Calabrian lira


The Calabrian lira is a traditional musical instrument characteristic of some areas of Calabria, region in southern Italy.

Characteristics

The lira of Calabria is a bowed string instrument with three strings. Like most bowed liras, it is played upright, usually supported on the knee, held with the left hand touching the strings with the nails laterally while the right hand moves the bow. The repertory of the lira includes accompaniment songs and songs suitable for dancing. The repertory of this traditional instrument is known only through records of older players, or people who have known them. On the other hand, in recent years an increased interest around this instrument has led to its use by music groups of traditional music and to the appearance of new manufacturers in different parts of Calabria.

Origin

The Calabrian lira is closely related to the bowed lira of the Byzantine Empire. The Persian geographer of the 9th century Ibn Khurradadhbih was the first to cite the Byzantine lira, as a typical bowed instrument of the Byzantines. Similar bowed instruments descendants of the Byzantine lira have continued to be played in many post-Byzantine regions until the present day with small changes: the gadulka in Bulgaria, the lyra of Crete and the Dodecanese in Greece, the lyra of Pontos and the classical kemenche in Turkey. The Byzantine lira spread westward to Europe, with uncertain evolution; authors in the 11th and 12th centuries use the words fiddle and lira interchangeably.