Epinette des Vosges - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The épinette des Vosges is a traditional plucked-string instrument of the zither

Zither

The zither is a musical string instrument, most commonly found in Slovenia, Austria, Hungary citera, northwestern Croatia, the southern regions of Germany, alpine Europe and East Asian cultures, including China...

family, whose use was confined to two areas in the Vosges mountains

Vosges mountains

For the department of France of the same name, see Vosges.The Vosges are a range of low mountains in eastern France, near its border with Germany. They extend along the west side of the Rhine valley in a northnortheast direction, mainly from Belfort to Saverne...

of France approximately 50 km apart: around Val-d'Ajol and around Gérardmer

Gérardmer

Gérardmer is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France.-Culture:The Fantastic'Arts festival of horror and fantastic film has been held in Gérardmer each year since 1994.-External links:...

Origins

The épinette has been attested as early as the 18th century in the Val-d'Ajol and Plombières-les-Bains

Plombières-les-Bains

Plombières-les-Bains is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France.Les bains refers to the hot springs in the area, whose properties were first discovered by the Romans...

regions of southern Vosges

Vosges

Vosges is a French department, named after the local mountain range. It contains the hometown of Joan of Arc, Domrémy.-History:The Vosges department is one of the original 83 departments of France, created on February 9, 1790 during the French Revolution. It was made of territories that had been...

, whence comes its name. The earlier origins of the épinette des Vosges remain unknown, though some believe the instrument was introduced by the Swedes during the Thirty Years' War

Thirty Years' War

The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....

. It is, however, also possible that it is descended from the medieval psaltery

Psaltery

A psaltery is a stringed musical instrument of the harp or the zither family. The psaltery of Ancient Greece dates from at least 2800 BC, when it was a harp-like instrument...

Types of epinette and geographical areas

Instruments of this family, formerly widespread throughout Europe, are now primarily found in Norway (the langeleik

Langeleik

The langeleik also called langleik is a Norwegian stringed folklore musical instrument, a droned zither.-Description:The langeleik has only one melody string and up to 8 drone strings....

), Iceland (the langspil

Langspil

The Langspil is a traditional Icelandic drone zither. Since old folk music has been gaining more popularity in recent years, more and more people are able to play this instrument...

), Flanders (the hummel

Hummel (instrument)

The hummel is an old Swedish stringed instrument similar to an older type of zither and is related to the Norwegian langeleik. The name is thought to come from the German word hummel, meaning "bumblebee", referring to the droning sound created by the accompaniment strings.-History:The hummel is...

), Hungary, as well as France. A parallel instrument, the Appalachian dulcimer

Appalachian dulcimer

The Appalachian dulcimer is a fretted string instrument of the zither family, typically with three or four strings. It is native to the Appalachian region of the United States...

is found in rural mountain areas of the Eastern United States.

The Val-d'Ajol épinette

This instrument is first attested in accounts dated 1730. The primitive version with four strings evolved into a five-string model. The Val-d'Ajol épinette is of small size, between 50 and 60 cm, in the form of a parallelogram with a wide base. The frets, originally numbering fourteen, increased to seventeen in the 19th century. The fretting is diatonic, tuned to open C major

C major

C major is a musical major scale based on C, with pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature has no flats/sharps.Its relative minor is A minor, and its parallel minor is C minor....

. It is fretted with the fingers of the left hand, or alternately with a small piece of smooth wood. The right hand strums with the thumb, a goose quill, or a pick.

The most prolific épinette luthier was Amé Lambert (1843–1908), who manufactured up to 500 épinettes per year.

The Gérardmer épinette

This instrument was first attested in 1723. It is a simple instrument built by luthiers, or by the musicians themselves. The instrument fell out of vogue, and little is known about it until it was revived after 1945.

The épinettes of Upper Vosges are large, approximately 80 cm. The number of strings varies from three to eight, with diatonic fretting.

Playing techniques

The épinette is diatonic, producing a heptatonic major scale. The number of frets increased from fourteen to seventeen during the 19th century, giving it a range of two and a half octaves.

