Crwth

The crwth [ kru ː θ ], lat also Crotta, Rotta, is a Celtic, especially Welsh Painted lyre with finger board.

It enjoyed great popularity in the Middle Ages, cruising past the Celtic settlement area but also in North Europe before. The crwth resembles an ancient lyre, and as they plucked at first. End of the 8th century, a flat fingerboard has been introduced. Since the 10th century, the crwth was played with a horsehair bow. Other European stringed instruments such as the rout, the Swedish Stråkharpa ( Talharpa ) and the Finnish jouhikko probably came from her. The crwth has six strings, two of them are left outside of the fingerboard and are just a drone. These two strings can be plucked by their positioning.

The crwth came in the 17th century out of use, but in Wales they held out for some time. The oldest surviving instruments are three Welsh Crwths from the 18th century, are on display in museums in Cardiff, Aberystwyth and Warrington. Only in recent years, the crwth was reconstructed and played back as part of the revival of Celtic folklore. Various developments of the past crwth be used in anthroposophic music therapy.

The mood of the crwth is not clearly preserved. Today, it is usually tuned in G: g, g1, c1, c2, d1, d2.

The scale length is 39-42 cm.

Their sound is described as warm, earthy and pleasant.

From the crwth the surname Crowther is derived. After the instrument and the music theater collective " crwth " by the French composer François Sarhan is named.