ZITHER
 

Lilting strings,musical harmony
skillfully plucked with both hands,
on five metal melody strings
stretched along a fretted fingerboard,
followed by a series of accompaniment strings.
 
 

Over one hundred years ago,
the darling instrument of
Southern Germany and Austria,
with Vienna its main contributory,
featuring exhibitions, prizes and magazines
devoted to its special craftsmanship;
Even America had a newly won niche
for this lovely instrument,
when a famous to be immigrant
in Missouri began to manufacture it.
 
 

Many variations of this
versatile instrument exist
taking different forms
and different strings,
being given native
names, in countries as
diverse as China, Korea,
Vietnam and Japan,
not to mention Africa.
 
 

The zither lives on, though losing
some of its allure;
expert musicians still exist,
recording even more.
As a dramatic movie background was it
lately used, spawning a hit record it produced;
so you see, even if you may have never heard of it,
my very favorite instrument the melodious zither still exists.
 
 

HERBERT HOLZBAUER
© February 1997
 
 

Midi title: Zither for Herbert
rearranged by:
Song Jong Kil
The accompanying music is copyrighted
and cannot be copied, transmitted or used
in any other application.