Gusli
Encyclopedia
Gusli
Gusli ( is the oldest Russia
n multi-string plucked instrument. Its exact history is unknown, but it may have derived from a Byzantine
form of the Greek kythare, which in turn derived from the ancient lyre
. It has its relatives throughout the world - kantele
in Finland, kannel
in Estonia, kankles
and kokle
in Lithuania and Latvia. Furthermore, we can find kanun
in Arabic countries and the autoharp
in the USA. It is also related to such ancient instruments as Chinese gu zheng which has a thousand year history and its Japanese relative koto
.
In the times of Kievan Rus’, the term gusli is thought to simply refer to any generic stringed instrument. The root of the term comes from the word to make sound in the wind. The term was eventually associated with the trapezoidal gusli-psaltyry (which may have originated in Byzantium
).
The gusli is one of the oldest musical instruments that have played an important role in the Russia
n music culture. The Greek
historian
s Theophylact Simocatta
and Theophan were the first to mention the gusli: Under the war in the end of the 6th Century, the Greeks took Slavonic
prisoners and found a musical instrument named the gusli. This corresponds to what the Arabic authors Al-Masudi
and Ibn-Dasta told in the 10th Century AD.
Vertkov states that the first mentions of the Gusli date back to 591AD to a treatise by the Greek
historian Theophylact Simocatta
which describes the instrument being used by Slavs from the area of the later Kievan Rus'
kingdom.
The gusli are thought to have been the instrument used by the legendary Boyan
(a singer of tales) described in the Lay of Igor's campaign
.
The instruments were used by the wandering Skomorokh
musicians and entertainers. Preserved instruments discovered by archaeologists in various digs have between five and nine strings with one example having twelve strings.
The first notated piece of music for the gusli was a Ukrainian song "Oi pid Vyshneyu" which was recorded in St. Petersburg in 1803 by the French composer F. Bualde.
. There were two main forms: helmet-shaped (Shlemovidnye gusli - ) and wing-shaped (Krylovidnye gusli).
Shlemovidnye gusli (Helmet-shaped gusli; ) is a variety of gusli held by the musician on his knees, so that strings were horizontal, resonator
body under them. He uses his left hand to mute unnecessary strings and thus forming chords, while passing all the strings with his right hand. The instrument was spread in southern and western regions of Kievan Rus’.
n folk psalteries
such as the kantele
. They were held much more like modern guitar
s (although strings were still muted by the left hand through a special opening in the instrument's body). This modification was more prevalent in northern parts of Russia, especially Novgorod and Pskov
.
. In western Ukraine and Belarus, husli can also refer to a fiddle or even a ducted flute. The violin-like variant of the instrument is also related to the Southern Slavic gusle
.
The psaltery variant is related to the Zither
. It is also related to the Latvia
n kokle
, the Lithuania
n kanklės
and the Finnish
kantele
. Together these instruments make up the family known as Baltic Psalteries.
A related instrument is the tsymbaly
, a hammered dulcimer
.
In Ukraine
, it is thought that the gusli may have influenced the development of the multi-stringed bandura
, which largely replaced it in the nineteenth century.
Gusli ( is the oldest Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n multi-string plucked instrument. Its exact history is unknown, but it may have derived from a Byzantine
Byzantium
Byzantium was an ancient Greek city, founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas . The name Byzantium is a Latinization of the original name Byzantion...
form of the Greek kythare, which in turn derived from the ancient lyre
Lyre
The lyre is a stringed musical instrument known for its use in Greek classical antiquity and later. The word comes from the Greek "λύρα" and the earliest reference to the word is the Mycenaean Greek ru-ra-ta-e, meaning "lyrists", written in Linear B syllabic script...
. It has its relatives throughout the world - kantele
Kantele
A kantele or kannel is a traditional plucked string instrument of the zither family native to Finland, Estonia, and Karelia. It is related to the Russian gusli, the Latvian kokle and the Lithuanian kanklės. Together these instruments make up the family known as Baltic psalteries...
in Finland, kannel
Kannel
Kannel may refer to:*Kannel , an open source Wireless Application Protocol and Short Message Service gateway for UNIX operating systems.*Kannel is the Estonian name for kantele, a traditional plucked string instrument...
in Estonia, kankles
Kankles
The Kanklės is a Lithuanian plucked string musical instrument , related to the zither. It is roughly in the shape of a trapezium or trapezoid . The instrument is fitted with several wire or gut strings under tension which produce tones when plucked...
and kokle
Kokle
The kokle is a Latvian plucked string musical instrument , related to the zither. It is similar in construction and origin to the Lithuanian kanklės, Russian gusli, Estonian kannel and Finnish kantele.-Origin:...
in Lithuania and Latvia. Furthermore, we can find kanun
Kanun (Instrument)
The Qanun is a string instrument found in the 10th century in Farab in Turkestan...
in Arabic countries and the autoharp
Autoharp
The autoharp is a musical string instrument having a series of chord bars attached to dampers, which, when depressed, mute all of the strings other than those that form the desired chord. Despite its name, the autoharp is not a harp at all, but a chorded zither. -History:There is debate over the...
in the USA. It is also related to such ancient instruments as Chinese gu zheng which has a thousand year history and its Japanese relative koto
Koto (musical instrument)
The koto is a traditional Japanese stringed musical instrument, similar to the Chinese guzheng, the Mongolian yatga, the Korean gayageum and the Vietnamese đàn tranh. The koto is the national instrument of Japan. Koto are about length, and made from kiri wood...
