Dord (instrument) explained
The dord is a bronze horn native to Ireland,[1] with excavated examples dating back as far as 1000 BC, during the Bronze Age. A number of original dords are known to exist, with some replicas also being built in the late 20th century.[2] [3]
Though the musical tradition of the dord has been lost, some modern performers like Rolf Harris and Alan Dargin believe that it was played in a manner similar to the didgeridoo (with circular breathing and shifts in timbre) 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.[4] [5]
A number of sources associate a mythical hunting horn, called the Dord Fiann, with Fionn mac Cumhaill and the Fianna of Irish mythology.[6] [7]
See also
- Carnyx, another type of Celtic trumpet which has been revived
- Dowris Hoard, a Bronze Age find which contained a number of horns
Further reading
- Book: O'Dwyer, Simon . Prehistoric Music of Ireland (Revealing History) . 2004 . 0752431293.
- Book: Simon . O'Dwyer . Maria C. . Cullem O'Dwyer . Ancient Music and Instruments of Ireland and Britain . 2015 . 978-1514175378 .
- Book: Ricardo . Eichmann . Lars-Christian . Koch . Musikarchäologie: Klänge der Vergangenheit, Issue 15 . Theiss . 2015 . 978-3-8062-3007-9 .
Notes and References
- Book: Bonwick, James . James Bonwick
. Who Are The Irish? . Bogue . London . James Bonwick . 1880 . 76 . Musical Instruments . The Horn, cearn, or corn, was said to be sacred to the Irish god Anu. [..] The dudag was a shrill-sounding one of brass; the dord, one for war and the chase; the udgorn, another sort. .
- Web site: Bronze Age – Bass Trumpet– 'Dord Íseal' – Low Drone – Key Of E-flat . ancientmusicireland.com . 8 July 2022 . The second 'dord íseal' made in modernity has been [..] cast by the Dublin Art Foundry in 1998. It is made in the same fashion as the original from which it is copied .
- Web site: Kerry – Dord Íseal – First Made - circa 750 AD . ancientmusicireland.com . 8 July 2022 .
- Book: Schellberg, Dirk . 1994 . Didgeridoo: ritual origins and playing techniques . 46 . Binkey Kok . 90-74597-13-0.
- Book: Neuenfeldt, Karl . The Didjeridu: From Arnhem Land to Internet . 179 . J. Libbey/Perfect Beat Publications . 1997 . 9781864620030 .
- Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society . Cork Historical and Archaeological Society . 2 . II . J.F. . Lynch . 1896 . The Legend of Birdhill . 188 . This was the Dord Fiann, or hunting horn of the Fians. The three then went to the top of the hill where Oisin sounded the Dord Fiann .
- Book: O'Daly, John . Transactions of the Ossianic Society for the Year 1856: Laoithe Fiannuigheachta, or, Fenian Poems, Volume 4. Ossianic Society . 1859 . The Dord Fiann was used on hunting excursions, and may be considered the Fenian horn of the chase, like the hunter's horn of our own day .
