part of the sound is often taken over by the harp, which, when played, creates whole sound waves with sliding hand movements. In addition, it can of course be found in the various Russian folk occupations in Russia as well as abroad.
See also
literature
- Armas O. Väisänen: The plucked instrument gusli among the Volga peoples , pp. 303-330. In: Juhlakirja Yrjö Wichmannin kuusikymmenvuotispäiväksi . SUS, Helsinki 1928 [Festschrift for the philologist Yrjö Jooseppi Wichmann (1868–1932)]
