During our sprint around Saint-Petersburg, I came across a musician playing an unusually ‘UFO’ shaped instrument on his lap. At first, I thought the music was coming from another source. I couldn’t understand how such a beautiful melody could be produced by such a funny looking instrument. As I got closer, I saw that the melody was really coming from this instrument. He was gently tapping it’s metal surface using only his hands and fingers The melody produced was a mix of harp, bells and steelpan; a perfect relaxation music.
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Musician playing the hang in Saint-Petersburg, Russia |
I patiently waited for him to pause to ask him the name of this mysterious instrument: Hang he answered. Graduated from a musical school, I had never heard of such an instrument. Since I was falling behind, I then quickly bought his CD and continued on with my sightseeing. It’s afterwards that I learned that the Hang was invented in Bern, Switzerland at the beginning of the millenium. The word Hang means hand in the Bernese language, since it’s played using fingers and hands. Since 2000, the handpan family is growing, as well as it’s popularity around the world.
Yours truly,
Olga Markiza
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