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JORVIK PANPIPE, ONE OF THE OLDEST SCANDINAVIAN INSTRUMENTS

You can't stop, your feet guide you towards her sound, you walk among the trees without knowing where you are going, but you don't hesitate to take one more step. And finally you reach the forest glade and there he is... sitting on a rock and in his hands he has wich was calling you. He brings it up to his mouth and there's that sound again. "Come and sit with me, this is my story..." That man is playing a Jorvik panpipe. This wind instrument of Scandinavian folklore is one of the oldest. The first two were found in Switzerland and Germany in the 1st century, and then in the 10th century the third was found in an excavation in old York (Jorvik). The original instrument was made of boxwood. It's a small block of wood that has 5 holes (where you blow) drilled into the wood without going through to the other side, so the sound you get is sharp and deep. Some people think that it could have up to 7 holes but the remains found only have 4 in good condition and a fifth broken. Another reason why it's thought to have only 5 holes is that the oldest written Scandinavian song has only 5 musical notes.The size of the Jorvik panpipe is perfect to wear around the neck, in a pocket or hanging from the belt, so it has a small hole for a leather cord. How many stories were told by the fire while the sound of that instrument accompanied? And there you are, next to that stranger who has already become a friend, listening to old melodies that one day the ancient Norsemen played, listening to a thousand stories of conquests, men and women who left everything behind to fight for what they believed in. And while listening to that sound you can imagine the ancient Vikings playing the same instrument wherever they set foot, leaving their mark...Pic by @ignited.arts.design and York Archeological Trust


 
 
 

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