The Chel-Hu
The Chel-hu is a unique instrument, single of its kind, which combines traditional instruments such as the Asian tar, the Chinese Hu and advanced technologies. The Cell-hu was built especially for Margalit by the Australian instrument maker Peter Biffin as a development of the series of Tarhu instruments.
In those instruments, there is an acoustic cone, made of carbon fibers, put inside the instruments body, and a set of sympathetic strings that runs underneath the played strings. Those sympathetic strings vibrate and resonate as the instrument is played, giving it a sound affect that doesn’t exist in any other instrument.
(www.spikefiddle.com).
“My first encounter with the original Tarhu happened in 2006 at a seminar for Mediterranean music which took place in Jerusalem. Ross Dali, who was one of the main teachers at the seminar, brought his Tarhu and invited me to play it. I was immediately astounded by its sound but at the same time I also understood that playing the Tarhu would require me to develop and adopt a completely different technique compared to what I was used to as a cellist. read more
