Paul Gifford's Hammered Dulcimer Book

[Peter Rushefsky <rushefsky_p...>]

Just thought I'd put in an unsolicited plug for list member's Paul Gifford new
book:  The Hammered Dulcimer:  A History (Scarecrow Press).  

I just received my copy from Amazon & it looks like a tremendous resource for
anyone interested with insturments of the hammered dulcimer family (including
tsimbls, cimbaloms, sandouris, hackbretts, yangquins, etc.) or more generally
the variety of folk musics of Europe, Asia and North America.  Paul traces the
development of the different families of dulcimers and provides fascinating
insights into ethnic group histories through their various migrations with the
instrument (including North American immigration).

As you might imagine from reading Paul's erudite Jewish Music List postings,
the book is incredibly rich in research from an overwhelming diversity of
primary and secondary sources-- the chapter end notes alone are probably worth
the price of the book. Many of these are non-English language sources which have
never before been accessible to anglophones.

Paul's thirty year obsession with the hammered dulcimer in all of its
permutations is on grand display, and we are lucky to have the chance to share
in it.  Yasher koach!

Pete Rushefsky
Buffalo, NY    

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