18 MUSICAL AMERICA July 1, 1916 the bards than the Scotch fiddlers, for vented by John Dillner (1785-1862), and they used to relate historical events and consists of a rectangular box about a OR JOIN OF SCANDINAVIAN legends of their country which at inter­ yard long, three and one-half inches vals they illustrated by free improvisa- wide, and two inches high. A single INSTRUMENTS IS TRACED tiM. ' melody · string of gut runs from near The old Hardanger fiddles are very the upper left to near the lower right primitive in appearance. TJ::!e workman­ hand corner (this is played with a bow). Harp, National Instrument o:.of Saxons and Nc\ semen, Believed ship is crude; the varnish of a hard On either side of the string are placed brownish br.ick-red. Belly, .back and ribs four sympathetic strings of metal, ac­ to be Endowed with Supernatural Powtrs - Hardanger are generally decorated with various de­ cording to Dr. George Kinsky, in unison Fiddles Described- Other Curious · Violins in N orwa·y signs in black and gold, or flower de­ with the former. The fretted finger­ signs in color, strongly reminiscent of board is divided into thirty-one partitions Crudely Fashioned by Peasants those on a cottager's favorite tea-cup. marking the tones (painted yellow) and Fingerboard and tailpiece are covered semitones (black). Along the finger­ with geometrical ornamentations inlaid board runs a scale giving the note pro­ [E. Van Der St raeten in the "Music Student" of London] with bone and walnut, or ebony and duced by each fret in staff notation, and mother-of-pearl. Peg-box and scroll with a number to each note. These often show specimens of crude carving, numbers serve to write down the melo­ URI!'iG their migrations in the Bal­ dangerous to the haughty maiden cruel the scroll being replaced by a head. The dies. The tone is described as loud but D kans, about the third ceniury B. C., to her lover, while the daughters of the clumsy cut ff's are sometimes wanting somewhat snarling. To the same class the Celts must have become acquainted dwarf lured young gallants to their the middle line. The fiddles are mounted of instruments belongs the Finlandic doom. A beautiful ancient ballad, "The Kantele, which is more of the psaltry with the harp, which the Greeks and with four gut strings similar to those of Power of the Harp," tells how the Nix the violin, and sometimes two, but gen­ (dulcimer) shape. Some Kanteles are Macedonians had received from Egypt, had lured two sisters of little Christel erally four, symoathetic wire strings run­ plucked by the fingers, others played with writes E. Van der Straeten in the Music from the Bridge of Ringfalla, and it was ning underneath the fingerboard. the bow. The former have twenty-five Student of London. It became the in­ prophesied that little Christel herself Th_e modern Hardanger fiddles, al­ strings, tuned diatonically. The latter, would share their fate on her wedding invented by General Neovius, of Helsing­ strument of their bards, who brought it though retaining all the characteristic day. While she was riding that day traits of the old instruments, are of ele­ fors, to replace the Norwegian Psalmo­ to their north·ern home. From Ireland over the fatal bridge by the side of Sir gant shape and superior workmanship dicon, has two strings played by two · and Scotland the harp found its way Peter, her bridegroom, her palfrey stum­ and varnish. players, each with a bow, placed at op­ to the Germanic races, and among these, bled and threw her into the stream. Sir posite ends of the instrument. Peter quickly took his golden harp and "Langleik" and "Lang~pel" first and foremost to the Saxons and the began to play. At the first strain the "Nyckelharpan" in Sweden Norsemen. Nix appeared sitting on the water mock Apart from the Hardanger fiddle, a The latter, although divided into vari­ ing him; at the second strain he sat on primitive instrument known as "Lang­ An instrument once very popular in leik" in Norway and "Langspel" in Ice­ ~o rne parts of Scandinavia, especially in our tribes, had one common language, the the shore and cried; at the third strain the bird began to dance on the bough, land was in use down to the latter part the mining districts of Upland "Norrana," closely allied to the Saxon the bark severed itself from the tree, a of the eighteenth century. It is a devel­ (Sweden), is the Nyckelharpan, a crude language, and in this were produced the white arm cleaved the water, and little opment of the monochord and similar to fiddle with a key arrangement like the finest of their historic songs and ballads, Christel sat on Sir Peter's knee, while the "Scheitholt," described already in hurdy-gurdy, but played with a bow. which