{{Infobox Instrument , name=Calabrian lira , names=Lira Calabrese, Lira , image=IMAG1951.jpg , background=string , classification=

Necked bowl lutes Necking can refer to: * Making out, a term for heavy kissing of the neck or petting of that area * Necking (engineering), the process by which a ductile material deforms under tension forming a thin ''neck'' * Necking (electronics), thinning of tr ...

, hornbostel_sachs=321.321-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Necked bowl lute sounded by a bow , range= , related= *

Byzantine lira The Byzantine lyra or lira ( gr, λύρα) was a medieval bowed string musical instrument in the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire. In its popular form, the lyra was a pear-shaped instrument with three to five strings, held upright and played by ...

, Byzantine Empire (''historic'') *

Cretan Lyra ) * Lira da braccio * Rabāb (Arabic الرباب) * Lijerica * Violin , musicians = * Andreas Rodinos * Alekos Karavitis * Antonis Papadakis (Kareklas) * Kostas Mountakis * Nikos Xilouris * Psarantonis * Ross Daly * Yiorgos K ...

, Crete and Dodecanese, Greece *

Gadulka The gadulka ( bg, гъдулка) is a traditional Bulgarian bowed string instrument. Alternate spellings are "gǎdulka", "gudulka" and "g'dulka". Its name comes from a root meaning "to make noise, hum or buzz". The gadulka is an integral part o ...

, Bulgaria * Armudî kemençe, Istanbul, Turkey (Greek: ''Πολίτικη Λύρα'' - ''Politiki lyra'') *

Lijerica ) * Gudok (''russian: гудок'' '' uk, гудок'') * Kemenche * Rabel (instrument) * Rabāb (Arabic الرباب) * Rebec * violin The lijerica () is a musical instrument from the Croatian region of Dalmatia and Croatian parts of eastern H ...

The Calabrian lira ( it, lira Calabrese) is a traditional musical instrument characteristic of some areas of Calabria,

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

in southern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Characteristics

The lira of Calabria is a bowed string instrument with three

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

. Like most bowed liras, it is played upright, usually supported on the knee, held with the left hand touching the strings with the nails laterally while the right hand moves the bow. The

repertory A repertory theatre is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation. United Kingdom Annie Horniman founded the first modern repertory theatre in Manchester after withdrawin ...

of the lira includes accompaniment songs (e.g. serenades and songs of

anger Anger, also known as wrath or rage, is an intense emotional state involving a strong uncomfortable and non-cooperative response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat. A person experiencing anger will often experience physical effects, su ...

) and songs suitable for dancing (

tarantella () is a group of various southern Italian folk dances originating in the regions of Calabria, Campania and Puglia. It is characterized by a fast upbeat tempo, usually in time (sometimes or ), accompanied by tambourines. It is among the mo ...

s). The

of this traditional instrument is known only through records of older players, or people who have known them. On the other hand, in recent years an increased interest around this instrument has led to its use by music groups of traditional music and to the appearance of new manufacturers in different parts of Calabria.

Origin

The Calabrian lira is closely related to the bowed lira (Greek: ''λύρα'') of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

. The Persian geographer of the 9th century Ibn Khurradadhbih (died 911) was the first to cite the

, as a typical bowed instrument of the Byzantines (Margaret J. Kartomi, 1990). Similar bowed instruments descendants of the

have continued to be played in many post-Byzantine regions until the present day with small changes: the

gadulka The gadulka ( bg, гъдулка) is a traditional Bulgarian bowed string instrument. Alternate spellings are "gǎdulka", "gudulka" and "g'dulka". Its name comes from a root meaning "to make noise, hum or buzz". The gadulka is an integral part o ...

in Bulgaria, the

lyra Lyra (; Latin for lyre, from Greek ''λύρα'') is a small constellation. It is one of the 48 listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and is one of the modern 88 constellations recognized by the International Astronomical Union. Lyra wa ...

of Crete and the Dodecanese in Greece, the

of Pontos and the classical kemenche (Turkish:''Armudî kemençe'', Greek:''Πολίτικη Λύρα'' ~ ''Politiki lira'') in Turkey. The Byzantine lira spread westward to Europe, with uncertain evolution; authors in the 11th and 12th centuries use the words fiddle and lira interchangeably (Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009).

Bibliography

* Margaret J. Kartomi: On Concepts and Classifications of Musical Instruments. Chicago Studies in Ethnomusicology, University of Chicago Press, 1990 *''La lira calabrese'', supplemento a ''Calabria'', Catanzaro, maggio 1987, quaderno n. 2, anno XV, n. 25. * libricino del cd La lira in Calabria - RLS 002 - Coop. "R.L.S.",

Catanzaro Catanzaro (, or ; scn, label= Catanzarese, Catanzaru ; , or , ''Katastaríoi Lokrói''; ; la, Catacium), also known as the "City of the two Seas", is an Italian city of 86,183 inhabitants (2020), the capital of the Calabria region and of its p ...

, 1994. *''La lira'', di ''Goffredo Plastino'', Edizioni Monteleone (VV). * "lira." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 28 February 2009

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