Bowed Psaltery
Rick Long
psaltery in the early 80's after hearing one at a craft show. I
immediately fell in love with the rich, haunting sound and just
had to have one. After many years I now have a small business
building bowed psalteries which I sell mainly at craft shows. I
am interested in hearing from other players or builders of this
marvelous instrument. I am currently trying to research the
history of the bowed psaltery and am not finding a great deal of
information.
David Marcus & Peggy Lamberson
I seem to recall having heard that the instrument was created in Germany in
the 1960s ... but I canna speak as to the veracity of that or even recall
the source :(.
A question for you: how many bowed psalteries have been built in the last
10-20 years and .... WHERE ARE THEY ALL?? <g>
David
Bob Dalsemer
George Kelischek who was born in Germany and has lived for many years here
in Brasstown, NC, claims that he built the first bowed psalteries in this
country (probably in the 60's). I'm not certain of the details of where he
got the idea, but you could contact him at Kelischek Workshop, Brasstown,
NC 28902. Besides George there are a number of other players around here,
including one member of a North Georgia folk music group called Butternut
Creek. The John C. Campbell Folk School offered a weekend class in bowed
pasltery taught by Ivan Stiles last summer and there were about 8 people
signed up for the class. One of the Folk School's dulcimer instructors,
Lynn Wadley, also plays bowed psaltery. Both Lynn and Ivan can play with
two bows at the same time, leading one Folk School Elderhostel student to
ask if they were "ambiguous."
David Shucavage
<10414...@CompuServe.COM> wrote:
> I am a bowed psaltery builder and player. I obtained my first
> psaltery in the early 80's after hearing one at a craft show. I
> immediately fell in love with the rich, haunting sound and just
> had to have one. After many years I now have a small business
> building bowed psalteries which I sell mainly at craft shows. I
> am interested in hearing from other players or builders of this
> marvelous instrument. I am currently trying to research the
> history of the bowed psaltery and am not finding a great deal of
> information.
I heard from Sam Rizetta that he heard from another builder (George
Keleshek (SP?) in Brasstown NC) that the bowed psaltery as we know it
today was invented by a German violin maker in the 1940's to teach violin
students bowing techniques. I tend to believe this since I too could find
nothing on it in any of the books on ancient musical instruments I looked
at in various libraries.
I have built two bowed psalteries, including a "bass' that is about an
octive below the standard sized one.
--
David Shucavage ds...@telerama.lm.com
Check out my Folk Stuff Web Site at
http://www.lm.com/~dshu/folkstuff.html
and my "Crazy About Constraints" (Theory of Constraints) site at:
http://www.lm.com/~dshu/toc/cac.html
Christopher M. Jessop
On Wed, 20 Mar 1996, David Marcus wrote in responce to Rick Long about bowed
psalteries:
> I seem to recall having heard that the instrument was created in
> Germany in
> the 1960s ... but I canna speak as to the veracity of that or even recall
> the source :(.
While what I have will help Rick very little, since it comes from general
sources it may interest others. I believe the bowed form of
the instrument is very old. I personally have seen (copies of)
medieval illuminated manuscripts that portray
psaltries (and dulcimers for that matter). At this time I cannot be
certain whether they were bowed or plucked, I believe some were bowed.
The zither family of instruments (of which the psaltry and dulcimer
are members reached Europe from the Middle East in the 11th C. (Musical
Instr. of the World.)
I have read that in 1306 at the feast for the knighting of the Prince of
Wales (eventually to be Edward II or England) there were psaltry-players.
Amoung the 98 musicians listed as payed on Whitsunday 2 psaltry-players
(Menestrellorum Multitudo, Dr. Bullock-Davies). It is not clear to me
whether those psaltries were plucked or bowed. I don't know when bowing
became popular (interesting note: the largest group of musicians in that
payroll were harpists). According to the Larouse Encyclopediea of
Music, which says very little about psaltries in general, there are
depictions of bowed lyres from as early as the 11th C. but it does not
mentioned bowed psaltries. It is interesting to note that the Harvard
Dictionary of Music says of psaltries: ".. are plucked with the fingers or
plectrum" and does not seem to allow for bowing.
Chris. Jessop
Paul M. Gifford
>From: ds...@telerama.lm.com (David Shucavage)
>Subject: Re: Bowed Psaltery
>Date: 23 Mar 1996 23:43:03 GMT
>In article <4ing1g$t9b$1...@mhafn.production.compuserve.com>, Rick Long
><10414...@CompuServe.COM> wrote:
>> I am a bowed psaltery builder and player. I obtained my first
>> psaltery in the early 80's after hearing one at a craft show. I
>> immediately fell in love with the rich, haunting sound and just
>> had to have one. After many years I now have a small business
>> building bowed psalteries which I sell mainly at craft shows. I
>> am interested in hearing from other players or builders of this
>> marvelous instrument. I am currently trying to research the
>> history of the bowed psaltery and am not finding a great deal of
>> information.
