Storhoff Psalmodikon

Henry Storhoff (1905-1987) of Lanesboro, MN was one of a handful of people in the U.S. keeping alive the lost art of playing the psalmodikon. He taught himself to play the instrument when he was about 11 years old using Norwegian instruction books. He once said “there was a time when I thought maybe I was the only person in America playing one”. Henry made a stand to hold the psalmodikon while he played. He thought the psalmodikon would resonate more when played in the stand than if it was played the more traditional way of lying on a table. He felt that this produced a sound volume which was somewhat less than that of a good pipe organ. This Norwegian style psalmodikon was made by Henry’s great uncle in 1880 and has been in the Storhoff family since then. Henry Storhoff’s daughter Solveig is now the keeper of her father’s psalmodikon.