Crwth
The crwth (/kruːθ/ KROOTH, Welsh: [kruːθ]), also called a crowd or rote or crotta, is a bowed lyre, a type of stringed instrument, associated particularly with Welsh music, now archaic but once widely played in Europe. Four historical examples have survived and are to be found in St Fagans National Museum of History (Cardiff); National Library of Wales (Aberystwyth); Warrington Museum & Art Gallery; and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (US).[1][2][3]
Today[edit]
A number of modern reconstructions of the crwth have been made; makers include Guy Flockhart, Nial Cain, Michael J. King, Hank Taylor and Gerard Kilbride. A handful of folk musicians are reviving the tradition of playing this instrument, among them Cass Meurig, who is the best-known modern player and who in 2004 released the album Crwth, the world's second CD of crwth music, in 2004 on the Fflach:tradd label.[9][10] (Meurig also plays with the groups Fernhill and Pigyn Clust.) Other musicians include Bob Evans (Bragod), Dan Morris (Cilmeri), and Sedayne. The repertoire of surviving crwth tunes is very small, although many other traditional tunes can be adapted for the instrument and new tunes are being written for it. It is also used by several early music groups, including Cancionero.