Over the past few years, society has clearly seen a tendency to return to the roots, to the origins. People are tired of the foreign culture that poured into Russia in the 90s of the last century. It seems that everyone is already fed up with American films, Chinese goods, foreign music, and unusual exotic food. Restaurants serving Russian cuisine are becoming fashionable, high-quality Russian cinema is appearing, and interest in the native country, its culture, art, and history is being revived. Children are given original Russian, Slavic names.
Interest in Slavic and Old Russian painting, literature and music is being revived. This one is gaining popularity musical genre, such as folk, folk-rock, performance of folk songs, in every city there are many folk groups that successfully perform at various mass events. Associations are involuntarily born with ancient Russian culture, where musicians were honored and welcome guests at any holiday.

In Russian culture, since ancient times, music has accompanied a person in all spheres of his life. Musical instruments were varied and had not only entertainment, but also sacred significance; they were used in various rituals and religious events, as well as for applied purposes - for example, shepherds blew a horn when gathering their flock. You can divide the most popular and favorite musical instruments into several groups according to the method of extracting sounds - percussion (rattles, mallets, spoons, shepherd's drum), wind instruments (pipes, whistles, pipes, zhaleika, horn), and strings (harp, balalaika).

One of the most beloved and famous instruments is, of course, the gusli.

Gusli - the oldest Russian plucked string instrument musical instrument– the first mentions of the harp were found in sources of the 5th century AD. A more modern type of gusli is the harp. A musician who plays the gusli is called a guslar. They played the harp both solo and in an ensemble, independently and as an accompaniment to singing. The repertoire performed on the harp is very diverse and has found application in all spheres of life - spiritual, festive, ritual. Wing-shaped, or ringed, harps have from 5 to 14 strings; you need to play them by picking all the strings, “rattling”, and muffling unnecessary sounds with the fingers of the other hand. Such harp was played “to songs”, “to dance” and even “to fight”; this variety is considered simple, “folk”; such harps were even in poor houses. On helmet-shaped harps, all 10-25 strings are plucked with the fingers of both hands when playing. Such an instrument is more suitable for performing song melodies; it was played by singer-storytellers and professional musicians. To the accompaniment of the gusel, epics, legends and more epic things, for example, “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign,” were and are still being performed.

According to one version, the ancestor of the Russian gusli is the ancient Greek cithara, but still this sonorous stringed instrument invariably evokes associations with Russian legends and epics. Favorite epic heroes played the gusli - Dobrynya Nikitich, Boyan, and the Novgorod merchant Sadko. A harp from the 12th century with the inscription “SLOVISHA” was found in Novgorod. According to scientists, this is the name of the master who made the harp; he probably also played it.

There was an ambiguous attitude towards guslars in Rus'. For a long time, these were the guests of honor at any gathering. They entertained the people with music and singing, told different stories, talked about the days of the past, and sometimes looked into the future - according to the beliefs of the ancient Russians, the guslars possessed a special, poetic magic. Not a single event in a rich house, be it a wedding or a funeral, was complete without a guslar. It was believed that any business requiring luck - a military campaign, matchmaking or something else - would certainly be solved the best way, if before starting it, listen to the song of the guslar about this event.

However, after the baptism of Rus', the gusli fell out of favor with christian church. According to some sources, psaltery players were considered sorcerers, and the gusli was considered a “demonic instrument.” But the most plausible version is that the negative attitude of the church towards the Russian instrumental music caused by desire Christian priests to fight drunkenness, debauchery and other indecent activities that took place at various festivals, of which guslar musicians were an integral part. Later, the harp was rehabilitated and was used in church ritual music.

In 1914, P. Fomin invented a new type of instrument - the keyboard gusli. Currently, the gusli is becoming popular again and is found in almost every folk orchestra. Small private workshops have appeared that produce this wonderful instrument, stylized ensembles of guslars, and even guslar-storytellers who are trying to restore the tradition of singing to guslar accompaniment. One of the famous instrumentalists of our time is Yegor Strelnikov and his ensemble of guslars “ Living water" They play mainly Orthodox music, performing epics and legends to the accompaniment of the gusel Ancient Rus', take part in various festivals and competitions of sacred and folk music. In 2005, Yegor Strelnikov visited Serbia with a cultural mission to call the Serbian and Russian people to unity and peace.

Gusli has always been and remains an integral part of Russian culture, their beautiful iridescent sound is associated with the Motherland, peace, tranquility, something infinitely familiar and familiar. Russian folk music features a variety of genres, melodies and performance options. Currently, folklore groups are very popular; they actively perform at festivals, group concerts, city events and evoke the sincere admiration of audiences of all ages. This indicates a revival of interest in Russian national culture and an unconditional increase in the general cultural level - only people who know and love their roots can be a strong, united and invincible people.

