The šurle
Motovun, the second half of the 20th century
wood
craftwork

 

length = 21,1 cm
length of the bell = 6,9 cm
diameter of the bell = 5,4 cm
length of the chanter 1 = 15,1 cm
length of the chanter 2 = 15 cm

 

Et 48546
The Collection of Musical Instruments

Description

The šurle was bought at a fair in Motovun, Istria, in 1972. The instrument’s sound is shriller than that of a flute so this instrument is often played when players did not have a bagpipe or a bag. The instrument is similar to flutes and bagpipes, but they have two separate flutes at the upper section, reinforced with a thick ring. The instrument has got two cane reeds, and a bag. Reed pipes consist of a thick section called “grljak” or “did” into which two chanters with reeds are inserted. Four holes are drilled on the right chanter, and three on the left chanter. One hole is drilled on the back side of the chanter.

Note

The šurle was given to Ethnographic Museum by Dubravka Kritovac, the wife of the late Ferdo Kritovac, a sociologist and an architect. Fedor Kritovac (who purchased and owned the sopile) played the Istrian melos perfectly without notes, only for his family, according to Mrs. Kritovac.