Nyckelharpa

Nyckelharpa (, roughly "keyed fiddle" in Swedish, , plural: ) is a "keyed" bowed chordophone, primarily originating from Sweden in its modern form, but with its historical roots scattered across medieval Europe. It is similar in appearance to a fiddle or violin but larger (in its earlier forms essentially a modified vielle), which employs key-actuated tangents along the neck to change the pitch during play, much like a hurdy-gurdy. The keys slide under the strings, with the tangents set perpendicularly to the keys, reaching above the strings. Upon key-actuation, the tangent is pressed to meet the corresponding string, much like a fret, shortening its vibrating length to that point, changing the pitch of the string. It is primarily played underarm, suspended from the shoulder using a sling, with the bow in the overhanging arm.

The origin of the instrument is unknown, but its historical foothold and modern development is much larger in Sweden than other countries, being the only country with an unbroken usage lineage. Many of the early historical depictions of the instrument are found in Sweden, with the earliest probable depiction being found on a relief located on a 14th century church portal. While historically, relatively speaking, not too common an instrument in Sweden, the violin outshining it in usage among spelmän (players of Swedish folk music), the nyckelharpa became a popular folk instrument in the Swedish province of Uppland during the 17th century, subsequently leading to its popularization and spread throughout Sweden the following centuries. By the 19th century it had become a "fine" instrument, being played at concerts in Stockholm, The oldest surviving nyckelharpa is dated 1526 and is part of the Zorn Collections in Mora Municipality, Sweden.

Besides Sweden, early depictions of nyckelharpor can also be found in Denmark, Germany and Italy, among other European countries. The earliest of these is found in a 1408 fresco by Taddeo di Bartolo at the Palazzo Pubblico chapel in Siena, Italy, which depicts an angel playing a "keyed viola". Recently there has been a push by luthiers and the like to make recreations of these older depictions of nyckelharpor, akin to reconstructional archaeology,

History

1000s–1200s (first keyed instruments)

thumb|upright|Stone relief of an [[organistrum, one of the first keyed string instruments]]

Development of keyed string instruments appears to have started during the High Middle Ages, with instruments such as the duo-played organistrum (a hurdy-gurdy), starting in the late 900s or early 1000s. Such were popular in Southwestern Europe and eventually evolved into the solo-played "symphonia"-hurdy-gurdy in France or Spain in the 1200s, featuring diatonic tangents. Somewhere along the line, it appears the keyboard of a "hurdy-gurdy" was integrated onto a bowed string instrument, producing the first keyed fiddle or proto-nyckelharpa instrument. It is unclear where the instrument first appeared, but the spread of hurdy-gurdy and bowed string instruments in Europe during the later Middle Ages makes it possible that the instrument was invented independently by several people.

1300s–1500s (first keyed vielles)

In the Late Middle Ages, the first depictions of nyckelharpor, or rather "keyed vielles" by appearance, appear. The earliest possible depiction known can be found in a relief on one of the portals to the Källunge Church, located on the Swedish island of Gotland. Dating from circa 1350, it depicts two musicians with bow stringed instruments suspiciously looking like nyckelharpor, appearing to have keyboxes (a cover above the strings) like a hurdy-gurdy. The relief is however eroded and damaged from time, making it hard to confirm them as nyckelharpor.

File:Detalle de capitel da igrexa de Källunge 1.jpg|Portal relief possibly depicting nyckelharpa players, , Källunge Church, Gotland, Sweden.

File:Viola a chiavi Siena 1408.jpg|Angel with keyed vielle, Cappellina di Palazzo Pubblico, Siena, Italy. Fresco by Taddeo di Bartolo, 1408.

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The earliest confirmed depiction of a nyckelharpa appears in an Italian church painting found in Siena, Italy, dating to 1408. It depicts an angel playing a vielle-looking nyckelharpa (a common nyckelharpa motif for the period), featuring five keyes and a keybox above the strings.

Throughout the 15th century, more depictions of nyckelharpor start appearing in church paintings, notably in Swedish and Danish churches, such as the Emmislöv Church, which has a painting of a nyckelharpa musician dating to 1450–1475, and Lagga Church, which is dated to 1498. Others include the Tolfta Church in Sweden, which has two paintings of angels playing nyckelharpa, dating to . Interestingly, most Swedish nyckelharpa depictions on church paintings, lack keyboxes. It was illustrated in 1620 and the corresponding image also feature a keybox, albeit shown in opened position flipped up to the side.

In 1990s, the nyckelharpa was recognised as one of the instruments available for study at the folk music department of the Royal College of Music in Stockholm (Kungliga Musikhögskolan). It has also been a prominent part of several revival groups in the later part of the century, including the trio Väsen, the more contemporary group Hedningarna, the Finnish folk music group Hyperborea and the Swedish folk music groups Dråm and Nordman. It has also been used in non-Scandinavian musical contexts, for example by the Spanish player Ana Alcaide, the English singer and multi-instrumentalist Anna Tam, and Sandra Schmitt of Storm Seeker, a pirate metal band from Germany.

