Langspil
The Langspil is the name given to Icelandic styles of the drone zither . It consists of an elongated box about 80 cm long and has a melody string and one to five (usually two) drone strings . The strings can be plucked, bowed with a bow, or struck with a hammer. The melody string is stretched over a fretboard with frets.
The Langspil exists in two main body shapes, straight and bulbous. Since wood in Iceland was mainly available in the form of found driftwood for a long time due to a lack of trees , various types of wood were used to build long spiles.
Origin and Distribution
The oldest written records of Langspils come from the 18th century, in which the instrument is described as an elongated box that widens towards one end and is strung with one to six strings. In the 19th century a version with a bulbous body appeared, which has improved sound properties.
In 1855 the book Leiðarvísir til að spila á langspil (Instructions for playing Langspils) was published, which also contained instructions for building the instrument, although this had a misprint regarding the frets. This book greatly contributed to the popularity of Langspils. Nevertheless, the instrument subsequently lost its importance and was hardly played in the middle of the 20th century.
In the 1960s, the singer Anna Þórhallsdóttir realized that the Langspil was in danger of disappearing from the Icelandic musical tradition and took a leading role in its revival. Today the Langspil is back in the portfolio of various Icelandic bands and individual musicians. It also has a prominent role in Siglufjörður's annual folk festival . Tourists can see it in various museums in Iceland, and in the Museum of Skógar the museum director Þórður Tómasson still occasionally plays it to visitors today.
The Icelandic Fiðla has a similar elongated body, but unlike the Langspil, it has no fingerboard. One of the two or more strings is touched from below with a finger of the left hand to form the melody, while the right hand sweeps the bow over all the strings. The Norwegian Langeleik is closely related to Langspil .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ David G. Woods, "Íslenska langspilið". Árbók hins íslenzka fornleifafélags . 1993. pp. 109-128.
- ^ Ari Sæmundssen, Leiðarvísir til að spila á langspil . Akureyri. 1855.
- ^ David G. Woods, "Íslenska langspilið". Árbók hins íslenzka fornleifafélags . 1993. pp. 109-128.
- ↑ Anna Þórhallsdóttir, "Langspil". Tíminn . August 19, 1961. p. 11.
- ↑ Þjóðlagahátíðin á Siglufirði