Right-hand techniques:
1. Strumming back and forth across all the strings (melody and drone) or just the doubled melody strings with the pick, goose feather, or thumb. This is the traditional manner.
2. Fingerpicking, as with a guitar, using all but the little right finger to pluck the strings.
3. Striking the strings with a small stick (like a fretted hammered dulcimer
  Hammered dulcimer
  The hammered dulcimer is a stringed musical instrument with the strings stretched over a trapezoidal sounding board. Typically, the hammered dulcimer is set on a stand, at an angle, before the musician, who holds small mallet hammers in each hand to strike the strings...
4. Using a violin or bowed psaltery
  Bowed psaltery
  A bowed psaltery is a psaltery that is played with a bow.-Violin Zither:In 1925 a German patent was issued to the Clemens Neuber Company for a bowed psaltery which also included a set of strings arranged in chords, so that one could play the melody on the bowed psaltery strings, and strum...
  
  bow.
Left-hand techniques:
1. Fretting the strings with a smooth stick or reed, called a "noteur" (noter). This gives the music a sliding metallic sound with pronounced glissando
  Glissando
  In music, a glissando is a glide from one pitch to another. It is an Italianized musical term derived from the French glisser, to glide. In some contexts it is distinguished from the continuous portamento...
  
  .
2. Fretting the strings with the first three fingers, or all five for more complex pieces or on chromatic instruments. This technique is less traditional but well-suited to playing more complex melodies.

An épinette player usually plays sitting down. The épinette is placed on a table (most often), or on the lap angling away from the player. Unlike other forms of dulcimer, the épinette gives some separation between the melody strings and the drones. Thus, those areas can be struck separately to establish rhythm.

The instrument is tuned by ear rather than to concert pitch, and may be tuned higher or lower depending on the accompanying instrument, the épinette's individual sound, or personal taste.

In addition to the diatonic épinette, there are epinettes with added frets for each semi-tone, in order to compose the chromatic scale. On a chromatic épinette, one can play in any key without re-tuning.

The modes

The épinette allows one to play modal music. The table below presents a basic example (the arrangements of the drones varies according to their number and the player's tastes)

The possible modes are:

Mode	Départ de la main gauche	Accord du 1st string	2nd string	3rd string
DO	Chanterelles jouant à vide	SOL	DO	DO ou SOL
RE	1st case	LA	RA	LA ou RE
MI	2nd case	SI	MI	SI ou MI
FA 1st façon	3rd case	DO	FA	DO or FA
FA 2nd façon	6th case	FA	DO	DO or FA
SOL	Chanterelles jouant à vide	SOL	RE	SOL or RE
LA	1st case	LA	MI	LA or MI
SI	2nd case	SI	FA	SI or FA

Epinette players

Jean-François Dutertre
Jean-François Dutertre
Jean-François Dutertre is a French singer-songwriter and player of the hurdy-gurdy, épinette des Vosges, and traditional French music. He also plays the bodhran and the bouzouki....
Jean-Loup Baly
Christophe Toussaint
Patrice Gilbert
Jacques Leininger

Contemporary makers

Christophe Toussaint, Dommartin-lès-Remiremont
Dommartin-lès-Remiremont
Dommartin-lès-Remiremont is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France.-External links:*...
Jean-Claude Condi, Mirecourt
Mirecourt
Mirecourt is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France. Mirecourt is known for lace-making and the manufacture of musical instruments, particularly those of the violin family...

Discography

Jean-François Dutertre La ronde des Milloraines
Jean-François Dutertre Si l'amour prenait racine
Jean-François Dutertre L'épinette des Vosges
Christophe Toussaint Terra Incognita
Association de l'épinette des Vosges, Plombières-les-Bains
Plombières-les-Bains
Plombières-les-Bains is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France.Les bains refers to the hot springs in the area, whose properties were first discovered by the Romans...

A la découverte de l'épinette des Vosges
Association de l'épinette des Vosges, Plombières-les-Bains
Plombières-les-Bains
Plombières-les-Bains is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France.Les bains refers to the hot springs in the area, whose properties were first discovered by the Romans...

Trois dames à table