The books "Ivan Alekseev: the world of homusa is open to every person" and "Master vargana - the magical sound of the creator" | "Иван Алексеев: "Мир хомуса открыт каждому человеку" & "Мастера варгана – волшебного звука творцы"

Книга "Иван Алексеев: "Мир хомуса открыт каждому человеку"
"Ivan Alekseev: the world of homusa is open to every person"

Книга "Иван Алексеев: "Мир хомуса открыт каждому человеку", с 12-ю карточками - фотографиями изданий проекта "Мастера варгана - волшебного звука творцы" отправляются в Музей и Центр Хомусов народов Мира (г.Якутск) (IL Khomus) к его Президенту и основателю, хомусисту - виртуозу мира Ивану Егоровичу Алексееву. К сожалению типография перед Новым Годом немного подвела и подарок видимо приедет уже в новом году. 

The book " Ivan Alekseev: " the world of homusa is open to every person ", with 12 cards - photos of the editions of the project " Masters of vargana - the magical sound of the creators " are sent to the museum and the centre of the Yakutsk) (Il Khomus) to his president and founder, homusistu - virtuozu of the world Ivan Yegorovich Alexeyev. Unfortunately printing before the new year is a little failed and the gift is apparently coming in the new year.

Мастера варгана – волшебного звука творцы
"Master vargana - the magical sound of the creator"

Очередной тематический сборник, - издание проекта «Мастера варгана – волшебного звука творцы» представляет собой подборку статей по теме археологических варганов.
В сборнике собраны как полные тексты статей, так и выдержки из более крупных публикаций, посвященные обнаружению варганов в ходе археологических исследований. Речь в материалах сборника преимущественно идет о находках на территории бывшего Советского Союза (Прикамье и Поволжье, Центральная Россия, Алтай, Украина, Узбекистан, Приморье) и лишь одна известная статья японского исследователя посвящена японским варганам.
Это первый опыт подобного рода издания, в котором осуществлена попытка собрать под одной обложкой наиболее значимые русско-язычные публикации (лишь одна статья – О.Пашковского об украинских дрымбах публикуется в переводе с украинского языка) по теме археологических варганов.
Презентационный ролик, а также фрагмент издания в формате pdf доступный для просмотра и скачивания размещены на официальной странице издания: http://виктор-белов.рф/археологические-варганы-сборник-ста/

Another theme compilation - the edition of the project "Master vargana - the magical sound of the creator" is a compilation of articles on the subject of archaeological varganov.
The Collection is collected both full texts of articles and extracts from larger publications dedicated to the detection of varganov in archaeological studies. The content of the compilation is mainly about the find in the territory of the former Soviet Union (Prikamʹe and volga, central Russia, Altai, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, primorje) and only one famous article of the Japanese Explorer is dedicated to Japanese varganam.
This is the first experience of this kind of edition, which has attempted to collect under one cover the most meaningful Russian-language publications (only one article - o. Paškovskogo about Ukrainian drymbah is published in translation from Ukrainian language) on the subject of archaeological varganov.
The presentation video, as well as a fragment of the edition in PDF format available to view and download is posted on the official page of the edition, here.

see also: #KhomusWeekly Jew's Harp Newsletter: Burtsev: dynasty of masters of the Yakut khomus. Collection of articles, album of photos.

Авторский сайт Виктора Белова

Исследователь, краевед, генеалог, писатель

The author's site Victor Belov > website
Researcher, local historian, genealogist, writer

Cracking the code: recordings, transmission, players, and smiths in the Norwegian munnharpe revival: Ethnomusicology Forum: Vol 0, No 0

Academic research –

Though it operates on the margins of the Norwegian folk music scene, the munnharpe (jew’s harp) revival has been active since the 1960s and today boasts an active network of festivals, musicians, and blacksmiths. After contextualising the instrument’s position within Norwegian folk music and outlining the history of the munnharpe community, I explore the transmission and revitalisation of the munnharpe tradition, suggesting that a large part of the revival’s success lies in the availability and accessibility of archival recordings. I examine the transmission of playing technique and repertoire amongst musicians, then compare it with instrument building transmission amongst blacksmiths, analysing how the dynamic between munnharpe players and makers has shaped the instrument’s musical and material spheres. Tracing the symbiotic relationship between archives, recordings, players, and makers, I argue that this interplay has been central to the revival in both its past and present iterations.

Cracking the code: recordings, transmission, players, and smiths in the Norwegian munnharpe revival: Ethnomusicology Forum: Vol 0, No 0

Research on the ancient production of "Ribebe" (ie. Jew's Harps) in the high Sesia Valley (Valsesia in Italian) | Alessandro Zolt‎

(Italian below)*

My name is Alessandro Zolt, and for years I have been conducting, through my studies in Cultural Anthropology and Ethnology at the University of Turin, a research on the ancient production of "ribebe" (ie Jew's Harps) in the high Sesia Valley (Valsesia in Italian), in particular in the towns of Riva Valdobbia and Mollia.
In Italy the common opinion sees this instrument as tied only to the tradition of South Italy and the Italian Islands, but the Jew's Harp was actually very used throughout Northern Italy and, in fact, also produced, as domenstrated by this case of Valsesia.
After having dedicated my thesis to this story, I am now working on a publication together with Prof. Alberto Lovatto, who first dealt with this subject in the early '80s.
If everything goes as planned, the book will be ready in 2019! We hope to bring to light this unfortunately forgotten aspect of the musical history of Piedmont!