.
Etymology
Byzantium
Byzantium was an ancient Greek city, founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas . The name Byzantium is a Latinization of the original name Byzantion...
).
History
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n music culture. The Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
s Theophylact Simocatta
Theophylact Simocatta
Theophylact Simocatta was an early seventh-century Byzantine historiographer, arguably ranking as the last historian of Late Antiquity, writing in the time of Heraclius about the late Emperor Maurice .-Life:His history of the reign of emperor Maurice is in eight books...
and Theophan were the first to mention the gusli: Under the war in the end of the 6th Century, the Greeks took Slavonic
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
prisoners and found a musical instrument named the gusli. This corresponds to what the Arabic authors Al-Masudi
Al-Masudi
Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn Ali al-Mas'udi , was an Arab historian and geographer, known as the "Herodotus of the Arabs." Al-Masudi was one of the first to combine history and scientific geography in a large-scale work, Muruj adh-dhahab...
and Ibn-Dasta told in the 10th Century AD.
Vertkov states that the first mentions of the Gusli date back to 591AD to a treatise by the Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
historian Theophylact Simocatta
Theophylact Simocatta
Theophylact Simocatta was an early seventh-century Byzantine historiographer, arguably ranking as the last historian of Late Antiquity, writing in the time of Heraclius about the late Emperor Maurice .-Life:His history of the reign of emperor Maurice is in eight books...
which describes the instrument being used by Slavs from the area of the later Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rus was a medieval polity in Eastern Europe, from the late 9th to the mid 13th century, when it disintegrated under the pressure of the Mongol invasion of 1237–1240....
kingdom.
The gusli are thought to have been the instrument used by the legendary Boyan
Boyan (bard)
Boyan is the name of a bard who was mentioned in the Rus' epic The Lay of Igor's Campaign as being active at the court of Yaroslav the Wise. He is apostrophized as Volos's grandson in the opening lines of The Lay...
(a singer of tales) described in the Lay of Igor's campaign
The Tale of Igor's Campaign
The Tale of Igor's Campaign is an anonymous epic poem written in the Old East Slavic language.The title is occasionally translated as The Song of Igor's Campaign, The Lay of Igor's Campaign, and The Lay of...
.
The instruments were used by the wandering Skomorokh
Skomorokh
The skomorokhs were medieval East Slavic harlequins, i.e. actors, who could also sing, dance, play musical instruments and compose most of the scores for their oral/musical and dramatic performances. The etymology of the word is not completely clear...
musicians and entertainers. Preserved instruments discovered by archaeologists in various digs have between five and nine strings with one example having twelve strings.
The first notated piece of music for the gusli was a Ukrainian song "Oi pid Vyshneyu" which was recorded in St. Petersburg in 1803 by the French composer F. Bualde.
Types of Gusli
Folk Gusli have from eleven to thirty-six gut or metal strings, tuned diatonicallyDiatonic and chromatic
Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are most often used to characterize scales, and are also applied to intervals, chords, notes, musical styles, and kinds of harmony...
. There were two main forms: helmet-shaped (Shlemovidnye gusli - ) and wing-shaped (Krylovidnye gusli).
Shlemovidnye gusli
Resonator
A resonator is a device or system that exhibits resonance or resonant behavior, that is, it naturally oscillates at some frequencies, called its resonant frequencies, with greater amplitude than at others. The oscillations in a resonator can be either electromagnetic or mechanical...
body under them. He uses his left hand to mute unnecessary strings and thus forming chords, while passing all the strings with his right hand. The instrument was spread in southern and western regions of Kievan Rus’.
Krylovidnye gusli
Krylovidnye gusli ("wing-shaped gusli"; ) is much smaller, and had more resemblance to ScandinaviaScandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n folk psalteries
Psaltery
A psaltery is a stringed musical instrument of the harp or the zither family. The psaltery of Ancient Greece dates from at least 2800 BC, when it was a harp-like instrument...
such as the kantele
Kantele
A kantele or kannel is a traditional plucked string instrument of the zither family native to Finland, Estonia, and Karelia. It is related to the Russian gusli, the Latvian kokle and the Lithuanian kanklės. Together these instruments make up the family known as Baltic psalteries...
