That fiddle is gorgeous. I like the detail of the strings shimmering in the last panel.
Curious about what order mother Harker belongs to, to dislike music so.
Also, is the painting in the second panel inspired on St George killing the dragon? The painting on the first panel also rings a bell, but can’t quite place it.
There is a Roma tale about how the devil turned an entire family into a violin for a woman who wanted a violin to seduce a man who did not care for her. The daughter trades her whole family for the violin.The mother became the body, the father the bow and the brothers the strings. It is said that their unending pain gives the violin it’s haunting sorrowful sound. BTW, the devil gets the daughter and her lover too.
Is that a double decker bridge? How would the fiddler even play that second set of strings? Do they just resonate when the primary strings are played? So wierd.
I presume Hunter has the aptitude to make it sing. Perhaps we’ll learn how it works soon?
It appears to be a Hardanger fiddle- the second set is sympathetic and acts similar to a set of bagpipe drones. There is a strong association with the Hardangers and the devil in Norwegian folktales.
Wow! I’m delighted to learn of this. Thanks for sharing the name. And now I’m listening to somebody playing one of these violins on Youtube. Very nice.
One thing is for sure–the padre and Mother have NO idea who they just rescued, in any real sense. 🙂 I suspect that fiddle will manage to conjure something extremely distressing to them both.
My musical talent tos out at playing the radio, so I can’t comment on the violin except to second the complementary comments on the artwork.
If Ma Superior destroyed all the fiddles, I suspect she’s one of those “no fun” religious types who also frowns on dancing, frolicking, or even just general merry making.
My satisfaction at the destruction soon to rain about her is inversely proportional to the sympathy I won’t be feeling.
‘cept in this case … she’s right. Mother Harker is a very deliberate name choice, no? I suspect she left the single instrument exactly so that our protagonist would use it having no alternative but to notice it. Whether that will turn out well for her … Well, I suspect it will end like most attempts at calling demons.
‘cept in this case … she’s right. Mother Harker is a very deliberate name choice, no? I suspect she left the single instrument exactly so that our protagonist would use it having no alternative but to notice it. Whether that will turn out well for her … Well, I suspect it will end like most attempts at calling demons. As for religion and music, even the most aggressive Protestants cannot hold a candle to Mohammed’s feelings about music. They make Plato in his Republic look like someone who would just let anything go.
Funny how instruments like the violin and the piano have been castigate by legalists. Even today, there are churches from the Restoration Movement that don’t allow pianos “because they didn’t have them in the First Century.” One wonders if the real reason was that they were associated with saloons, speakeasies, and houses of ill repute at one time.
There WERE harps that were played by hitting them with rods, the point being to get a more seamless resonance between notes on the strings without the usual “pluck” sound. These were the piano’s conceptual ancestors.
So I found a youtube explanation of the differences, and feel confident that order99 nailed our fiddle down! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64lKomW2ncw Erin’s attention to detail is as fabulous as always!
Why does “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” start playing in my mind…
That fiddle is gorgeous. I like the detail of the strings shimmering in the last panel.
Curious about what order mother Harker belongs to, to dislike music so.
Also, is the painting in the second panel inspired on St George killing the dragon? The painting on the first panel also rings a bell, but can’t quite place it.
There is a Roma tale about how the devil turned an entire family into a violin for a woman who wanted a violin to seduce a man who did not care for her. The daughter trades her whole family for the violin.The mother became the body, the father the bow and the brothers the strings.
It is said that their unending pain gives the violin it’s haunting sorrowful sound. BTW, the devil gets the daughter and her lover too.
Your fine detailing in this page is so exquisite, I feel you’re showing off, Erin.
Beautiful!
Is that a double decker bridge? How would the fiddler even play that second set of strings? Do they just resonate when the primary strings are played? So wierd.
I presume Hunter has the aptitude to make it sing. Perhaps we’ll learn how it works soon?
It appears to be a Hardanger fiddle- the second set is sympathetic and acts similar to a set of bagpipe drones. There is a strong association with the Hardangers and the devil in Norwegian folktales.
Wow! I’m delighted to learn of this. Thanks for sharing the name.
And now I’m listening to somebody playing one of these violins on Youtube. Very nice.
It is the main instrument played in “Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” for the Rohan, so we have all heard it, wheather we realize it or not.
One thing is for sure–the padre and Mother have NO idea who they just rescued, in any real sense. 🙂 I suspect that fiddle will manage to conjure something extremely distressing to them both.
My musical talent tos out at playing the radio, so I can’t comment on the violin except to second the complementary comments on the artwork.
If Ma Superior destroyed all the fiddles, I suspect she’s one of those “no fun” religious types who also frowns on dancing, frolicking, or even just general merry making.
My satisfaction at the destruction soon to rain about her is inversely proportional to the sympathy I won’t be feeling.
I agree. I have a feeling whatever order they belong to has a rule of thumb along the lines of:
If you’re happy and you know it… it’s probably evil!
‘cept in this case … she’s right.
Mother Harker is a very deliberate name choice, no? I suspect she left the single instrument exactly so that our protagonist would use it having no alternative but to notice it. Whether that will turn out well for her … Well, I suspect it will end like most attempts at calling demons.
‘cept in this case … she’s right.
Mother Harker is a very deliberate name choice, no? I suspect she left the single instrument exactly so that our protagonist would use it having no alternative but to notice it. Whether that will turn out well for her … Well, I suspect it will end like most attempts at calling demons.
As for religion and music, even the most aggressive Protestants cannot hold a candle to Mohammed’s feelings about music. They make Plato in his Republic look like someone who would just let anything go.
The fiddle in question is likely a Hardanger resonating fiddle:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardanger_fiddle
And here is how they sound:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZo12BTZDN4
Beautiful detail on that instrument, Erin! But i’ve come to expect such perfection from you by now…:)
I found a neat performer’s website that has the “devil’s tuning” (fanitullen) as well, and it is definitely something: http://www.hardangerfiddle.com/
Funny how instruments like the violin and the piano have been castigate by legalists. Even today, there are churches from the Restoration Movement that don’t allow pianos “because they didn’t have them in the First Century.” One wonders if the real reason was that they were associated with saloons, speakeasies, and houses of ill repute at one time.
There WERE harps that were played by hitting them with rods, the point being to get a more seamless resonance between notes on the strings without the usual “pluck” sound. These were the piano’s conceptual ancestors.
So I found a youtube explanation of the differences, and feel confident that order99 nailed our fiddle down! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64lKomW2ncw
Erin’s attention to detail is as fabulous as always!