Sound of the lyre
Reconstruction of early medieval lyre playing
In the winter of 2001/2002 a Merovingian grave from the year 580 was recovered in Trossingen/District of Tuttlingen. Among the numerous grave goods, an almost completely preserved lyre was found in the arm of the dead man.
Also preserved were the 6 pegs and the lyre bridge. Only strings and tailpiece were missing. Of particular interest are the sound holes in the yoke arms and on the soundboard, as well as the artistically raised incised decorations on the front and back of the instrument.
The Trossingen lyre, together with other finds of early medieval lyres (e.g. the Oberflacht lyre), poses interesting instrumental and performance questions.
For Alemannic societies of the 6th century no written or musical evidence has been preserved. However, the instrument type is iconographically attested until the 9th/10th century, and possible musical repertoires can be reconstructed for it.
In addition to heroic poetry, the first evidence of Christian veneration of the saints in Old High German, such as the Georgslied (Song of St. George), also comes into consideration. It was probably written in the area around Prüm in the 9th century and tells of the martyrdom of St. George.
The Old High German Song of Louis tells of King Louis III's victory over the Normans at the Battle of Saucourt (881).
Program:
Georgslied
Ludwigslied
Excerpts from the Old Icelandic Edda
1 singer-narrator with lyre(s)
Smaller, intimate spaces
Performances
- LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn (2023)
- Vernissage District Office Calw (2014)
- Archaeological State Museum Constance (2010)
- Freudenstadt, Reutlingen (2009)