Gusli-gusli-samoguda

They sing the song everywhere.

Once you are ready, friends,

It's time for us all to dance.

The gusli is a flat box, hollow inside, with strings stretched across it. This multi-stringed plucked instrument was popular among the peoples of the Baltic and Volga regions; it was called differently - kannel, kantele, kusle. The gusli is depicted on a fresco of the 11th century. V St. Sophia Cathedral Kyiv.

There is a mention of ringed and vernal harps in folk epic, epic tales about the guslar Sadko, the heroes Dobrynya Nikitich, Stavr Godinovich and Nightingale Budimirovich.

“String humming” was considered prophetic by many peoples, capable of working miracles. With the sounds of the cithara, Orpheus charmed the god of the underworld, Hades. The hero, prophetic rune singer, sower and sage Väinämöinen controlled the natural elements by singing and playing the kantele. Sadko, playing the harp, won the favor of the Tsar of the Sea.

Gusli can express any mood to us:

Dobrynya began to play sadly,

In a sad, touching way...

Dobrynya began to play cheerfully.

In ancient times, three main types of gusel playing developed: the performance of lyrical melodies, mainly song and dance tunes, and musical and poetic recitative.

Nowadays there are three types of gusli: ringed, plucked and keyboard. Voiced - have the shape of a trapezoid. They are played by holding them on their knees, plucking (plucking) the strings. Sometimes they use a plectrum - a thin plate that hooks strings. This makes the sound especially ringing. The number of strings in modern gusli has been increased to 13. They are played by rattling, like on a balalaika.

Plucked psalteries are improved rectangular gusli. This is a metal frame on legs with tensioned strings, which are located on two levels, each configured according to its own principle. You can play chords and perform polyphonic melodies on them.

The keyboard harp was designed by master Fomin in late XIX V. Outwardly, they are similar to plucked strings, but the strings are located in the same plane, and above them there are dampers - mufflers. This system is controlled using 12 keys.

The gusel game has been preserved, this ancient form of folk musical culture and can now be heard performed live. Keyboard harps are used in orchestras, and in professional groups you can sometimes find plucked ones.

Gusli- a stringed musical instrument, common in Russia. It is the most ancient Russian stringed musical instrument.

Types of gusli

Wing-shaped harps have a variety of shapes, the strings are stretched fan-shaped, tapering towards the “heel” (the place where the tailpiece is located). Basically, we can distinguish instruments with a beveled body, which narrows as it approaches the tailpiece. The thickness of the tool is usually 4-5 cm, and the length is no more than 800 mm. A special feature, which gave the name to this type of instrument, is the thin, about 6-11 mm, opener. It is used to support the left hand, which quickly gets tired from hanging motionless over the strings. This type of gusli has from 5 to 17 strings, tuned according to the degrees of the diatonic scale in the Mixolydian mode (lowered 7th degree). Also, the lower or upper outer strings can be tuned as bourdon strings, that is, constantly sounding when playing. There are about 12 in various ways gusli settings. The winged harp is played, as a rule, by touching all the strings at once (“clanging”) and muffling unnecessary strings with the fingers of the left hand. This is achieved by placing three (sometimes four) fingers between the strings, which allows you to quickly change chords. Usually the blow comes from top to bottom, but for a smoother sound, blows of equal strength from bottom to top are often added. Melodies are also played (techniques of “stuffing”, “choice”, “plucking”). Sometimes guslars use the technique of plucking sounds with the fingers of their left hand, usually the ring finger and thumb.

Lyre-shaped harp

They are also called gusli with a playing window. They spread throughout Russia in Novgorod. Most ancient look instrument (instances also found from the 7th-8th centuries). Gusli with a playing window (Novgorod) have an opening on the back side, like Scandinavian lyres, into which the musician’s hand is placed. The strings are muted by the fingers of the left hand, just like the pterygoids. When playing, the instrument is held vertically, with the lower end resting against the knee or belt. When playing while walking or standing, it may rest on the thigh.

Helmet-shaped harp

Also the psaltery harp. Helmet-shaped psalteries have the shape of a helmet or a hill and have from 10 to 26 strings of the same tuning as the wing-shaped ones (lowered seventh degree). The gusli is placed in the same way as the winged ones, vertically on the musician’s knees. Right hand plucks the melody on the upper strings, using all fingers, and the right hand - chords, usually in fifths or fourths on the lower ones. You can also find the Cheremis technique of playing the octave with both hands.