The history:
From the 16th century (the first document attesting the phenomenon in the Valley is from 1524) to the nineteenth century the local forges, located in some fractions of Riva Valdobbia and Mollia (the most famous one was Boccorio), produced industrial quantities of Jew's Harps of excellent quality (according to the treaties of local history, official statistical documents, local documents that contain the commercial orders and finally the local oral tradition), which were exported even overseas through ports such as Genoa, Livorno and Lisbon, as well as of course throughout Italy and throughout Europe through commercial hubs like Novara and Milan. In local statistics we talk about a million and a half instruments produced per year in times of greater production and marketing.
The production began to decline in the second half of the nineteenth century until it died out completely around 1890, the last Jew's Harp blacksmith in Valsesia died around 1907 without having transmitted the art of manufacturing these instruments to anyone.
In Valsesia the instrument was very present and used in popular music. A late 19th century plaster statue of a Valsesian sculptor (Giacomo Ginotti) suggests there was also a virtuosic "alpine" way of playing it: that is, the use of two instruments simultaneously. The only place where this same style has been attested are the Austrian Alps, where there is another ancient production center of Jew's Harps, which is still active in Molln.

The instrument:

The Jew's Harps of Valsesian manifacture are generally small (an average instrument is: 5.5 cm length x 3.5 cm width) compared to the homologues from southern Italy or from Sicilt and Sardinia, the have a longish shape and they are nearly always punchmarked with symbols or initials, which identified the blacksmith, and very often have decorations punched on the "frame". Also in Valsesia (like everywhere else in Europe) those who possessed the instrument used to carve a shoe-shaped box to carry and protect the instrument.

Name of the instrument in Piedmont:
In Valsesian Piedmontese: Ribeba or Ribèbba in the upper valley and Arbebola in the lower valley.
Other names attested in Piedmont, mostly taken from eighteenth and nineteenth century dictionaries: Bebola, Aribeba, Cirimia, Ciurumia, Arbeba, Rbeba, Sanförgna, Ciampòrgna.
In Occitan: Aribebo, Arbebo, Champorgno.
In the Walser language of Alagna: Trumpa.

* Buongiorno,

Mi chiamo Alessandro Zolt, sono originario di Alagna Valsesia e da anni sto conducendo, attraverso i miei studi in Antropologia Culturale ed Etnologia presso l'Università di Torino, una ricerca sull'antica produzione di "ribebe" (ossia scacciapensieri) in Alta Valsesia, in particolare nei paesi di Riva Valdobbia e di Mollia.
Contrariamente all'opinione comune che vuole questo strumento legato solamente alla tradizione del Meridione e delle Isole italiane, lo scacciapensieri era usatissimo in tutto il Nord Italia e, appunto, anche prodotto, come lo dimostra questo caso valsesiano.
Dopo aver dedicato la mia tesi triennale a questa storia, sto lavorando adesso ad una pubblicazione assieme al Prof. Alberto Lovatto, che per primo se ne occupò negli anni '80 pubblicando la prima (e per adesso unica) opera dedicata a questo fenomeno.
Se tutto va bene, la pubblicazione sarà pronta nel corso del 2019! Speriamo di riportare alla luce questo aspetto purtroppo dimenticato della storia musicale del Piemonte!
E chissà che le "ribebe" non tornino a suonare da noi!

La storia:
Dal XVI (il primo documento che attesta il fenomeno in Valle è del 1524) al XIX secolo le fucine locali, collocate in alcune frazioni di Riva Valdobbia e Mollia (la più famosa era Boccorio), produssero quantità industriali di scacciapensieri di ottima qualità (stando a quello che rivelano trattati di storia locale, documenti statistici ufficiali, documenti locali che contengono le ordinazioni commerciali e non ultima la memoria popolare locale), che venivano esportati addirittura oltreoceano attraverso porti come Genova, Livorno e Lisbona, oltre che ovviamente in tutta Italia e in tutta Europa attraverso snodi commerciali come Novara e Milano. Nelle statistiche locali si parla di un milione e mezzo di strumenti prodotti per anno nei momenti di maggiore produzione e smercio.
La produzione cominciò a calare nella seconda metà dell'800 fino a spegnersi del tutto attorno al 1890, l'ultimo fabbro morì attorno al 1907 senza aver più tramandato l'arte di fabbricare questi strumenti.
Nella Valsesia lo strumento era diffusissimo e usato nella musica popolare. Una statua in gesso di fine '800 di uno scultore valsesiano (Giacomo Ginotti) suggerisce ci fosse anche un modo virtuosistico "alpino" di suonarlo, ossia l'utilizzo di due strumenti simultaneamente. Alpino in quanto l'unico luogo dove è stato attestato questo stesso stile esecutivo sono le Alpi austriache, dove non a caso vi è un altro antico centro di produzione di scacciapensieri, tuttora attivo (precisamente a Molln, dal 1600 circa).

Lo strumento:
Materialmente parlando, gli strumenti di fattura valsesiana sono generalmente di piccole dimensioni (5,5 cm x 3,5 cm in media) rispetto agli omologhi dell'Italia meridionale e delle Isole, con forma allungata e hanno la particolarità di essere quasi sempre marchiati con simboli o iniziali, che identificavano il fabbro, e molto spesso possiedono decorazioni punzonate sul "telaio". Era poi usanza di chi possedeva lo strumento intagliare una custodia a forma di scatolina o di scarpetta per proteggere lo strumento.

Nomi dello strumento in Piemonte:
In Piemontese Valsesiano: Ribeba o Ribèbba in alta Valle e Arbebola in bassa Valle.
Altri nomi attestati in Piemonte, in gran parte tratti da dizionari settecenteschi e ottocenteschi: Bebola, Aribeba, Cirimia, Ciurumia, Arbeba, Rbeba, Sanförgna, Ciampòrgna.
Aribebo, Arbebo, Champorgno in Occitano.
Trumpa in Walser Alagnese.