L’ÉPINETTE DES VOSGES

Description

The Vosges spruce, not to be confused with the spruce which is of the harpsichord family, the Vosges spruce is a bumblebee zither, generally composed of 5 strings (2 melody strings called chanterelles and 3 drones). First mentioned on 5 April 1743 in a document kept in the Vosges departmental archives, the Vosges spruce was described precisely in 1825 by Baron Mengin Fondragon, in "a season in Plombières". Dorothée Vançon, who played it in front of Berlioz and Napoleon III, contributed greatly to its fame. Many museums around the world still have them today.

The popular tradition is maintained both for the production and for the repertoire and it is thanks to people, such as Laure Gravier or the members of the association "L'épinette des Vosges", that from generation to generation the authentic Vosges spruce continues its discreet existence.