Gusli ringed

They are also never called academic, concert gusli. They are highly modified pterygoids. The wing has been removed and the number of strings has been increased, there is also a stand near the tuning row, and there are other differences. They are the brainchild of V.V. Andreev, also known for improving the balalaika and domra. The playing technique is very different from playing the pterygoids. Rattling is used less frequently, but the strings are often plucked with the left hand, creating a background for the right hand, which leads the melody.

Table-shaped harp

An instrument that arose at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries. It was also used as a portable instrument, which was placed horizontally on the knees of the guslar. It was mainly distributed as a stationary instrument with big amount strings (up to four octaves). Sometimes such harps were found in the houses of wealthy townspeople, where they accompanied feasts. Currently, they are also used in the academic environment, where they also developed into keyboard harp (which was opened by pressing a key, the corresponding strings, like on wing-shaped ones). They were usually played as helmet-shaped ones, but often they also played glissando, when the strings were muted to form a chord.

Game Features

The harp is played sitting or standing. When playing while sitting, the harp is placed on the knees with its edge, slightly tilted towards the body. When playing standing or during a procession, the harp is hung on a string or strap. The harp is placed on the lap or on the table.

The musical repertoire for gusli is varied. The winged gusli is characterized by a traditional game " to the songs" And " while dancing", "for a fight". Playing to songs is distinguished by smooth beats and the same rhythm, and all rhythmic patterns are performed by voice. Playing to dance, on the contrary, is distinguished by a sharp and pronounced “march” rhythm. The repertoire for helmet-shaped gusli included primarily the playing of song melodies, but not excluded playing and dancing.

The gusli is tuned diatonically with a decrease in the 7th step: Do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-si flat-do. In ethnographic samples, several methods of tuning are known, including bourdon - constantly sounding strings during playing (like a bagpipe with additional pipes, or like a hurdy-gurdy and a whistle). With certain tunes, brudons can be suppressed.

Setting up bourdons:

1. for 9 string gusli (Pskov region) Sol-do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-si flat-do;
2. for 9 string gusli (Novgorod, Pskov regions) B flat-do re-mi-fa-sol-la-si flat-do;
3. for 12 string gusli ( Novosibirsk region) Do-do-sol-do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-si flat-do-do;
4. for 5 string psaltery (Belgian musicologist Dr. Gutry, 17th century) ( Leningrad region) Do-fa-sol-si-flat-do;
5. South Russian system (Voronezh, Kursk, Oryol provinces) G-b flat-do-re-mi.

Tuning the academic school gusli (orchestras) folk instruments) is the same as that of the Baltic (kokle, kankles) and Finno-Ugric instruments (kantele, kannel, sankvyltap, nars-yuh), without lowering the seventh step: Do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-si-do.

Story

The gusli is a musical instrument, a variety of which is the harp, cithara, lyre, and psaltery. Also similar to the harp are the ancient Greek cithara (there is a hypothesis that it is the ancestor of the harp), the Armenian canon and the Iranian santur; these include: Chuvash gusli, Cheremis gusli, clavier-shaped gusli and gusli, which are similar to the Finnish kantele, Latvian kokle and Lithuanian kankles.

The heroes of the Russian epic play the gusli: Sadko, Dobrynya Nikitich, Solovey Budimirovich. The Tale of Igor's Campaign mentions the 11th century guslar-storyteller Boyan:

Boyan, brothers, not 10 falcons
out to a flock of swans,
but its own thing and fingers
on live strings in stock;
They themselves are the prince, glory to the roar.

Researchers of the early 20th century noted the striking similarity of contemporary Chuvash and Cheremis gusli with images of this instrument in medieval Russian manuscripts (for example, in the 14th century Service Book, where in capital letter D is represented by a man playing the harp, and in the Makaryevskaya Chetye-Minya of the Year). In these images, the performers hold the harp on their knees and pluck the strings with their fingers. In exactly the same way, at the beginning of the 20th century, the Chuvash and Cheremis played the gusli. The strings of their harp were intestinal; their number was not always the same. Psalter-shaped harps are believed to have been brought to Russia by the Greeks, and the Chuvash and Cheremis borrowed this instrument from the Russians.

The clavier-shaped gusli, which was also found at the beginning of the 20th century mainly among the Russian clergy, was an improved type of psalter-shaped gusli. This instrument consisted of a rectangular resonance box with a lid, which rested on a table. Several round cutouts (voices) were made on the resonance board, and two concave wooden blocks were attached to it. Iron pegs were screwed into one of them, on which metal strings were wound; the other beam played the role of a stringer, that is, it served to attach the strings. The keyboard-shaped harp had a piano tuning, with the strings corresponding to the black keys being placed below those corresponding to the white keys.

