The dord is a bronze

horn Horn most often refers to: *Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound ** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...

native to Ireland, with excavated examples dating back as far as 1000 BC, during the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

. A number of original dords are known to exist, with some replicas also being built in the late 20th century. Though the musical tradition of the dord has been lost, some modern performers like

Rolf Harris Rolf Harris (born 30 March 1930) is an Australian entertainer whose career has encompassed work as a musician, singer-songwriter, composer, comedian, actor, painter and television personality. He often used unusual instruments in his performan ...

and

Alan Dargin Alan Dargin (13 July 196724 February 2008) was an indigenous Australian musician and songwriter known for being a didgeridoo player. He grew up in Wee Waa and started learning the instrument at age five from his grandfather and other Wiradjuri ...

believe that it was played in a manner similar to the

didgeridoo The didgeridoo (; also spelt didjeridu, among other variants) is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgeridoo was developed by ...

(with

circular breathing Circular breathing is a technique used by players of some wind instruments to produce a continuous tone without interruption. It is accomplished by breathing through the nose while simultaneously pushing air through the mouth using air stored ...

and shifts in

timbre In music, timbre ( ), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound quality of a musical note, sound or musical tone, tone. Timbre distinguishes different types of sound production, such as choir voice ...

) and have applied that technique to modern fusion music. The Irish musician Simon O'Dwyer attempted to recreate a historically accurate dord in the late 20th century. A number of sources associate a mythical hunting horn, called the ''Dord Fiann'', with

Fionn mac Cumhaill Fionn mac Cumhaill ( ; Old and mga, Find or ''mac Cumail'' or ''mac Umaill''), often anglicized Finn McCool or MacCool, is a hero in Irish mythology, as well as in later Scottish and Manx folklore. He is leader of the ''Fianna'' bands of ...

and the

Fianna ''Fianna'' ( , ; singular ''Fian''; gd, Fèinne ) were small warrior-hunter bands in Gaelic Ireland during the Iron Age and early Middle Ages. A ''fian'' was made up of freeborn young males, often aristocrats, "who had left fosterage but had n ...

Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths native to the island of Ireland. It was originally passed down orally in the prehistoric era, being part of ancient Celtic religion. Many myths were later written down in the early medieval era by C ...

References

Natural horns and trumpets Irish musical instruments Bronze Age Britain Pre-Norman Invasion musical instruments {{brass-instrument-stub

See also

Further reading

References