Hearts of the Dulcimer

This love letter to the mountain dulcimer should change perceptions of the four-string instrument, described by the narrator as lacking “the chromatic range of the piano, the dynamic range of the guitar, or the popularity of the violin.” As filmmakers Patricia Delich and Wayne Jiang make clear, in the right hands the dulcimer can produce subtle tonal shadings as well as dynamic and percussive sounds. Interweaving archival and contemporary footage and stills with commentary from devoted musicians and craftsmen, Hearts of the Dulcimer looks at how the dulcimer originated in the Appalachians, more or less remaining within those confines until the folk boom of the 1960s, when a group of central California folkies and artists (in the area around Big Sur, Monterey, and Santa Cruz) began playing and recording with dulcimers (along with making and selling them to a new generation of players). The dulcimer's popularity grew when the music evolved beyond traditional mountain tunes into more contemporary folk stylings. What attracted many to the dulcimer's charms was its simplicity—it's hard to make bad notes and easy to produce good ones—but also what one enthusiast describes as its “wistfulness.” Beautifully filmed and featuring performers whose talents ably demonstrate the dulcimer's versatility, this is a fine tribute to an often overlooked instrument. DVD extras include behind-the-scenes featurettes. Highly recommended. Aud: P. (C. Block)