Harps origin. Gusli - musical instruments. All of them. Harp in our time

Musical instrument: Harp

"In a certain kingdom, in a certain state ...." This is how many Russian folk tales begin, which we enjoyed listening with great pleasure in childhood. In these amazing narratives, we initially knew the world, because Russian fairy tales are very instructive. Here we met good and evil heroes, as well as a lot of different wonderful magical things, such as a self-made tablecloth that can give a feast to the whole world, an invisible hat, if you put it on, you will pass everywhere where you want unnoticed and gusli-samogudy , forcing to dance tirelessly. A gusli is a traditional Russian folk musical instrument that has been played in Russia since time immemorial and which has been mentioned not only in fairy tales and epic epos, but also in other kinds of folk art, such as songs and sayings.

Caravaggio, detail of the rest during the flight to Egypt. Caravaggio, lute player. Gerardo delle Notti, violinists 19. A stick may have a circular cross-section along the entire length or an octagonal section of more than half an arc, and then bend it to the end until it reaches a circular cross-section. Skins rub the strings with vibration and produce sound. To get the friction needed to vibrate the strings, the violinist transfers rosin to the hairs, consisting mainly of larch gum and other substances that determine the likelihood that the horse vibrates the rope.

A humorous popular saying: “To the feast, and to the world, and to good people” - fits this glorious instrument in the best possible way. Princely and boyar feasts, rural and urban bratchiny, weddings and funerals, pagan games and junkies - in ancient times everything was accompanied by the sound of guslians, which are now rightfully considered a symbol of our great country and an expression of the national character of the Russian people. Poets sing them in their poems, and artists display them in their paintings. In cinema, the sound of the gusli is very often used for the musical design of the enchanting beauty of Russian nature.

In order to have an idea of the origin of the bow and its original form, we must take a look at Ribeck and her bow: Ribeck was a very small beam instrument with a sharp and nasal sound. Its origin is related to the withdrawal from the Arab benefits brought to Spain from the Moors during their invasions. In various Iberian testimonies, there are references to the leg-foot instrument, while the iconographic documents in the center and in the north of Europe depict a hand-made river similar to the Greek lyre. as it was, however, from a small and rigid deciduous body, connected to a handle in one case.

Sound

The sound of gusli - this original instrument captivates listeners from the first notes. His sonorous, but at the same time gentle and melodic voice in the artist’s skillful hands can portray both the bell-ringing, and the murmur of the stream, and bird singing. The soft, rich and iridescent timbre of the instrument creates a sense of peace and tranquility.

The type of sound created by ribeka, so harsh and special, made it valuable and noticeable in certain contexts. Already the fifteenth century saw the flowering of forms and sizes in relation to this musical instrument, and until all Renaissance epochs produced incalculable literary and iconographic testimonies related to its public use.

Various images of the rib and his bow called the arch, used by archers, to shoot at arrows: it is also curved, but this time a long bunch of crests, but not a volitional nerve. Using a curved arc, ribeck type. In the photo on the right, you not only notice the ease of playing more cords, but also a special way to stretch your hair and change tension, even when you play, depending on the use of your right thumb.

The source of the sound on the harp is stretched flexible strings, each of which is tuned to the desired pitch. The sound is extracted with finger pads or a pick.

Psaltery, having a large variety of species, differ in shape, number of strings, size and tuning. Some instruments are adjusted for chromatism, others have a diatonic pattern, which can be changed at the request of the performer. The harder the string is, the higher the sound is.

Nevertheless, gradually, he will be more and more inclined to a curved arc and carefully balanced, adapted to the needs of musicians. Reciprocity with a practical contribution, typical of the Lombard mentality, with particular attention to the traditional processing of iron, from weapons and equipment. The family of Micheli represents the state of the art, the oldest violin maker and the oldest workshop known, in which the production of all kinds of musical instruments and ropes is sixteenth year. Although the violin is supposed to be in the middle of the century.

Paolo Magini is the final upgrade of not only the violin making in Brescia, but also the sound idea that still remains. an idea that was collected, analyzed, and re-great by the eighteenth-century Cremonian violin violators, who would play the role to determine, surround, the two sound directions of the violin family. Cremona stood out immediately thanks to the activities of one family, Amati, who produced high-quality tools and qualities that meet the requirements of the Italian and foreign courts.