For clavier-shaped gusli there were notes and a school compiled in early XIX century by Fyodor Kushenov-Dmitrevsky.

In addition to the psalter-shaped gusli, there were kantele, similar to the Finnish instrument. Probably, this type of gusli was borrowed by the Russians from the Finns. By the beginning of the 20th century it had almost completely disappeared.

Manufacturing

Usually made from an already processed board, sometimes from a wooden block, which is split under required sizes. The manufacturing technology is quite simple. First, the master selects the wood. It can be pine, spruce, and sometimes (in Siberia) cedar. Previously, and sometimes even now, apple trees and sycamore maples were used in the same way. Then the shape is marked on the split and properly dried board, an opening and a nut for the pegs are cut out, if they are wooden. Afterwards, the craftsman, usually by hand, selects the wood from the back, front or end (a rare method), creating a resonating void. Then the master cuts a voice box (resonator hole), or burns out several small holes. The voice board (deck) is installed in the place from which the master began to select the instrument. Sometimes it is sunk into the body, and sometimes it is placed on top. It can be secured with either nails or glue. Here the master, if necessary, coats the instrument with stain or varnish. The master attaches a tailpiece to the heel. These can be ducks holding a rod with strings, or there can be a metal bracket driven into the body. Less commonly you can find nails driven in from the end. In this case, the strings are passed through the saddle. Afterwards, the master places the pegs and tensions the strings (usually their lengths are calculated in advance). You can also find a later method of assembling the tool on a frame. Sometimes there are also two-chamber harps, where the opening is a continuation of the body, divided by the virbelbank.

Gorky and the Wanderer (with harp)

Gusli is a stringed musical instrument, common in Russia. It is the most ancient Russian stringed musical instrument.

Gusli is a musical instrument, a variety of which is the harp, cithara, lyre, psaltery, zhetygen. Also similar to the harp are the ancient Greek cithara (there is a hypothesis that it is the ancestor of the harp), the Armenian canon and the Iranian santur; these include: Chuvash gusli, Cheremis gusli, clavier-shaped gusli and gusli, which are similar to the Finnish kantele, Latvian kokle and Lithuanian kankles.

Nikolay Fomin Karelian kantele sounds sad

The heroes of the Russian epic play the gusli: Sadko, Dobrynya Nikitich, Solovey Budimirovich. The Tale of Igor’s Campaign mentions the 11th century guslar-storyteller Boyan:

Boyan, brothers, not 10 falcons
out to a flock of swans,
but its own thing and fingers
on live strings in stock;
They themselves are the prince, glory to the roar.

Guslars, painting Viktor Vasnetsov , 1899

Researchers of the early 20th century noted the striking similarity of contemporary Chuvash and Cheremis gusli with images of this instrument in medieval Russian manuscripts (for example, in the 14th century Service Book, where the capital letter D depicts a person playing the gusli, and in the Makaryevskaya Chetye-Minea of ​​1542) . In these images, the performers hold the harp on their knees and pluck the strings with their fingers. In exactly the same way, at the beginning of the 20th century, the Chuvash and Cheremis played the gusli. The strings of their harp were intestinal; their number was not always the same. Psalter-shaped harps are believed to have been brought to Russia by the Greeks, and the Chuvash and Cheremis borrowed this instrument from the Russians.

Victor Vasnetsov Bayan 1910

The clavier-shaped gusli, which was also found at the beginning of the 20th century mainly among the Russian clergy, was an improved type of psalter-shaped gusli. This instrument consisted of a rectangular resonance box with a lid, which rested on a table. Several round cutouts (voices) were made on the resonance board, and two concave wooden blocks were attached to it. Iron pegs were screwed into one of them, on which metal strings were wound; the other beam played the role of a stringer, that is, it served to attach the strings. The keyboard-shaped harp had a piano tuning, with the strings corresponding to the black keys being placed below those corresponding to the white keys.

Andrey Ryabushkin Guslyar singing 1882

For clavier-shaped gusli there were notes and a school compiled at the beginning of the 19th century by Fyodor Kushenov-Dmitrevsky.

In addition to the psaltery-shaped gusli, there were kantele, similar to the Finnish instrument. Probably, this type of gusli was borrowed by the Russians from the Finns. By the beginning of the 20th century it had almost completely disappeared.

The gusli is made from an already processed board, sometimes from a wooden block, which is split to the required size. The manufacturing technology is quite simple. First, the master selects the wood. It can be pine, spruce, or sometimes cedar. In the past they also used, and sometimes still do, apple and sycamore maple.

