{"id":1337,"date":"2015-07-10T08:29:45","date_gmt":"2015-07-10T08:29:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.blogs.hss.ed.ac.uk\/revival-fiddle\/?p=1337"},"modified":"2015-07-23T20:00:27","modified_gmt":"2015-07-23T20:00:27","slug":"fiddle-2-gudulka-bulgaria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.blogs.hss.ed.ac.uk\/revival-fiddle\/2015\/07\/10\/fiddle-2-gudulka-bulgaria\/","title":{"rendered":"Before the Fiddle 2a : The Gadulka of Bulgaria"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Gudulka<\/a>\u00a0eliznik.org.uk<\/p>\n

I posted previously on the\u00a0lyra<\/a>\u00a0of Crete as one of the potential rebec like predecessors of the fiddle in Scotland suggested by a number of historians. I now introduce a related instrument, the gudulka of Bulgaria.<\/p>\n

According to the website eliznik.org.uk:<\/p>\n

The instrument is held vertically and rested on the knee or in a harness which goes round the neck. It has a pear shaped body with both bowed and resonating strings. There is no fingerboard, with the musician’s nails stopping the string. It can be used for accompanying singers and other instruments, or as the lead melody line. The gadulka<\/i> is a key instrument in traditional music throughout most of Bulgaria except Pirin Macedonia.<\/p>\n

Later today I head off to Bulgaria on an ERASMUS+ training programme for people in the natural and cultural heritage sectors. I visited the country once before, in September 1974, and\u00a0I was immediately struck by the music I heard there. I am hoping it might just be possible to hear some gadlulka music in the flesh again but meanwhile I offer this really lovely video taken from a television programme from the late 1970s or early 80s, I guess, which shows the instrument very well :<\/p>\n