Different types of sound extraction are used on different types of gusli, such as a pinch (pizzicato), arpeggio, saber, glissando, tremolo and others.

A photo:

Thus, it can be said from 23. Confidence that the founder of the Cremezone school was Andrea Amati, the head of the family, born in the most significant evidence of the fame achieved by amateurs in the second half of the fifteenth century, was the ordination of instruments for the formation of an entire orchestra for the French Court. Thanks to this event, Andrea Amati achieved true commercial success, and his death left his two sons, Antonio and Gerolamo, a well-established activity and workshop. These two have worked together for a long time, and that is why their tools, labeled both today and today, are known as the “Amati brothers.”

Interesting Facts

Different nations have tools that are very similar in construction to the harp, but having different names. In Lithuania - kankles, in Latvia - cockle, in Finland - kantele. In Iran - santhur, in Armenia - canon, in China - guqin.
It is correct to call the performer on the harp a harp, not a guslar, as many people think.
The Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible for his personal entertainment at the court there was a group of harpists.
In 1654, by special order of the Patriarch of All Russia Nikon, five large loaded carts with buffoon tools, including harps, were brought to the Moscow coast - the river and burned there with all the people. A huge fire blazed for several days.
The virtuoso performer, composer and collector of folk songs V. Trutovsky served at the court of Empress Catherine II.
In May 1945, the ensemble of harpists performed in Berlin on the steps of the defeated Reichstag. And also at a concert in Moscow dedicated to the Victory Parade.
The first song recorded with notes for playing the harp was the Ukrainian folk song “Oh, come on cherry”. She was recorded by the French composer F. Boualde in St. Petersburg in 1803.
In 2006, the St. Petersburg Guslar Club was formed in St. Petersburg, which is considered the world capital of the Guseln culture. The main goal of this organization is to actively promote the instrument, study, preserve and develop performing skills on the harp.

Design

If Andrea’s father laid the foundation for the violin instrument, setting the actual royalties and functions that still exist today, children deserve to work closely with musicians, and then improve their knowledge of sound, always understanding instruments of the highest quality. With the death of Gerolamo after Antonio, the activity of the first son, Nikolo, who for many years thanks to his refinement and experience, became the only point of reference in the world, without competitors for those who wanted to buy tools of a certain value.

The psaltery currently has several varieties that differ in shape, tuning, and number of strings, but they all have distinctive design features, including three main parts: the body, the tailpiece and the pegs.

The body of the pterygoids includes upper and lower decks, which are interconnected by a shell (frame).

From this point on, the predominance of lute activity, he lives in Cremona and in the world moves to another family dynasty, one of the guarneri, which has founder and founder Andrea, a promising apprentice of Nicolo Amati. While Pietro continues his father’s art by opening a store in Mantua, Joseph inherits his father’s store using excellent techniques. Joseph also had a son, who also called Joseph, who can be considered the most famous of the family, also known as "Jesus." Giuseppe, the son and grandson of art, is taught in the family shop and matures with technology and original style, which is separated from the tradition of Cremona.

On the upper deck, in the manufacture of which a resonant spruce is commonly used, there is a resonator hole, a metal plate with pins, a stand and a nut.

Resonator hole or socket increases the duration and strength of the sound.

On the pins, which are located on a metal plate, the strings are fixed.

After his death, his works are forgotten to be overestimated and estimated later in the romantic age. Antonio Stradivari does not know the origin of the 24th. That is why, according to rumors, it appeared almost unexpectedly on the market of Cremona, where in a short time it gains superiority in the field of tools of great prestige. The workshop production is also quantitatively significant, and it is assumed that it soon replaced Amati. Many of the nobles of that time turned to him to order instruments of luxurious decoration, intended for small courtyards orchestras.

The pegs used for tensioning the strings are made of metal and have the shape of a cylinder with a diameter of 0.7 cm and a length of 5 or 6 cm.

The stand and the threshold, which depends on the level of the height of the strings, are made of more solid tree species. A brass or copper fret plate is inserted into the center of the stand and the nut.

The bottom deck is made of maple, birch, walnut, mountain ash.

