In Finnish Pargas, Lena plays the psalmodikon

In the small archipelago municipality of Pargas, south of Turku in Finland, there is a local heritage museum run by the Pargas Local Heritage Association. They have six psalmodikons ("virsikannel" in Finnish) in their collections, all of which have been found on farms around Pargas and have since been donated to the museum. In connection with a project around the year 2018, the psalmodikon was particularly highlighted.

– We chose different objects from the collections and made, among other things, film recordings to show how they were used. The psalmodikon was selected partly because there is a specimen displayed in one of our museum cottages, and visitors often ask about it, says Lena Långbacka, chairperson of the Pargas Local Heritage Association that runs the museum.

But to show how the instrument worked, someone needed to play it, and since she is interested in music and has previously played the violin, the task fell to her.

− I thought it was interesting and took on the challenge of trying to play. Before that, I actually knew nothing about the instrument in question, so it was a new acquaintance. But I found it really interesting to learn more about it and also to play, she says.

− For me, who has played the violin, it was quite easy to learn. But I'm definitely not an expert. I googled myself to see how it worked, she reveals.

At least two of Pargas Local Heritage Museum's six psalmodikons are known to have been built by a man named Ernst Wikström (1823–1909), who came from Mattholm, not far from Pargas. Nothing is known about the others, but as in many other places, they are likely homemade.

− We have not renovated them; they are in their original condition, says Lena Långbacka.

It has been a while since Lena played the psalmodikon, she admits, but there is a plan for her to do it again in connection with various events in the future. And when asked if she can finally give some tips on how to make a psalmodikon sound good, Lena Långbacka offers the following advice:

− What I can say is that it pays to press the string down properly close to the "edge" for that particular note. It's good to try to get the bow with quite a lot of surface against the string and as perpendicular as possible.

Michael Andersson