Post by Dick Glasgow on Jun 21, 2007 11:49:44 GMT 1
The Langeleik - Norway
Check out this site by Dwight Newton on the Langeleik:
The Norwegian Lap DulcimerListen to the sound of the Langeleik
Elisabeth Kværne ELISABETH KVÆRNE bidrar på1 - Elisabeth Kværne - BONDE ETTER INGEBJØRG LUNDE
2 - Elisabeth Kværne - DOKKEMANNSVALSEN
3 - Elisabeth Kværne - BJØLLELÅTTEN
Here's some info from Wikipedia about this old instrument:
The Langeleik is a traditional stringed musical instrument from Norway.
The instrument has one melody string, like a monochord, but it has additional bourdon strings (or drone strings), usually 7 or 8 on modern instruments, but older ones had fewer, most often four bourdon strings.
The frets under the melody string are placed such that it can only play a major scale (around A major, however it is referred to C major for the ease).
The bourdon strings are also tuned to the triad of the melody string ( in quasi C, E and G (really somewhere about A, C# and F#)). Since the instrument cannot play a chromatic scale nor be easily tuned to other pitches, it is very limited in its ability to play together with other instruments and/or more harmonic complex music.
As a sidenote, the sound you get when you play other tones than those of the bourdons (the triad C-E-G), is quite special.
The oldest known langeleik in existence is dated 1524.
It is clearly related to other European instruments, but mostly to the German Scheitholt and next the French épinette.
Langeleik
The instrument has one melody string, like a monochord, but it has additional bourdon strings (or drone strings), usually 7 or 8 on modern instruments, but older ones had fewer, most often four bourdon strings.
The frets under the melody string are placed such that it can only play a major scale (around A major, however it is referred to C major for the ease).
The bourdon strings are also tuned to the triad of the melody string ( in quasi C, E and G (really somewhere about A, C# and F#)). Since the instrument cannot play a chromatic scale nor be easily tuned to other pitches, it is very limited in its ability to play together with other instruments and/or more harmonic complex music.
As a sidenote, the sound you get when you play other tones than those of the bourdons (the triad C-E-G), is quite special.
The oldest known langeleik in existence is dated 1524.
It is clearly related to other European instruments, but mostly to the German Scheitholt and next the French épinette.
Langeleik