This type of production refers to the first period of road traffic and is based on royalties and Amati models; At the same time, however, it makes some changes to the expanding armor and when installing the bottom and collisions. Later, at the age of over sixty years, Antonio Stradivari further modifies his model and style of sophistication: the instruments of this period are now considered the original roots in the history of the violin and are fundamental to the formation of many Lutherans. In addition to the violin, Stradivari also deals with cello, also introducing fundamental innovations: reducing the shape of the harmonic case, he acquires more maneuverable instruments, thereby facilitating the distribution of the instrument not only as an accompaniment, but as a solo instrument.

Inside to the upper and lower deck, to increase the resistance and uniform distribution of sound vibrations, wooden blocks, called springs, are glued.

Varieties

The harp in the course of its evolution underwent significant modifications. To date, they are divided into four types: wing-shaped, helmet-shaped, lyre-like and stationary, which in turn are of two types: keyboard and plucked.

The reasons for this recession were different: some lute women moved their business to other cities in northern Italy, such as Turin and Milan; At the same time, in this historical period there is a sharp decline in the demand for new instruments. In addition, we are witnessing increased competition, which is likely to push Cinderella to an activity that is no longer characterized by the refinement of precious materials and paints; they may be concerned only with the decline in the cost of their laboratories and the price of their instruments.

The tradition of the cremonist lute will rightfully enter the UNESCO list as an unessential heritage of humanity! Andrea, the founder, was the son of the Gotardo artisan. His curriculum vitae and his sons Antonio and Girolamo remain uncertain, but it must be assumed that he was the creator of a genuine violin of normal size and with four pitches before Gasparo da Salo, who was born. It is obvious, however, that Andrea could not be a student of Gasparo, many years of his young age, and therefore he was the initiator of the Cremona school.

Pterygoid harp - in the people they are often referred to as filament or ringing, are currently the most popular. The number of strings of the instrument varies from five to seventeen, the middle ones of which are tuned by the sounds of the diatonic scale, and the extreme upper and lower ones may sound like bourdon ones. Currently, there are twelve options for customizing this type of goose. The main method of sound extraction, which is used to perform chord accompaniment, is saber-rattling performed by the right hand. The fingers of the left hand at the same time suppress unclaimed strings. For the conduction of melodic lines, a plucking of individual strings or tremolo is used. The pterygo-harp has four subspecies, which differ in size and pitch, this is piccolo, prima, alto and bass.
Helmetse gusli - have the second name of the hymnal, in appearance resemble a helmet. The number of strings is from ten to twenty-six. The instrument is played with both hands, the right plays the melody, the left harmonic accompaniment. The main tricks of the game is plucking strings and tremolo.
Lyre Gusli - the main difference of this type of gusl is the presence of the so-called playing window, with the help of which the performer manipulates the strings: he suppresses unnecessary or tweaks additional sounds.
Stationary keyboards and plucked harps, which are also called academic or concert, have a chromatic scale.

Keyboard harp have a range that is from 4 to 6 octaves, the strings are stretched in one plane and their number can be from 49 to 66. On this instrument a mechanical system is installed with twelve keys like a piano, when you press them, only those strings open sound. The main method of performance is arpeggio from lower to upper sounds.

In its rare violins, with a very accurate count, the harmonic case is several millimeters shorter and narrower than in the following instruments, is already well-formed with elegant curves, vertically placed primitives, sometimes in two parts, shallow cut, yellow-gold or light brown lacquer is very transparent. The voice is sweet and strong. Andrea also left some purple and some cellos. Antonio, the son of Andrea, began his activity after his father's models. Girolamo, working with his brother Antonio, showed great originality in his personal work.

Ship harp represent a metal frame with strings stretched on it, located in two levels. The frame is placed in the case, standing on wooden legs.The range of sounds of this instrument is equal to the range of keyboard gusl. Quite a difficult sound extraction on these harps, performed by the right and left hand, allows you to perform pieces of varying complexity.

Even in these violins, the voice is sweet, but more powerful than in some instruments, Andrea. Nicola, the son of Girolamo and his second wife, Laura de Medici de Lazzarini, was without a doubt the greatest master of the family, and while he was still alive, he was everywhere great everywhere. It should be noted that in his cards he seems to not appear only Jerome Phil. From the very beginning, he imitated his models and produced numerous small specimens, but then he became distant, changing the shape and contours to create truly original instruments, the so-called great Amati.