considerably influenced the poetry the Nix came out of the water with oue "Praetorius Organographia" (1619), but The latter was tightened by placing the of Scotland and England, where direct thumb between the hair and the stick, of her sist~rs on e.ach arm. of much more ancient origin. Edm. van traces of Norse poetry are still to be Another ballad tells how Ulfwa, the der Straeten of Brussels published a as was the custom with the most prim­ found in ancient folk-songs. The close dwarf's daughter, lures Sir Tynne to his monographie of this instrument, at itive mediaeval bows. relation between the Saxon and the Nor­ doom by three strains of her golden harp. Ypres, in 1868. The Nyckelharpan had two melody rana languages is clear ly shown in the The only known specimen of a harp be­ It consists of a shallow and very nar­ strings, three bourdons, and a varying fact that when Alfred visited the Danish longing to that time (the early thirteenth row oblong wooden box, the sides of number of sympathetic metal strings, camp, disguised as a harper, he was century) is O'Brien's harp, or "Clar­ which· have a slight outward curvature. running partly over, partly under, the easily understood by the Danes. The esch," at Trinity College, Dublin. From The bridge stands close to the lower end bridge. The very elongated body has small portable harp similar to the an­ the middle of the fifteenth century, the of the instrument which has sound-holes three sound-holes, two of oval shape, in cient Irish harp became the national in­ harp was gradually replaced by the lute of various shape. A Langleik in the the lower part of the belly, and one, gen­ strument of the Norse, and it was played and the "fele" (fiddle) . Musee instrumentale of the Brussels erally heart-shaped, underneath the fin­ by women and men of all classes. Conservatoire h;1s two angular sound­ gerboard. As these instruments were The uniformity of language among the Devil Helps Make Fiddle holes placed-and a small heart-shaped only made by peasants and miners, and Scandinavian tribes which existed down not by professional instrument makers, About the middle of the seventeenth sound-hole in the lower part. .Langleik to the twelfth century accounts for the and Scheitholt were the prototype of the they are somewhat crude in appearance. fact that the ancient historical songs and century the violin made its first appear­ The once very popular Nyckelharpan has ance in Norway. Lars Klark, a school­ zither, and, like this, mounted with metal ballads were common to all, and their strings varying in number from three to all but died out; the concertina has taken knowledge was spread by Icelandic master of Oesterjo, about 1670, made a its place and it is much to be feared, stringed instrument out of a hollowed eight (according to specimens in the scalds engaged at the various courts of Brussels Museum). It was tuned in the as Dr. G. Kinsky points out in his admir­ the Norse Kings. 'I'he brothers Olav and piece of wood, mounted with gut strings. able catalogue of the William Heyer Mu­ One of his pupils, Isak Nielson Botnen, chord of F major, and the first two Sturla Thordarson lived at the court of strings have movable frets for the ad­ seum, that many traditional folk-tunes Waldemar II. of Denmark, who died in became the originator of the instrument which were played on it may fall into known as the Hardanger fiddle. His in­ justment of tones and semi-tones. They 1241, and was the last king who kept were plucked by the right thumb with a oblivion with the instrument. Icelandic scalds or bards at his court. fernal majesty, who has often proved obliging in such matters, had given him plectrum, the other strings which were Thus we find still some of the oldest open being plucked by the fingers of that songs in all the three kingdoms, with his assistance (so the story goes) against The pupils of Carrie J. Marsh gave the usual small consideration. When hand as on the zither. their annual piano recital on June 21 in but slight variations, whereas those The Icelandic Langspel in the Brussels which were composed during and after Isak was experimenting with a modifica­ Newark, N. J. Pieces by classical and tion of the "Dusing fela," i.e., the "Ger­ Museum has only three brass strings. romantic masters were played by Ruth the . development of different dialects According to Mr. A. Hammerich, director (which began about the middle of the man fiddle" of the Stainer .model, the Murkland, Ivy Memmott, Eleanor Devil appeared to him in his sleep and of Copenhagen Museum of old instru­ Schroeder, Dorothy Courter, Ruth Triv­ twelfth century) were sung only in the ments, the melody string of this instru­ country that produced them.