Here is a charming composition in the baroque style played by Veronika Roemer on a 41-string chromatic lyre made by Heinz Derscheid. Most of us in this group are interested in the folk lyres of ancient cultures, but there is a growing group of people (among them, the members of the LYRE ASSOCIATION OF NORTH AMERICA) who are trying to introduce the instrument to kids as a viable, modern way of making new music. The new chromatic lyres are strung with wire and some of them have more than 60 strings. The Montefiore concert lyre made by the ATELIER DELOS in Prague, has 66 strings. It could be argued that these types of instruments are not true lyres, but chromatic harp/lyre hybrids. Although they do have a bridge which is a characteristic of lyres, some of them have the harp harmonic curve either in the neck or in the bridge and, like harps, there is a huge variation in string length relative to pitch, something not found in traditional lyres. The Montefiore (which you can check out on the Delos website if you are interested) seems to have treble strings that are roughly one third the length of the bass. These instruments have a delicate, psaltery-like tone and are very nice to listen to but MAKE NO MISTAKE, they are relatively difficult to play because they require a great deal of precision. In the past, attempts to build chromatic harps have failed. Although these instruments still exist, they are rare and have never really taken off because, in many ways, they are more limited than the standard pedal or lever harps, they are generally much heavier, and they are difficult to tune. youtube/watch?v=1nX5fCZlyV4
Posted on: Tue, 25 Mar 2014 12:09:05 +0000
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