Kokle
Kokle (Latvian pronunciation: ['kʊ͡ɔk.le]; Latgalian: kūkle) or historically kokles (kūkles) is a Latvian plucked string instrument (chordophone) belonging to the Baltic box zither family known as the Baltic psaltery along with Lithuanian kanklės, Estonian kannel, Finnish kantele, and Russian krylovidnye gusli. The first possible kokles related archaeological findings in the territory of modern Latvia are from the 13th century, while the first reliable written information about kokles playing comes from the beginning of the 17th century. The first known kokles tune was notated in 1891, but the first kokles recordings into gramophone records and movies were made in the 1930s. Both kokles and kokles playing are included in the Latvian Culture Canon.
Different types of kokles made by Guntis Niedoliņš | |
| String instrument | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Kokle Kūkles, kūkļas, kūkļes, kūklis, kūkļis, kūkle, kūkļe, kūkla and kūkļa (Latgale) |
| Classification | Chordophone |
| Hornbostel–Sachs classification | 314.122-5 (Diatonic lute-type stringed instrument played using bare hands and fingers) |
| Inventor(s) | Folk instrument |
| Related instruments | |
| Kanklės, kannel, kantele, gusli | |
| Musicians | |
| Mārtiņš Baumanis, Nikolajs Heņķis (1864–1934), Namejs Kalniņš, Pēteris Korāts (1871–1957), Māris Muktupāvels, Valdis Muktupāvels, Biruta Ozoliņa, Latvīte Podiņa, Laima Jansone, Jānis Poriķis (1909–1992), Aloizijs Jūsmiņš (1915–1979; concert kokles) | |
| Builders | |
| Nikolajs Heņķis (1864–1934), Pēteris Korāts (1871–1957), Gunārs Igaunis, Māris Jansons, Eduards Klints, Ģirts Laube, Krists Lazdiņš, Kārlis Lipors, Imants Robežnieks (concert kokles), Jānis Poriķis (1909–1992), Andris Roze, Jānis Rozenbergs, Rihards Valters, Edgars Vilmanis-Meženieks, Donāts Vucins (1934–1999) | |