Publication details
Malé housle lidového instrumentáře Lužických Srbů
| Title in English | Little violin of the Sorbian Folk |
|---|---|
| Authors | |
| Year of publication | 2014 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Folia ethnographica : supplementum ad Acta Musei Moraviae, Scientiae sociales |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Art, architecture, cultural heritage |
| Keywords | Sorbs; violin; organology; musicology; folk music |
| Description | The study presents a detailed organological picture of bowed string musical instrument called little violin (kwasne huslički) used uniquely in Sorbian music folklore. This instrument was used by traditional musicians in the 18th and 19th centuries. Instrument has special construction characteristics and its use in Sorbian music folklore is also specific. Today this type of Sorbian violin is considered extinct, i.e. not actively used in the production of authentic Sorbian music folklore. Its appearance is now limited literally to just a few museum exhibits. The present Sorbian folklore ensembles often have copies of these violin constructed but these resemble traditional Sorbian chordophones only by appearance; their construction characteristics are entirely different and thus they cannot be considered traditional Sorbian chordophones. This type of instrument is characterized according to different criteria: shape, construction, manufacture, design, intonation, manner of interpretation and history of use (including the present state). The study surveys all the relevant historical sources, both written and iconographical, and the relevant literature. This ethno-organological work oscillates methodologically between the fields of musicology and ethnology, partially also sociology and general historiography. |
| Related projects: |