. They were held much more like modern guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s (although strings were still muted by the left hand through a special opening in the instrument's body). This modification was more prevalent in northern parts of Russia, especially Novgorod and Pskov
Pskov
Pskov is an ancient city and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, Russia, located in the northwest of Russia about east from the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population: -Early history:...
.
Clavichord Gusli
The Clavichord Gusli ["Claviaturno-obraznie Gusli" | ()] are a nineteenth century derivative with an iron frame and metal strings tuned chromatically. It stood on a stand or table legs. The instrument had a keyboard. Pressing the keys of the keyboard would raise the dampers on specific strings and allow the player to play glissandi and arpeggios over the range of the strings. This instrument is used primarily in Russian Folk Instrument orchestras.Related instruments
A number of Slavic folk music instruments have names which are related to Gusli such as the Czech violin housle, the Balkan one-stringed fiddle gusleGusle
The Gusle is a single-stringed musical instrument traditionally used in the Dinarides region of the Balkans ....
. In western Ukraine and Belarus, husli can also refer to a fiddle or even a ducted flute. The violin-like variant of the instrument is also related to the Southern Slavic gusle
Gusle
The Gusle is a single-stringed musical instrument traditionally used in the Dinarides region of the Balkans ....
.
The psaltery variant is related to the Zither
Zither
The zither is a musical string instrument, most commonly found in Slovenia, Austria, Hungary citera, northwestern Croatia, the southern regions of Germany, alpine Europe and East Asian cultures, including China...
. It is also related to the Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
n kokle
Kokle
The kokle is a Latvian plucked string musical instrument , related to the zither. It is similar in construction and origin to the Lithuanian kanklės, Russian gusli, Estonian kannel and Finnish kantele.-Origin:...
, the Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
n kanklės
Kankles
The Kanklės is a Lithuanian plucked string musical instrument , related to the zither. It is roughly in the shape of a trapezium or trapezoid . The instrument is fitted with several wire or gut strings under tension which produce tones when plucked...
and the Finnish
Music of Finland
The music of Finland can be roughly divided in the following three categories.Folk music is typically influenced by Karelian traditional tunes and lyrics of the Kalevala metre. Karelian heritage has traditionally been perceived as the purest expression of Finnic myths and beliefs, thought to be...
kantele
Kantele
A kantele or kannel is a traditional plucked string instrument of the zither family native to Finland, Estonia, and Karelia. It is related to the Russian gusli, the Latvian kokle and the Lithuanian kanklės. Together these instruments make up the family known as Baltic psalteries...
. Together these instruments make up the family known as Baltic Psalteries.
A related instrument is the tsymbaly
Tsymbaly
The tsymbaly is the Ukrainian version of the hammer dulcimer. It is a chordophone made up of a trapezoidal box with metal strings strung across it. The tsymbaly is played by striking two beaters against the strings....
, a hammered dulcimer
Hammered dulcimer
The hammered dulcimer is a stringed musical instrument with the strings stretched over a trapezoidal sounding board. Typically, the hammered dulcimer is set on a stand, at an angle, before the musician, who holds small mallet hammers in each hand to strike the strings...
.
In Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, it is thought that the gusli may have influenced the development of the multi-stringed bandura
Bandura
Bandura refers to a Ukrainian plucked string folk instrument. It combines elements of a box zither and lute, as well as its lute-like predecessor, the kobza...
, which largely replaced it in the nineteenth century.
List of other related instruments
- BanduraBanduraBandura refers to a Ukrainian plucked string folk instrument. It combines elements of a box zither and lute, as well as its lute-like predecessor, the kobza...
- KobzaKobzaThe kobza is a Ukrainian folk music instrument of the lute family , a relative of the Central European mandora...
- KanteleKanteleA kantele or kannel is a traditional plucked string instrument of the zither family native to Finland, Estonia, and Karelia. It is related to the Russian gusli, the Latvian kokle and the Lithuanian kanklės. Together these instruments make up the family known as Baltic psalteries...
- PsalteryPsalteryA psaltery is a stringed musical instrument of the harp or the zither family. The psaltery of Ancient Greece dates from at least 2800 BC, when it was a harp-like instrument...
- zitherZitherThe zither is a musical string instrument, most commonly found in Slovenia, Austria, Hungary citera, northwestern Croatia, the southern regions of Germany, alpine Europe and East Asian cultures, including China...
- kokleKokleThe kokle is a Latvian plucked string musical instrument , related to the zither. It is similar in construction and origin to the Lithuanian kanklės, Russian gusli, Estonian kannel and Finnish kantele.-Origin:...
- kanklėsKanklesThe Kanklės is a Lithuanian plucked string musical instrument , related to the zither. It is roughly in the shape of a trapezium or trapezoid . The instrument is fitted with several wire or gut strings under tension which produce tones when plucked...