The dord is a bronze

horn Horn may refer to: Common uses * Horn (acoustic), a tapered sound guide ** Horn antenna ** Horn loudspeaker ** Vehicle horn ** Train horn *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various animals * Horn (instrument), a family ...

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

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

. 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 (30 March 1930 – 10 May 2023) was an Australian musician, television personality, painter, and actor. He used a variety of instruments in his performances, notably the didgeridoo and the Stylophone, and is credited with the inventi ...

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 didgerido ...

(with

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

and shifts in

timbre In music, timbre (), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound of a musical note, sound or tone. Timbre distinguishes sounds according to their source, such as choir voices and musical instrument ...

) 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, often anglicised Finn McCool or MacCool, is a hero in Irish mythology, as well as in later Scottish and Manx folklore. He is the leader of the ''Fianna'' bands of young roving hunter-warriors, as well as being a seer a ...

and the

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

Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths indigenous to the island of Ireland. It was originally Oral tradition, passed down orally in the Prehistoric Ireland, prehistoric era. In the History of Ireland (795–1169), early medieval era, myths were ...

. File:Loughnashade Trumpet.jpg, Trumpet found on the bottom of Loughnashade (''Loch na Séad'' in Irish, 'Lake of Treasures'). File:Corno in bronzo, da loughnashade, co. di armagh, I secolo ac. 01.jpg, Loughnashade trumpet, 1st century B.C. File:Corno in bronzo, da loughnashade, co. di armagh, I secolo ac. 02.jpg, Tip of Loughnashade trumpet.

References

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

See also

Further reading

References