Application

Today, many represent the harp as an archaic instrument of buffoons. However, this is not at all the case; the harp has long become a professional stage instrument with a luxurious, unique sound. At the present time in each folk orchestra there is a set of gusli: keyboard and table-like plucked.

The bottom has regular ribs, the harmonic body looks more proportionally, the rounded, elegant edges, the corners pressed onto the infuser, the elongated elbows and the higher bands, the transparent clear lacquer is unmatched in the last instances. Nicolas also built violets, a cello and a double bass, Ruggeri called Per, Stradivari and, perhaps, Grancino's father, the founder of the Milan school. ) Girolamo, the son of the third son, Nicola, first of all a pupil of his father, soon moved away from his father’s models and did not release many tools. Several tools that came together are not comparable to those of his ancestors.

In addition to orchestral practice, the instrument is actively used as a solo, ensemble, as well as in musical groups of various styles, among them: folk, jazz and even rock. Bands in which musicians play only the harp are very popular with listeners. Academic music, melodic declamation, spiritual poems, folk tunes and songs are a small list of musical genres that are played on the instrument. Unfortunately, harps for playing music in everyday life is now almost not used.P.I. Tchaikovsky, A. Lyadov, ON. Rimsky-Korsakov, M. Mussorgsky, I. Stravinsky and others.

From Gasparo da Salo and Jacob Steiner, as well as to Antonio Stradivari and Giuseppe Guarneri, Amati provided Lutherias with invaluable value, creating the basis for the work of many other artists. Soon their tools were known and evaluated in the French court and in the 26th. The main European countries, and thanks to their excellence in Italian violin making, were quickly moving towards conquering undisputed leadership. Antonio Stradivari was the most famous student of Niccolo Amati. The tools he built during this period are clearly dependent on Nicola Amati.

Among contemporary composers who composed specifically for the harp and left many remarkable original works, I would like to especially mention V. Gorodovskaya, E. Derbenko A. Dunaevskaya, V. Malyarova, O. Meremkulova, D. Lokshin and V. Boyashova, E. Synodskaya and K. Shakhanova.

Performers

Surprisingly, only about twenty instruments remained in this period, so it is assumed that part of his work until the 1980s was at the expense of other Lutherans, such as Amati and Francesco Ruggieri. Domenico in the family tomb. It was a rosary in the chapel, and the tombs it contained were also destroyed by the church, and in the area where the basilica stands, there are public gardens, Piazza Roma, tombstones, all that remains in memory of the passage of land 27. There are many students of Leandro Biziach who have achieved great success, such as Sesto Rocky, Gaetano Sgarabotto, Pietro Borghi, Celestino Falotto, Celeste Farotti, Camillo Mandelli of Calca and Giuseppe Pedrazzini.

Artists on the harp in ancient Russia were very honored, they were treated with great respect. At the present time, in connection with a surge of interest in the origins of Russian national musical culture, the work of musicians, musicians, is again of great interest. This is evidenced by the fact that the popularity of the gusl is growing every year, and with it the fullness of the concert halls, in which the unique old Russian instrument sounds.

There are a lot of performers who today captivate the hearts of listeners, here are the names of some of them:

L. Muravyova, G. Malyarova, D. Volkov, N. Dyachenko, T. Kostyuchkova, T. Kiseleva, E. Kostina, M. Belyaev, P. Lukoyanov, I. Akhromeev, A. Baikalets, V. Ivanov, D. Paramonov, E. Strelnikov, K. Shakhanov, S. Starostin and many others.

Speaking about the musicians-harpists, who at the present time conquer not only domestic, but also foreign listeners with their creative work, it is necessary to note the real enthusiasts who laid the foundation of the modern school of harp playing, V. Povetkin and O. Smolensky. N. Golosov, F. Artamonov, A. Prokhorov, P. Shalimov, S. Golovoshkin, M. Vasilyev, A. Belova, V. Kononov, V. Tikhonov became followers and worthy successors of their affairs, who had linked their harps all their lives. , D. Lokshin, V. Trifonov, V. Surikov, V. Belyavsky, L. Basurmanova, Y. Strelnikov, E. Komarnitskaya, Vladimir Povetkin and many others who through their work and students spread the love of the guslia throughout our vast Motherland .