>I heard from Sam Rizetta that he heard from another builder (George
>Keleshek (SP?) in Brasstown NC) that the bowed psaltery as we know it
>today was invented by a German violin maker in the 1940's to teach violin
>students bowing techniques. I tend to believe this since I too could find
>nothing on it in any of the books on ancient musical instruments I looked
>at in various libraries.
Or possibly during the '20s, but I also have heard it was in Germany, and
possibly connected with instruments designed by Carl Orff.
However, the ukelin, a similar instrument, but with sets of chord strings, was
patented in the U.S., probably in the 1910s. Thus the ukelin, which can be
found fairly often in junk stores, is older than the bowed psaltery, whose
name was taken from the medieval psaltery, but without any further connection.
Paul Gifford
k reeder
>In article <4ing1g$t9b$1...@mhafn.production.compuserve.com>, Rick Long
><10414...@CompuServe.COM> wrote:
>> I am a bowed psaltery builder and player. I obtained my first
>> psaltery in the early 80's after hearing one at a craft show. I
>> immediately fell in love with the rich, haunting sound and just
>> had to have one. After many years I now have a small business
>> building bowed psalteries which I sell mainly at craft shows. I
>> am interested in hearing from other players or builders of this
>> marvelous instrument. I am currently trying to research the
>> history of the bowed psaltery and am not finding a great deal of
>> information.
>I heard from Sam Rizetta that he heard from another builder (George
>Keleshek (SP?) in Brasstown NC) that the bowed psaltery as we know it
>today was invented by a German violin maker in the 1940's to teach violin
>students bowing techniques. I tend to believe this since I too could find
>nothing on it in any of the books on ancient musical instruments I looked
>at in various libraries.
>I have built two bowed psalteries, including a "bass' that is about an
>octive below the standard sized one.
>--
> David Shucavage ds...@telerama.lm.com
> Check out my Folk Stuff Web Site at
> http://www.lm.com/~dshu/folkstuff.html
> and my "Crazy About Constraints" (Theory of Constraints) site at:
> http://www.lm.com/~dshu/toc/cac.html
First : Does any one know if the Hughes Dulcimer Company is still
around?
Secondly:
I'm a mountain dulcimer player but
I remember reading in an old Hughes Dulcimer Company catalog that the
hammered dulcimer dates back to about the 1300's. Bowing came much
later, however. I don't think bowing became a known option in western
music until the late middle ages, but I 'm under the impression that
the psaltery wasn't popularly bowed until it came to the States. Back
when I was in high school, I was fascinated by Medieval music and did
a lot of research; I remember seeing a picture of an old woodcut of a
musician playing a hammerred dulcimer ( titled something like
"Musician Playing Psaltery") dating to the 14th century. In fact the
dulcimer may go back even further as a plucked instrument.
The really strange thing is that the mountain dulcimer supposedly
traces it's roots back even further than the hammered dulcimer,
because it's considered a relation to the hurdy-gurdy and various
zither-like instruments dating back to ancient times.
"gonna get out of bed, get a hammer and nails, learn how to use my
hands..." now, if I could only get away from the #@!%& computer!
Silverwind / WindRider
>I'm a mountain dulcimer player but
>I remember reading in an old Hughes Dulcimer Company catalog that the
>hammered dulcimer dates back to about the 1300's. Bowing came much
>later, however. I don't think bowing became a known option in western
>music until the late middle ages, but I 'm under the impression that
>the psaltery wasn't popularly bowed until it came to the States. Back
>when I was in high school, I was fascinated by Medieval music and did
>a lot of research; I remember seeing a picture of an old woodcut of a
>musician playing a hammerred dulcimer ( titled something like
>"Musician Playing Psaltery") dating to the 14th century. In fact the
>dulcimer may go back even further as a plucked instrument.
>The really strange thing is that the mountain dulcimer supposedly
>traces it's roots back even further than the hammered dulcimer,
>because it's considered a relation to the hurdy-gurdy and various
>zither-like instruments dating back to ancient times.
>"gonna get out of bed, get a hammer and nails, learn how to use my
> hands..." now, if I could only get away from the #@!%& computer!
Actually, the mountain dulcimer originated in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
It is truly a "native" American instrument, though I am sure you are
correct about its *relationship* to the hurdy-gurdy, etc.
WindRider
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