The birch trumpet (

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

: neverlur,

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

: näverlur, Latvian: tās̆u taure, Lithuanian: ragas, daudytė,

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

: tuohitorvi, Estonian: karjapasun) is a type of

natural trumpet A natural trumpet is a valveless brass instrument that is able to play the notes of the harmonic series. History The natural trumpet was used as a military instrument to facilitate communication (e.g. break camp, retreat, etc.). Even before th ...

made of spruce covered with birch bark, known in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

, Sweden,

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

, Latvia, Lithuania,

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

and

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

. Even cruder and less durable versions were made of plain birch bark. They are associated with the early European Chalet culture, where it was presumably used to intimidate predators, frighten supernatural enemies, and convene council meetings. Usually, the neverlur is a natural horn, having no fingerholes or valves. Normally, a player can play 10 tones from the natural scale on the instrument. In the modern era, the neverlur is primarily a cultural curiosity, used for the occasional fanfare. In Finland, the birch trumpet, locally known as the ''tuohitorvi'', comes in different varieties. Some instruments are built as natural horns and used for signalling, usually by shepherds, whereas others are built in the style of the

mute cornett The mute cornett was an important variant of the treble cornett and it was used in compositions by European composers in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. A significant number of mute cornetts have survived and are preserved in various European ...

and have fingerholes for melody playing. Pielavesi

Tolga kulturskole (''culture school'') in Norway regularly teaches playing the neverlur to all interested people living in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

. The oldest recovered näverlur in Sweden dates back to the 10th century, and resembles earlier bronze trumpets.

Contemporary manufacturers

Norway

* Magnar Storbækken at the company Naturinstrumenter in Tolga

Sweden

* Rune Selén was Sweden's best known näverlur manufacturer. He manufactured more than 11000 näverlurar between 1959 and 2005 when he retired because of dust allergy. He died 28 October 2011. * Lisa Byers Runberg in Alunda. She was taught by Rune Selén. Her husband Per Runberg is a folk musician and riksspelman. * Jan Nordkvist at the company Lurmakaren in Tällberg

Similar and related instruments

* With length up to 4–5 meters are known from the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Swi ...

(

alphorn The alphorn or alpenhorn or alpine horn is a labrophone, consisting of a straight several-meter-long wooden natural horn of conical bore, with a wooden cup-shaped mouthpiece. Traditionally the Alphorn was made of one single piece, or two par ...

), Carpathian Mountains, and

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...

. * Midwinter horn mainly known from the border area between

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in Bentheim and

Twente Twente ( nl, Twente , Tweants dialect: ''Tweante'') is a region in the eastern Netherlands. It encompasses the most urbanised and easternmost part of the province of Overijssel. Twente is most likely named after the Tuihanti or Tvihanti, a Ge ...

. It is only played in the period between Advent Sunday and Epiphany * Büchel (Switzerland) * Ligawka (Poland) * Karjapasun (Estonia) * Trembita

References

External links

* Professional musicia
Sissel Morken Gullordhas specialized in playing the natural horn
working with the leading Baroque orchestras in Scandinavia an
playing the (never)lur and the billy goat's horn
( bukkehorn). *
Sissel Morken Gullord plays the cattle call "Koma guta liggje"
on a neverlur on a Norwegian

seter Transhumance is a type of pastoralism or nomadism, a seasonal movement of livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. In montane regions (''vertical transhumance''), it implies movement between higher pastures in summer and lower vall ...

( shieling) (YouTube video)
The Wooden Lurs
part o
The Nordic Lurs
part o
O.J.'s Trumpet Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Birch Trumpet Natural horns and trumpets Norwegian musical instruments Swedish musical instruments Finnish musical instruments English musical instruments Danish musical instruments Latvian musical instruments no:Neverlur