The dord is a bronze horn 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 and Alan Dargin 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 (music), drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgeridoo wa ...

(with circular breathing and shifts in timbre) 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 and the Fianna of

Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths native to the island of Ireland. It was originally oral tradition, passed down orally in the Prehistoric Ireland, prehistoric era, being part of ancient Celtic religion. Many myths were later Early Irish ...

References

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

See also

Further reading

References