Eurovision Song Contest 1995 winner Norway's song "Nocturne" (Secret Garden Group) used this instrument in their performance.

The first World Nyckelharpa Day took place on 26 April 2020, just as the world had gone into lockdown for the COVID-19 pandemic. All the events took place online, either as livestreams or pre-recorded videos on Youtube. This is now a yearly event taking place on the Sunday closest to 26 April – this being the birthday of the great nyckelharpa player Byss-Calle. The event is coordinated by British/Swedish nyckelharpa player Vicki Swan.

English composer Natalie Holt used nyckelharpa for background score of the Disney+ series Loki from 2021.

Reconstructional archaeology

thumb|Siena-Harpa being played by musician Emilio Villalba

In the 21st century there has been a growing interest among enthusiasts to resurrect the early historical nyckelharpa designs. This has led to countless recreations of preserved historical copies, such as the moraharpa and esseharpa, The popularisation of the Italian design has led other luthiers in recent years to produce reproductions of the depiction as well.

Technique

thumb|Traditional method of playing

The nyckelharpa is usually played with a strap around the neck, stabilised by the right arm. Didier François, a violinist and nyckelharpist from Belgium, is noted for using an unusual playing posture, holding the nyckelharpa vertically in front of the chest. This allows a wider range of motion for both arms. It also affects the tone and sound of the instrument.

Some players may use a violin bracket to keep the nyckelharpa away from the body so that it can swing freely, causing it to sound more "open" as its resonance is not damped.

Each nyckelharpa string is either a melody string, drone, or (in some instruments) resonance string. Melody strings are stopped using the keys, so different notes can be played when the string is bowed, depending on which key is depressed. Each key specifically stops one melody string. Drone strings are bowed but not stopped, so only one note can be played with them. Resonance strings are neither bowed nor stopped. They add to the timbre of the instrument by resonating in sympathy when the same note is played by bowing another string.

Variants

There are several variants of the nyckelharpa being produced and played today, differing in the number and arrangement of keys, number and arrangement of strings, and general body shape. They can be divided into types "with resonance strings" and types "without resonance strings". There are also a variety of derivatives which belongs to the "keyed bowed chordophone-family" but do not necessarily have to be classified as nyckelharpor.

Oktavharpa ("octave harp") – invented by Lennart and Johan Hedin in 1996. It is essentially a modern three-row nyckelharpa tuned an octave down, almost identical to a cello. It is the lowest-pitched variant of the nyckelharpa.

The resonance strings, or sympathetic strings, which were added to the instrument during the 2nd half of the 16th century, are not bowed directly but resonate with the other strings. There can be anywhere from six to twelve of them, depending on the construction and tonality of the instrument. Some modern nyckelharpor have been made with four or even five rows of keys, however they have not been popular enough to replace the three-row nyckelharpa as the standard.

Variants without resonance strings

Beyond the common variants with resonance strings, there are a variety of nyckelharpa designs without such. Some of examples include:

thumb|[[Moraharpa dated 1526 in the Zorn Collections, Mora Municipality, Sweden]]

Moraharpa ("Mora harp") – is the most common nyckelharpa derivative, based on a unique nyckelharpa found in the Swedish town of Mora Municipality, Sweden, dating to 1526 (although presumed to be from the later 17th century). This design has a straight bridge, one melody string, two drone strings, and one row of keys, with a body resembling a lute.
Esseharpa (Swedish for "Esse harp") or ähtävän harppu (Finnish for "Ähtävä harp") – Finnish/Fenno-Swedish nyckelharpa derivative, based on nyckelharpa examples from Fenno-Swedish former municipality Esse () in the Finnish region of Ostrobothnia (). It is small and cone-shaped with four (sometimes three) strings and one row of ten to fifteen keys.
Vefsenharpa ("Vefsn harp") – Norwegian nyckelharpa derivative, based on nyckelharpa examples from Vefsn Municipality () in Nordland county, Norway. Similar to the Esseharpa but with inward curves on the body.

In films

In the live action film Toledo, Indi (Atlético Madrid's mascot) plays the instrument when the class is at the Puy du Fou theme park.

Gallery

File:Bronwyn Bird playing the nyckelharpa in concert 2007.jpg|Bronwyn Bird, member of Blue Moose, plays the nyckelharpa at a concert in 2007. Photo by Georgie Grd.

File:Marco Ambrosini mit der Nyckelharpa.jpg|Marco Ambrosini at Burg Fürsteneck, Germany, playing a nyckelharpa built by Annette Osann

Image:Didier François teaching his special nyckelharpa-technique.jpg|Didier François teaching his special technique at the International Days of the Nyckelharpa at Burg Fürsteneck, 2023

File:Huldrelokkk Bardentreffen 15 5481.jpg|Mia Gundberg Ådin (Huldrelokkk) playing the Nyckelharpa at the music festival Bardentreffen in Nuremberg, 2015

File:Ana Alcaide.jpg|Ana Alcaide in 2022