Story

The history of the Gusli, one of the most ancient instruments, has its roots in ancient times. The beginning of their origin, as well as of all stringed instruments, was connected with a bowstring of hunting bow, which, under strong tension, made a pleasant sound to the human ear. Then the string, acting as a string, was attached to the body, which had a cavity inside and served as a resonator. Thereby, the simplest musical instrument was obtained, which, undoubtedly, subsequently evolved and modified accordingly. The tool, similar to guslyam, is found in many nationalities and has a variety of names. There is an assumption that among the Slavs the name of the instrument is associated with the very sounding string, which in olden times was called “gusla”.

The fact that the gusli are known in Russia from time immemorial is not in doubt, but one of the first, indirect sources that contain images of the instrument are manuscripts from the second century AD, as well as drawings in ancient temples. Then, more reliably about the harps, we learn in the writings of the Byzantines, dating from the end of the sixth millennium, in which they express their surprise at the skillful game of Rus on instruments similar to kithara. And only from the middle of the 20th century, thanks to the findings of scientific archaeological expeditions conducted in the area of the ancient Russian cities of Novgorod and Pskov, we began to have an idea about the harps, where our distant ancestors played music.

The tool in Russia was unusually claimed and loved. To his sounds, fairy tales were told, sang songs, danced, danced and even fought, because fist fights are very popular entertainment among the Russian people. Gusli sounded everywhere: in peasant huts, on market squares and in royal chambers. The secrets of making and the art of performance were passed down from generation to generation. Among the variety of tool types, the most common were pterygoid, helmet-shaped and trapezoid-shaped.

The harp was often called “spring” and “ringed”. They were made of tree species that were distinguished by the best resonator properties: spruce or maple-sycamore. And the strings, the number of which was also very different, stretched metal, it was they who gave the gusla a special bright sound.

From the 15th to the 17th century on the Russian land, amusing buffoon people enjoyed great popularity among the population. They earned by traveling to villages and cities, entertaining people, arranging various entertainment performances. For the sound of their performances, they used various folk musical instruments, including the harp. In the middle of the 17th century, hard times came for the buffoons, who often laughed at secular and church authorities. They were sent into exile and even executed, and their tools, including the harp, were collected and destroyed. Only after some time had passed when Peter I came to power, the persecutions ended, and the prohibitions were lifted. However, in Russia, transformations began in a new European way, including in the field of music-making. In the circles of the nobility, European instruments are in vogue: harp, then harpsichord. Only the lower class of the townspeople and peasants continue to have fun with the familiar sound of their favorite guslias. And instrument fans did not yield, constantly transforming the instrument. During the reign of Catherine II, the masters constructed table-shaped psaltery, which exceeded the fashionable harpsichord at that time. The performers have improved the technique of performance, which allows the performance of the works of Italian composers on the harp: opera arias and partitas.

Gusli in their various forms continue to exist actively until the middle of the 19th century and after a slight calm, they are revived again. On the initiative and convincing request of the Russian enthusiast, creator of the "Great Russian Orchestra" of folk instruments V. Andreev, as well as his associates N. Privalov and O. Smolensky, the chromatic keyboard harp and then a whole family of plucked gusls consisting of piccolo were constructed by the musical master Fomin , primo, viola and bass. These instruments, included in the composition of the orchestra, decorated it with a unique flavor of a guzelny sound.

The harp is a unique ancient instrument, symbolizing our Fatherland, the harmony of the world and Being. Gusli have always been an integral part of Russian culture, the interest in which is very actively traced in recent times. The beautiful iridescent voice of the gusley collects full concert halls and causes sincere admiration of listeners of all ages, which speaks of the growing popularity of this native, but unfairly forgotten instrument.

Video: listen to the harp

Harp - stringed musical instrument, most common in Russia.

The gusli are a flat box-resonator with strings stretched over it. Under different names - cannel, kankles, kok-le, kantele, kyusle, and kesle - this multi-stringed plucked instrument is known among the peoples of the Baltic and Volga region.

In Russia, the gusli are known from the XI century. The form of the pterygoid harp, also called the ringed or spring-aged, and the helmet-shaped. Both were kept on their knees when playing, but on the first strings they were plucked with a special thin plate - a plectrum, and on the second - with the fingers of both hands. At the end of the XVI - beginning of the XVII century. in Russia were created rectangular harp. They had a table-like body with a lid, inside it stretched to 66 strings. While playing, the strings were plucked with the fingers of both hands, and the sounds were loud, long and undamped.

