Cither (Noordse balk) c. 1847

This Cither, or Noordse balk, was made by P.H. Hos from wood, but we don’t know exactly when. What we do know is that the instrument offers us a window into the social life of music. The zither family of instruments has a long history in European folk traditions. They are typically associated with domestic music-making. Before the advent of recording technologies, families and friends would gather to play and sing together, creating their own entertainment and strengthening social bonds. This particular instrument, with its relatively simple construction, suggests a more modest, vernacular context rather than a courtly setting. Understanding the place of instruments like this Cither within Dutch culture relies on gathering information from diverse sources. We might look at folk song collections, household inventories, and visual representations of music-making in genre painting. From this we can develop a richer understanding of the role of music in everyday life.