Then, the shape is marked on the split and properly dried board, an opening and a nut for the pegs are cut out, if they are wooden. Afterwards, the craftsman, usually by hand, selects the wood from the back, front or end (a rare method), creating a resonating void. Then the master cuts a voice box (resonator hole), or burns out several small holes. The voice board (deck) is installed in the place from which the master began to select the instrument. Sometimes it is sunk into the body, and sometimes it is placed on top. It can be secured with either nails or glue.

Nikolay Bogdanov-Belsky Young musician

Here the master, if necessary, coats the instrument with stain or varnish. The master attaches a tailpiece to the heel. These can be ducks holding a rod with strings, or there can be a metal bracket driven into the body. Less commonly you can find nails driven in from the end. In this case, the strings are passed through the saddle. Afterwards, the master places the pegs and tensions the strings (usually their lengths are calculated in advance). You can also find a later method of assembling the tool on a frame. Sometimes there are also two-chamber harps, where the opening is a continuation of the body, divided by the virbelbank.

...The bowstring rang,

An arrow flew...

Gusli. History of the ancient instrument

Gusli is an ancient musical instrument. Thousands of years of human history have hidden from us both the age and place of their birth. IN different countries and at different nations this instrument was called by different names. Among the Slavs, the name of this instrument, I think, is associated with the sound of the bowstring. The same string that was pulled onto the bow.

In ancient times, the elastic string of a bow was called differently - “gusla”. Here is one of the hypotheses for the origin of the name of the instrument. And by attaching a hollow vessel to a string, we get a primitive musical instrument. So: strings and a resonator that enhances their sound are the basic principle of this plucked instrument.

In the Old Russian manuscript, “The Tale of the Belorized Man and Monasticism,” the miniaturist depicted in the initial letter “D” the figure of a king (possibly the psalmist David) playing the harp. Their shape corresponds to the instrument that existed in Rus' at that time. These are the so-called “helmet-shaped” harps. The shape of their body really resembles a helmet. Subsequently, the shape of the flat resonator box changed. A trapezoidal harp appeared. The number of strings on the instrument has decreased, and the shape of the body has also changed. This is how winged harps appeared.

Back in the 9th century, the Slavs amazed the kings of Byzantium by playing the harp. In those distant times, harps were made from hollowed-out dry spruce or maple boards. The “Yavor” maple is especially loved by music masters. This is where the name of the gusli comes from - “Yarochnye”. / And as soon as the strings began to be pulled from metal, the gusli began to ring and began to be called “ringing”.

The fate of this instrument has long been associated with folk song and epic traditions. Master craftsmen have been passing on the secrets of making gusli for centuries. Gusel tunes, songs of singers, were loved by both the people and the kings. But often folk singers sang unflatteringly about the authorities.

...The epic writer will sing about the will, about the share,
And the heart will call out to the free will, call.
The nobles and kings stood on end with great anger,
So that vagabond guslars will appear in Rus'.
But the ringing harps sang, and their harmony was harsh,
And there were violent riots from the songs of the guslars.
I. Kobzev
These persecutions of gusli players (as this word sounds correctly), or, as they were disparagingly called guslars, did a disservice to the fate of the instrument. The interest in its improvement was not the same as it was in the fate of the violin. But time has changed this ancient instrument. Its design, body shape, wood processing technology, varnishes, decorative finishing - all this has long removed the harp from the category of an archaic, purely folk instrument, turning it into a professional stage instrument with a rich, unique sound.

Today, every orchestra of folk instruments includes plucked psalteries - table-shaped psalteries and keyboard psalteries. The sound of these instruments gives the orchestra a unique flavor of ancient psaltery ringing.

Currently, interest in the gusli has grown significantly. Modern guslars appeared - storytellers who set out to recreate ancient tradition both playing the harp and singing to the harp. Along with three types of plucked psaltery, the main playing technique of which is plucking and strumming, keyboard psalteries also appeared. The mechanics installed on them, when you press the keys, opens the strings and makes it possible to select the desired chord. This significantly simplifies playing the gusli as an accompanying instrument.

Unfortunately, if you want to purchase an instrument, you have to talk about small workshops in Russia where harps are very rarely made as individual copies. In the whole world, it seems to me, there is not a single factory where this unique instrument is produced. The money goes for anything: wild entertainment, wars, pleasures... Diversion of funds for the production of at least one surface-to-air combat missile would be more than enough to build a small music factory. How sad and painful it is to realize all this today. But... the harp sounds and will sound forever!