Three varieties of gusli are now common: ringed, plucked and keyboards. Ringing psalters are direct heirs of ancient pterygoid gusli. They are usually trapezoidal. When playing, the performer holds them on his knees, extracting the sound in several ways: he plucks the strings with the fingers of both hands or only with his right hand, and muffles the strings with his left; uses the plectrum, then the sound becomes especially ringing. They play on these harps and saber-rattling, as on a balalaika. At the beginning of the XX century. the musician-ethnographer, conductor N. I. Privalov, and O. U. Smolensky’s psaltery reconstructed this type of harp: they gave it a triangular shape, increased the number of strings from 5–9 to 13, created ensemble gusli - piccolo, accept, alto and bass. Currently used mainly only prima. Soviet performer D. Lock-shin constructed chromatic ringed psaltery, which greatly expanded the artistic possibilities of the instrument.

Tongue harps - improved rectangular harp. They consist of a metal frame on wooden legs with strings stretched over it. Their scale is chromatic, it is possible to play chords and even various polyphonic pieces. Numerous strings are placed on two levels: on the top there are strings tuned diatonic, on the bottom there are strings giving the missing chromatic sounds.

Keyboard harp designed the closest ally of V. V. Andreev - N.P. Fomin. The device, the appearance and range of them are similar to plucked harps, but all the strings are located in the same plane, and above the strings there is a box with a system of silencers - dampers. The whole system is controlled with the help of 12 keys of one octave of a piano keyboard located on the edge of the damper box. When you press a key, the damper associated with it rises and opens the strings corresponding to the sound at once in all octaves. Most often, arpeggiated chords are played on keyboard keys. With his right hand, the performer leads the mediator (thin plate with a pointed end) along the strings, and the left one presses the necessary keys. With the help of a pedal located at the keys, all the dampers are lifted immediately. When the pedal is pressed, the keyboard harp can be used as a pinch.

This type of gusli is used in the modern Russian folk orchestra; in professional groups there is a duo of pinch and keyboard gusl.

The story of Gusli

Harp - a musical instrument, under the name of which in Russia are understood several types of supine harps. Psalted gusli resemble the Greek psalter and the Jewish kynor; These include: the Chuvash harp, the Cheremis harp, the claviate-shaped harp and the harp, which have similarities with the Finnish kantele, the Latvian kukles and the Lithuanian kankles.

Chuvash and Cheremis gusli have a striking resemblance to the images of this instrument, preserved in the monuments of our antiquity, for example, in the manuscript servant of the XIV century, where the person playing the harp is represented in the capital letter D, in Makarievskaya Chete-Minee 1542, etc.

In all these images, the performers hold the harp on their knees and hook the strings with their fingers. The Chuvash and Cheremis play the harp in exactly the same way. The strings of their gosols are intestinal; their number is not always the same. Psalms are brought to Russia by the Greeks; Chuvash and Cheremis borrowed this instrument from the Russians.

The keyboard gusli, which are still found today, mainly among the Russian clergy, is nothing more than an improved form of psalty-like ghouls. This tool consists of a rectangular resonance box with a lid that rests on the table. On the resonance board, several round cuts (vocalists) are made, and two concave wooden bars are attached to it.

On one of them iron pegs are screwed on which metal strings are wound; the other bar plays the role of a stringer, that is, serves to attach the strings. Keyboards have a piano system, with the strings corresponding to the black keys placed below the corresponding white keys.

For clavier-like grounds, there are notes and a school composed by Kushenov-Dmitrevsky. In addition to the psalty gusl, there are similar to the Finnish instrument kantele. This kind of goose almost completely disappeared. It is very likely that he was borrowed by the Russians from the Finns. The Old Slavic word means kifaru, that is, at the beginning of the middle ages, the concept of stringed instruments was generally expressed.

From this word originated modern names: gusle - from Serbs and Bulgarians, gusle, guzla, gusli - from Croats, gosle - from Slovenes, guslic - from Poles, housle ("violin") y Czechs and harps from Russians. These instruments are quite diverse and many of them are stringed, for example. guzla, which has only one horsehair string.

Harps origin. Gusli - musical instruments. All of them. Harp in our time

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