Karsh (musical instrument)

The case (100-120 cm long) is made of thin birch , maple planks. The height of the case is 12-15 cm. The upper deck was made of spruce or fir boards of especially dry wood. In the middle of the top deck there is a resonant hole.

In antiquity, the case was made of a solid piece of wood. The strings ( meadow meadow. Kyl , mountain gnar . Kӹl ) (17–25 or more on the instrument) in the past are vein (from sheep intestines), now metal, are stretched on maple or oak spikes on the left side. The scale is mostly diatonic. The instrument is used solo and in ensemble performance. During the holidays, weddings, tunes were performed in an ensemble with other folk instruments ( shuvyr , tyumyr , kobyz ). On the karsh, mostly dance tunes, everyday and festive songs, instrumental pieces are performed. In early sources, there is mention of an 8-string instrument with a pentatonic scale sound system. In the 19th century , karsh was used with the number of strings 15-17 (19). In 1938, the master M. Markelov, together with the famous hussar P. S. Toidemar, improved the karsh and brought the number of strings to 28-30. Modern concert karsh have up to 35-40 strings.

At present, in the Russian-language editions, the most common name for the instrument is the meadow-Mari form of Kеle , which is the latest borrowing of the Russian name for the gusli . This was due to the greater influence and prevalence of the meadow-eastern dialect among the varieties of the Mari language. Nevertheless, the original Mari word for the designation of this instrument is Körsch , preserved in less common mountain and northwestern dialects . Until the sixteenth century , the meadow Mari also used this word, but then it was supplanted by Russian borrowing and went out of use.

The instrument was widespread among the Mari everywhere. It functioned as a cult and holiday instrument. The Mari considered karsh to be God's (divine) instrument, an integral attribute of ancient cultic worship in sacred groves . The game on karsh accompanied the main stages of preparing and conducting prayers with sacrifices, reading prayer-spells. The repertoire of ritual-cult melodies was quite extensive. There were ritual tunes performed on karsh in honor of the patron saint of bees (for example, Mӱksh he muro - Song of the bee leader). In a secular, everyday tradition, playing on the karsh was accompanied by singing and dancing, household and holiday entertainment. A significant repertoire of music on the karsh are dance tunes, festive song tunes. In the Morkinsky-Volga sub-ethnic tradition, they were part of the ensemble that accompanied the Mari wedding. Over time, everyday functions began to prevail over the ritual. Almost the entire repertoire and genre circle of the tunes of the Mari village could be played on a karsh.

On June 5, 2019, the Mari harp was recognized as the second trademark of the Republic of Mari El (after the mountain Mari pie kyravets ). In the Mari Opera and Ballet Theater named after E. Sapaev , a ceremony of presenting a certificate took place ^[1] .

• Gusli // Encyclopedia of the Republic of Mari El / Otv. ed. N.I. Saraeva. - Yoshkar-Ola, 2009 .-- S. 324. - 872 p. - 3505 copies - ISBN 978-5-94950-049-1 .