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Instrument: Lyre |
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 For thousands of years, lyres have been part of the musical heritage of countries throughout Africa, the Middle East and Europe. Easily recognizable, their strings are attached at one end to a sound box (usually with a rounded body) and at the other, to a yoke consisting of two arms and a crossbar. Box lyres of ancient Egypt, such as the kissar, tend to have arms of unequal length set in asymmetrical design; the short arm of the yoke was held next to the performer. Instruments with 3 to 4 strings date back to 900 BC, while those with 12 strings date back at least to 500 B.C.
The Lyre is said to have been the musical instrument of a venerable "Who's Who" in ancient mythology and tradition, including Apollo (the sun-god of Ancient Greece), Mercury, King Arthur, biblical King David, the Greek poet Arion, and Orpheus. According to ancient Greek mythology, the hero Hermes created the lyre from the body of a large tortoise shell which he covered with animal hide; antelope horns formed the posts. Lyres |
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were associated with Appolonian virtues of moderation and equalibrium, while the Dionysian pipes represented ecstasy and celebration. Often, lyres were used to accompany lyrical poetry or were played by travelling minstrels or musicians.
There are two basic "categories" of lyres which are classified according to performance practice: a)instruments which are "plucked" or played by hand, and b)those which are bowed. Ethnomusicologist Curt Sachs described two bowed lyres which have existed since the middle ages - the Welsh "crwth", which has a nearly rectangular shape, and a Scandinavian variant which features strings made from horsehair.
The bägänna, a large eight or ten-string lyre, made of a trapezoidal wooden frame fitted with a skin-covered sound box, is a rare instrument whose origins are believed to go back to Antiquity. King David is said to have played it to relieve the insomnia of his step fatherSaul. The bägänna's bass vibrations are said to bring peace to the soul. The instrument, associated with the Ethiopian Coptic Church since the 4th century, was played primarily at Christmas and Lent.
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