Hardanger Fiddle

The hardanger fiddle (hardingfele) is the folk fiddle of Norway originally used in the farming and fishing communities of the Hardangerfjord in the western part of the country. Traditionally, the instrument was used to play songs, dances, and wedding music. It has also been embraced by nationalistic composers such as Edvard Grieg, who incorporated folk tunes played on the hardingfele into his works.

Hardanger fiddles generally have four bowed strings and an additional four sympathetic strings beneath the bridge; the latter are not played directly but are excited into vibration by the bowed strings above, adding a subtle richness to the sound. These often ornately inlaid instruments first appeared in the 1650s, and their short, straight necks and fingerboards recall those of the violin during the Baroque period.

The instrument has four playing strings (c’, g’ c", e") and four sympathetic strings (f’, g’, a’, c"). There is no indication of the maker of this instrument. This fiddle has a particularly long bass bar that extends from the lower to the upper block inside the instruments. There are no corner blocks. The bridge of this instrument is quite older and was perhaps on an earlier instrument. The neck has a crowned lion’s head; the fingerboard, pegs, and tailpiece have large inlays of mother-of-pearl, cow horn, and bone forming a variety of decorative X’s. The body has floral and cross-shape ornamentation in black ink. The purfling is painted on to the instrument.